Zimbabwe: Along the Bulawayo Road.

' So much history, so much potential, so much waste.'




















another one from The Economist Baobab blog

"The road takes us through what used to be some of the best farming land in the country, now an endless wasteland of tall dried-blonde grasses, thorn trees, broken fences and crumbling farm buildings—no animals, no villages, no people—following Mr Mugabe’s land grabs."

South Sudan in Pictures

Late on this one but check out the pictures.

from The Economist Baobab blog


South Sudan's independence - A day of jubilation

Boss Robert and the End Game.

Image via WikipediaChristopher Hitchens, writing in Slate.com reviews my old school mate Peter Godwin's book 'The Fear'.

More about the seemingly endless last days of Robert Mugabe.

Written before the last election that resulted in a so-called 'power sharing' with Morgan Tsvangirai MDC, it updates '...the continuing story of popular resistance.'

Unfortunately all hope of a Zimbabwean 'Jasmine' revolution inspired by the current 'Arab Spring' revolts will not lead to any revolutionary winds of change but, as Hitchen's says:

 'One day, the civic resistance to this, which was often looked-down upon by people considering themselves revolutionary, will earn the esteem and recognition it deserves.'

One day Boss Robert will be blown away...one day.

Ivory Coast - Côte d'Ivoire: Bang Bang Nearly Over?

"The end to Côte d'Ivoire's nightmare is in sight. Following an overnight "final assault" on the presidential palace in Abidjan, the commercial capital, Laurent Gbagbo is said to have agreed to step down as president."


From The Economist blog Baobab


see Ready to go

Another African Nightmare - La Côte d’Ivoire - The Ivory Coast

The Economist's Baobab Blog has been running a series of articles on the situation in Abidjan which has naturally been pushed to the back of the news by events further in North Africa and the Japanese earthquake disaster.

The blog has run a series of now 4 blog posts which are perhaps best summed up by this image from the first entry, a picture of absolute rage and desperation.

An unfortunate but too typical African sentiment.

The Baobab blog posts can be found below in date (not blog order) earliest first:

• Arriving in Abidjan
• Grinding to a halt
• Paradise lost
• The final push

Youth Demographics are the Key to the Dictator Revolutions

"Uganda’s population has grown from 15m in 1986 to 32m today, half under 16 years old. Youth unemployment is 80%."

From The Economist blog Baobab writing about President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda's 25th anniversary of power under the title of Rambo's 25th anniversary.

Any country with youth demographic statistics such as these and youth unemployment levels at similar levels needs to watch out.

The Cairo Revolution - A Week in Pictures

From The Economist Blog Newsbook

A slide show entitiled

Unmoved and unyielding

Africa Apps - Time to Move

"...their impact could be momentous for the development of poor countries. They make bad physical infrastructure less of a problem; they connect the world’s poor to the digital economy; they help them learn; they give them a voice; they cut out middle-men."

From The Economist Baobab Blog

"There's an app for that"

 

Image courtsey of CP-Africa from their article Apps 4 Africa Winners Announced!

Egypt Unplugged or How to Switch Off the Internet

"There was no giant lever or big red button involved, but in reality it was almost as easy: the Egyptian Government simply issued an order for ISPs to shut down service."

From Gizmodo

How Egypt Turned Off the Internet

Southern Sudan - The All Say "Yes!"

"The preliminary official results from southern Sudan’s independence vote prove unsurprising to Sudan-watchers. Figures posted over the weekend on the referendum commission’s website show that more than 99 percent of voters in the south’s plebiscite want secession for their oil-rich but everything-else-poor homeland."

From The Economist Blog Baobab

Still no name. Flag anyone?

The Sudan: Juba Boom Town

"New restaurants and bars are sprouting up everywhere. Government ministers (many of whom have swapped their uniforms for sharp business suits) like to go to Da Vinci, an Italian eatery on the banks of the Nile. Foreign aid workers prefer Logali House, known for its fast internet access. East Africans gather at Home & Away for Thai food. Ukrainian and Russian pilots can be found at Oasis Camp and Sudanese hipsters, many of them returning from abroad, go to Havana, a bar set up by some of the so-called Cuban Jubans, a group of south Sudanese who went off to see Fidel a few decades ago and are drifting back now."

Love the Cuban Jubans and the Havana Bar.

But will some please tell what they will name the place? Southern Sudan is so bland. Get inspired from those Cuban Jubans!

From The Economist Blog Baobab

Boom town

via ScribeFire

Shoot Your Dinner with a Bow in the Kalahari

If you are bored with bang bang when game hunting, then get a load of whosh whosh in the Kalahari with real Bushmen.

"The Zu/’hoasi Initiation Hunt, an eight-day stint as a Kalahari tribesman culminating in an all-day hunting party, taking reservations now."

Organised by the luxury travel company Urban Nomads, this particular US$11,440 itinerary seems not to be on the site but a copy of the safari can be found here under Botswana

Orginal details from UrbanDaddy.com under

The Tribe Has Spoken Bow Hunting on the Kalahari

via ScribeFire

Zambia and yet Another High Cost Story

"Why is Zambia so expensive? Observers have offered a number of explanations. The labour market is rigid—a 15% annual increase in wages is customary. Transport costs bump up the price of everything else—Zambia is a landlocked country with little domestic manufacturing. The cost of finance is high—banks charge up to 35% in interest (one study even reports loans with 100% interest rates). "

From The Economist Baobab Blog

Some Puzzling Numbers