Why did Qatar leave the Djibouti-Eritrea border?

The renewed Djibouti-Eritrea border dispute is the first ripple effect of the Gulf crisis in Africa.   Maintaining the 500-strong presence of Qatari armed troops in a remote area was a costly and largely thankless endeavour write Barakat and Milton [AP] by Sultan Barakat @BARAKAT_Sultan Sultan Barakat is the director of Center for Conflict and Humanitarian…

WHY THERE’S A STATUE OF BOB MARLEY IN ETHIOPIA?

Fun fact: the Rasta movement arose in Ethiopia, not Jamaica. By Bill Wiatrak |Houstoniamag WHEN YOU THINK OF JAMAICA, you’re likely to conjure a mental picture of Bob Marley before you think of anything else. There’s no other country in the world where one musician seems to represent the embodiment of an entire culture like Marley is to Jamaica.…

US airstrike in Somalia under Trump’s new authoritie

ABC News The U.S. military has conducted its first offensive airstrike against the jihadist fundamentalist group al-Shabaab in Somalia, targeting the group under the new authorities given by the Trump administration in March that allows offensive airstrikes. “On June 11, at approximately 2 a.m. eastern daylight time, the Department of Defense conducted a strike operation…

The Qatar Crisis According to British Media

The Independent Only Shakespeare’s plays could come close to describing such treachery – the comedies, that is The nation is now embroiled in a crisis – but what part is Saudi Arabia playing in stoking it? Reuters The Qatar crisis proves two things: the continued infantilisation of the Arab states, and the total collapse of the Sunni Muslim…

Meet the world’s most powerful doctor: Bill Gates

By Politico   Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates | Stephen Voss/REDUX Some billionaires are satisfied with buying themselves an island. Bill Gates got a United Nations health agency in Geneva. Over the past decade, the world’s richest man has become the World Health Organization’s second biggest donor, second only to the United States and just…

How long can Ethiopia state of emergency last?

Aljazeera A decade of development in Ethiopia, one of the world’s fastest growing economies, is at risk if the country continues to ban political opposition and muzzle the media, the UN has warned. Ethiopia is now in its eighth month of emergency rule, which was imposed in October last year to crush its biggest protests…

What is China’s belt and road initiative?

The many motivations behind Xi Jinping’s key foreign policy The Economist explains By J.P. | The Economist OVER the weekend Xi Jinping welcomed 28 heads of state and government to Beijing for a coming-out party, which continues today, to celebrate the “belt and road” initiative, his most ambitious foreign policy. Launched in 2013 as “one belt,…

Ge’ez and Early Islam

By NANCY JOSEPH PERSPECTIVES NEWSLETTER It’s an important language for the study of late ancient Christianity and early Islam. It’s the language of some of the earliest Judeo-Christian writings.  Its vocabulary can be found throughout the Quran.  Yet the classical language Ge’ez is little known beyond the Horn of Africa and taught at just two…

Ethiopia’s Star Singer Teddy Afro Makes Plea for Openness

NYT ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Teddy Afro, Ethiopia’s superstar singer, is topping the Billboard world albums chart with “Ethiopia,” which less than two weeks after its release has sold nearly 600,000 copies, a feat no other artist here has achieved. Known for the political statements he makes in his music, an infectious mix of reggae…