Sorry I've been "blog-absent" for so long now. I would promise that it won't happen again, but it probably will, and after this election season, I'm down on making empty promises.
So, without further ado, let's catch up on some news you probably missed...
Ours isn't the only election in the news. In Botswana, the ruling Botswana Democratic Party again won a large majority in elections. The BDP has won every election since Botswana's independence in 1966, although the country has been one of the few in Africa to maintain multi-party elections for so long.
There is some good news and some bad news coming out of Sudan. Plans are in place to include oil revenue sharing between the north and south in Sudan ahead of an expected peace agreement to hopefully end the 21-year long civil war. However, in the west, Sudanese troops have raided refugee camps in Darfur, cutting off relief from the UN and other agencies. As one conflict appears to move toward peace, another rages on.
Fighting has again erupted in Somalia over concerns of the recent election of a new president there. Somalia has not had a functioning government in 13 years.
In South Africa, Deputy President Zuma's troubles continue to mount in the trial of his longtime associate Schabir Shaik. Things aren't going so well for the man assumed to have been the favorite in South Africa's next national election. Also, South African citizens own more guns than the police and military combined, which isn't all that surprising considering the recent history of the country. More surprising is the fact that South Africans are as fat as Americans, which should help me feel at home when we move there next year. Even though as many South Africans die of malnutrition as of obesity related causes, 1/3 of men in South Africa are obese, and as many as 1/2 of women are overweight. There are myriad theories behind this trend - some cultural, some economic, some genetic - but the problem is severe enough to warrant Africa's first obesity conference, being held now at Sun City, South Africa.
There are always interesting events unfolding across the African continent. I encourage you to use the "Africa News" links on the side of the page to keep up with the affairs of the region and to become a better informed world citizen.
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