Africa: Open for Business
WASHINGTON — A Washington-area journalist says Africa has an image problem, and she’s out to change that.
Journalist Carol Pineau is distributing her documentary “Africa: Open For Business” and just received a special award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Pineau focuses on entrepreneurs in ten African nations who are not only making it, but making it big and much of the world has not noticed.
sot.. 4215 what i saw over and over again were africans who by themselve were viable business and already part of the world economy.
In Nigeria, the documentary introduces a businesswoman who created a kids clothing line called Ruff and Tumble. (more…)
Is Charles Taylor a trouble maker that should be eliminated?
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The Al-Qaeda terror network is active in West Africa and seeks to destabilize the region through its links with Liberian former president Charles Taylor, members of a UN appointed tribunal said.
Taylor faces a 17-count indictment by the Special Court for Sierra Leone. He is accused of arming and training rebels in exchange for so-called “blood diamonds.”
The main target is Guinea, where Taylor has been linked to the January 19 assassination attempt on President Lansana Conte, the tribunal’s main researcher said at a press conference here.
Chief investigator Al White emphasized that the researchers have been “receiving credible, reliable information” on the destabilization plans “from sources and witnesses we’ve been dealing with for three years in the region.” (more…)
Nigeria could collapse and bring down W.Africa-CIA (Reuters)
ABUJA – A coup in Nigeria could cause the oil exporting country to collapse and bring down much of West Africa with it, the CIA’s National Intelligence Council said in a long-term outlook released in Nigeria on Wednesday.
The catastrophic scenario was listed as a possible risk in a long-term forecast for Africa which also saw most of the continent becoming increasingly marginalised over the next 15 years. (more…)
‘Crime is keeping Africa in shackles’
Crime in Africa is leaving the continent shackled in its bid to stave off poverty and protect the most vulnerable section of its population - its youth. As many as 56 percent of children have seen someone killed in front of them and a further 80 percent have lost an immediate family member.
A report released by the United Nations office on drugs and crime entitled “Why fighting crime can assist development in Africa” argues that crime is pervading every facet of society and even changing the way war is fought. (more…)