Free Republic

A growing trend of African countries promising to free up money for social spending by slashing fuel subsidies will test public faith in governments, amid widespread fear the cash will vanish in a haze of graft and mismanagement. Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Chad and others have all cut back on expensive fuel subsidy programmes in recent months. For economists, the cuts have been an encouraging sign, raising hopes that reforms are taking root in the continent even as it braces for the fallout of the European debt crisis. For millions of Africans, however, the changes have created nothing by pain. Nigerians...

You are my children of light , you are my children of light , you are my children of light , and in this season of lights , let MY Light shine through you , for MY SEASON NEVER ENDS ! Truly this is a season of lights , but we are to be lights for Christ Jesus in an open season and heaven for him ! Isaiah 60 The Gentiles Bless Zion 1 Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. 2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,...

Broward County home sales and prices rose in August from a year ago, brightening hopes for a housing recovery. The county had 1,185 sales of existing homes, up 19 percent from August 2010, the Florida Realtors said Wednesday. The median price was $191,800, a 5 percent increase from a year ago. It was Broward’s third consecutive gain in sales and prices. Five other metro areas in Florida also had sales and price increases in August. Still, analysts are cautious, saying they don’t expect a housing bottom until at least 2012. “Over the past few months, it appears that home prices...

Lake Chad, one of the largest boddies of water in Sub-Saharan Africa, is on the verge of drying up, as only 1,500 square kilometres,  of the original 25,000 square kilometres size of the lake still remain. The figure represents 10 percent of the initial size of the lake, which traverses Nigeria and three other neighboring countries -- Chad , Niger , and the Republic of Cameroon. The lake, which banks in Nigeria , in the north-astern state of Borno, with Maiduguri as its administrative capital, is said to share similar hydrological basin with four other countries: Central African Republic, Algeria...

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has expressed his personal support for the president of Sudan, Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, who has been charged in the International Criminal Court with being responsible for the genocide in Darfur, Palestinian Media Watch reported. In a letter to the Sudanese president, Abbas wrote that he and PA Arabs "have complete faith in the wisdom of President Omar Al-Bashir." PMW's Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik note that in 2008, evidence was presented in the International Criminal Court of Justice that showed that "Al-Bashir committed the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in...

In May this year, researchers from around the world gathered in Yaounde the capital of the west African country of Cameroon, for the International Conference on Rescue Archaeology. At the conference, archaeologists introduced new findings from the book: "Kome-Kribi: Rescue Archaeology Along the Chad-Cameroon Oil Pipeline; 1999-2004". Archaeologists say the results have marked a major breakthrough that will begin a rewrite of the history of Cameroon and the rest of Central Africa. The fieldwork was carried out as construction took place along the line of the underground petroleum pipeline from Chad to the port of Kribi, Cameroon... According to Professor...

Spokesperson Ambassador Dina Mufti told WIC today that the deployment was launched following an agreement reached between the North and South Sudan leaders to demilitarize the disputed region of Abyei and allow Ethiopian peacekeeping forces monitor the peace. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) late last month unanimously approved the deployment of 4,200 Ethiopian peacekeeping forces. The new UN peacekeeping force called the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) is mandated to monitor peace for the coming six months. Ambassador Dina said the country began the deployment of peacekeeping force last week. "I am confident that the...

Artifacts from hundreds of archeological sites from southern Chad to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Cameroon... research was conducted between 1999 and 2004 as construction was underway on the underground petroleum pipeline... which is more than 1000 kilometers long.... 472 archeological sites along the area in both Cameroon and Chad were found .some dating back to as long ago as 100,000 years. He says, "we found sites where people had lived, where people had stored food, where people had made tools of iron. Before people in this area used iron, they made a whole variety of different...

An Al-Qaeda leader of Algerian nationality was among 20 militants killed in southern Mauritania during a clash with military forces.Mauritanian forces on Tuesday reportedly responded to an attack on a military base in Bassiknou on the border with Mali by launching a counter-offensive against forces from The Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, AQIM the terror network's North African branch. The firefight lasted around 45 minutes and afterward Mauritanian forces chased the militants into Mali. Ten insurgents were captured during the standoff.

"Democracy is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequal alike" Plato (BC 427 - 374BC). Open rigging and clinging brazenly to power have become common features of emerging democracies in the world today especially in Africa. Many Countries in Africa have become accustomed to "sit-tight dictators" or military style of leadership, with democracy being propelled by the West for their replacement. This is at the centre of the on-going conflict in many emerging democratic nations. Democratization of the world today as being championed by United States of...

The armed conflict in Darfur, Sudan, intensified throughout the year, resulting in tens of thousands of newly displaced people, some of whom crossed into neighbouring Chad. Civilians were directly targeted in some attacks by armed groups and by government forces. Parts of Darfur remained inaccessible to humanitarian organizations and the joint UN-African Union (AU) mission in Darfur (UNAMID). Humanitarian workers and UNAMID staff were frequently abducted in Darfur, following a pattern similar to that seen in eastern Chad in recent years. Various mediation efforts during the year produced no tangible results. Repression by the Sudanese authorities continued in Darfur, with...

The Chadian government on Wednesday made it clear that it will not cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in arresting three Libyan officials named by the tribunal's chief prosecutor as suspects in the violent crackdown against protestors that took place last February... Omer Yahya, the press adviser for Chadian president Idriss Deby, told the London-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper that his country is committed to the African Union (AU) decision instructing members not to cooperate with the ICC in arresting Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir who is also wanted by the court. The Chadian official suggested that the decision applies...

The tripartite summit meeting of the presidents of Sudan, Chad and the Republic of Central Africa (CAR) here has ended... with the adoption of the Khartoum Declaration which also seeks the achievement of sustainable development, exchanges and consultations on regional and international issues, and supporting one another in regional and international forums... the establishment of a joint force to protect the common borders of the three countries and trilateral co-ordination among the Interior Ministries to control smuggling, infiltration along borders, illegal hunting, combating organised crime and cross-border crimes... to work on boosting peaceful co-existence between tribes living near the common...

'Al-Qaeda snatched missiles' in Libya From correspondents in Paris From: AFP March 26, 2011 1:03PM AL-QAEDA'S offshoot in North Africa has snatched surface-to-air missiles from an arsenal in Libya during the civil strife there, Chad's President says. Idriss Deby Itno did not say how many surface-to-air missiles were stolen, but told the African weekly Jeune Afrique that he was "100 per cent sure" of his assertion. "The Islamists of al-Qaeda took advantage of the pillaging of arsenals in the rebel zone to acquire arms, including surface-to-air missiles, which were then smuggled into their sanctuaries in Tenere," a desert region of...

Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi is well known now for the abuses he has inflicted on his own people during more than four decades of brutal rule in Libya, but few remember the vast campaign of carnage and terrorism he orchestrated across West Africa and Europe when he was at the height of his powers. Nor are his more recent alliance with Hugo Chávez of Venezuela and his long-standing relationship with Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua -- both of whom are busy trampling their constitutions and moving toward dictatorship -- well understood. And the fact that all three governments support the Revolutionary Armed...

The Psychology of Genocide and Violent Oppression: A Study of Mass Cruelty from Nazi Germany to Rwanda - Page 120 - Richard Morrock - (McFarland) 2010 (254 pages)At the same time, Iran has generally had good relations with the current dictatorship in Sudan... Al-Bashir... Originally a pan–Islamist who conducted genocide against non–Muslims, he has become an Arab racist, influenced by Libya's Muammar Qaddafi. His wars of extermination are now waged against non–Arab Muslims in Darfur and elsewhere... http://books.google.com/books?id=CZtnAbKkOmIC&pg=PA120 Scramble for Africa: Darfur-intervention and the USA Kevin Funk, Steven Fake - (Black Rose Books) 2008 - Page 23 (301 pages) Ethnic...

Recent events in Tunisia, Lebanon and Egypt spell a dangerous new trend in the region. There have been major developments in Tunisia, Lebanon and Egypt, each of which is of tremendous importance. In Tunisia, a popular uprising fueled by unemployment, economic suffering and long-term discontent has overthrown the dictator, but not necessarily the dictatorship. In 55 years of independence, the country has been governed by two dictators, the current one being Zine al-Abedin Ben Ali, who has been president for 23 years and was a key power in the regime even before that. Is this going to spread? Does it...

The passions that swirled around Bush v. Gore, the Supreme Court case that ended 10 years ago Sunday, dissipated quickly. And remarkably little damage was done by the institutional collisions that resulted when control of the nation's supreme political office turned on 537 votes out of 5,963,110 cast in Florida. Many controversies concerned whether particular votes could be said to have been cast properly. Chads are those bits of paper that, when a ballot is properly cast by puncturing spots next to candidates' names, are separated from the ballot. In Florida, there were "dimpled" chads that were merely dented and...

Democratic and Republican officials in Washington say they have elaborate plans in place involving training sessions for recount volunteers, Washington lawyers who specialize in recount efforts and detailed plans about how to mobilize legal and public relations resources if a recount is necessary. Rob Jesmer, the executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, admitted, “there’s something else that keeps me up at night beyond tight poll numbers. Recounts.” In the e-mail, Mr. Jesmer urges supporters to donate money so the party can be ready to field lawyers on Nov. 3 in places where recounts might be necessary. “We cannot...

Sue Lowden has touted her career as a businesswoman on the campaign trail, mocking Sen. Harry Reid for having spent scant years in the private sector. The former state senator and Republican Party chairwoman, who hopes to be her party’s nominee against Reid, has been described by national political reporters as a wealthy casino owner worth $50 million or more. Her story — she came from nothing — is one of uplift and socioeconomic mobility. For Republican audiences fond of the free market, it’s an appealing message: A hardworking entrepreneur who has to meet payroll and so will keep intrusive...