Africa News Headlines for 4 June 2014

Gabon launches vaccination campaign against polio
Source: StarAfrica

US Lauded in Africa for New Coal Emission Proposal
Source: ABC News/AP

Kanungu leaders row over Museveni visit
Source: The Observer

China Swaps Gusto for Rigor as It Learns From Africa
Source: Bloomberg

Big money for Niger's child brides
Source: BBC News

Total awards $1.1B deal for Nigerian oil rig
Source: UPI

We’ll protect Kenya’s sovereignty at all costs – Uhuru
Source: Capital FM

How African Consumer Habits Are Changing
Source: AFK Insider

Africa rising—Building to the future
Source: Business Day

Forensic Technology Helps Case Against West African Ivory Dealer Accused as a Trafficker
Source: National Geographic

Analyst: Counterterrorism Likely Focus of US-Africa Summit
Source: Voice of America

Grocer Casino to Take E-Commerce Unit to Africa With Bollore
Source: Bloomberg

Africa and the New European Parliament: How Much Change Can We Expect?
Source: Brookings/Africa in Focus

Trio team up to challenge Vodafone’s M-Pesa hold in Africa
Source: Financial Times

Minn. Soldiers Deploy to Horn of Africa
Source: KSTP-TV

Poly students win Africa Day debate competition
Source: New Era

In Mombasa, Africa's first 'alternative currency' helps Kenyans fight poverty
Source: Christian Science Monitor

Africa-Singapore trade worth $11billion
Source: StarAfrica

Fitting Africa into the musical map
Source: Independent Online

Africa should harmonise for broadband: Ericsson
Source: TechCentral

2 Nigerians Makes Forbes Richest Kings in Africa List
Source: Bella Naija

From the Arctic to Africa: Where China’s Wealthy Want to Travel
Source: Wall Street Journal

Experts Highlight Opportunities in Intra-Africa Trade
Source: This Day Live

Why delivering soft infrastructure matters in Africa
Source: Independent Online

Purdue tech creates storage for African crops
Source: Lafayette Journal & Courier

Chief Justice of South Africa: I will protect gay rights despite being against equal marriage
Source: Pink News UK

Chinese firms more cautious about Africa
Source: BDLive

Islamic Development Bank loans $180 million for Africa projects
Source: Business Day

Mbeki goes to core of Africa’s problems
Source: Independent Online

US to name first envoy to Somalia in decades
Source: Aljazeera

Lawmakers See Possible Contractor Issues in Africa as US Quietly Pivots There
Source: Defense News

Goat plague spreads down Africa
Source: Independent Online

New Africa Book of the Day - 2 June 2014

The Ghosts of Happy Valley: Searching for the Lost World of Africa's Infamous Aristocrats by Juliet Barnes

Release Date: June 1, 2014
Publisher: Aurum Press Ltd

Happy Valley was the name given to the Wanjohi Valley in the Kenya Highlands, where a small community of affluent, hedonistic white expatriates settled between the wars. While Kenya's early colonial days have been immortalised by farming pioneers like Lord Delamere and Karen Blixen, and the pioneering aviator Beryl Markham, Happy Valley became infamous under the influence of troubled socialite, Lady Idina Sackville, whose life was told in Frances Osborne's bestselling The Bolter. The era culminated with the notorious murder of the Earl of Erroll in 1941, the investigation of which laid bare the Happy Valley set's decadence and irresponsibility, chronicled in another bestseller, James Fox's White Mischief. But what is left now? In a remarkable and indefatigable archaeological quest Juliet Barnes, who has lived in Kenya all her life and whose grandparents knew some of the Happy Valley characters, has set out to explore Happy Valley to find the former homes and haunts of this extraordinary and transient set of people. With the help of a remarkable African guide and further assisted by the memories of elderly former settlers, she finds the remains of grand residences tucked away beneath the mountains and speaks to local elders who share first-hand memories of these bygone times. Nowadays these old homes, she discovers, have become tumbledown dwellings for many African families, school buildings, or their ruins have almost disappeared without trace - a revelation of the state of modern Africa that makes the gilded era of the Happy Valley set even more fantastic. A book to set alongside such singular evocations of Africa's strange colonial history as The Africa House, The Ghosts of Happy Valley is a mesmerising blend of travel narrative, social history and personal quest.

Kenya-based Juliet Barnes has edited Fresh Water for the Future (2012), a report for the United Nations Environment Program. She has written for the Sunday Times and The Guardian as well as for Kenyan publications. Her short fiction has been nominated for the Commonwealth Broadcasting Award, Jomo Kenyatta Award, and the Baobab Prize.

Africa News Headlines for 2 June 2014

A Frozen Conflict in the Sahara Still Enflames Morocco, Polisario
Source: The Washington Diplomat

How Africa is out-innovating Silicon Valley
Source: Boston Globe

Models of Development and Experiential Learning in the Niger Delta
Source: Brookings/Africa in Focus

Investors keen on Kenya
Source: East African Business Week

Bombings threaten Kenya growth goals, open new strains with wary West
Source: Reuters

Bright future – the key factors driving economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa
Source: Legal Week

Ugandan troops to remain in Somalia
Source: The Africa Report

Why Africa’s economic growth is not reducing poverty
Source: How We Made It in Africa

Africa's climate policies burned by firewood dependence
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation

Is Africa the emerging market of the decade?
Source: Bizcommunity.com

As it plans its own future, Africa engages with the world
Source: Sierra Express Media

Obama called for more SDF involvement in Africa
Source: Japan Times

IOC president indicates hope to stage Olympics in Africa
Source: The National

Spain doing its bit for Africa’s renewal
Source: BD Live

Malawi's president looks to China and Russia
Source: Aljazeera

Turnover In Gabon Mobile Telephony Sector Growing Steadily
Source: SpyGhana

On Morocco, Its Western Allies, and Africa Policy
Source: Huffington Post

South African Making Bid to Lead African Development Bank
Source: Wall Street Journal

New China-Africa Development Fund Could Add Accountability, Transparency to Chinese Investments in Africa
Source: Huffington Post

Publisher Crusades Against Female Genital Mutilation in Africa
Source: Voice of America

The need for speed: Why Africa's datacenters are still trailing behind
Source: ZDNet

The consequences of the U.S. war on terrorism in Africa
Source: Aljazeera America

Nigeria: Addressing Boko Haram’s Roots
Source: Africa in Transition

New Africa Book of the Day - 31 May 2014

Displacement Economies in Africa: Paradoxes of Crisis and Creativity by Amanda Hammar

Release Date: June 2, 2014
Publisher: Zed Books

Large-scale displacement - whether caused by war, state-related political or development projects, different forms of political violence, structural crisis, or even natural disasters - evokes many stereotyped assumptions about those forcibly displaced or emplaced. At the same time there is a problematic lack of attention paid to those who benefit economically from, manage, or in various unexpected ways are affected by processes of displacement.

In this highly original volume, based on empirical case studies from across sub-Saharan Africa, the authors provide fresh insights into the unexpected changes, complex agency and persistent dynamism entailed in displacement processes. In doing so, the book explores the diversity of actors, strategies and practices that reshape the world in the face (and chronic aftermath) of dramatic moments of violent dislocation and /or enclosure.

An important contribution to a topic of growing scholarly and policy interest.

Amanda Hammar is co-editor (with Brian Raftopoulos and Stig Jensen) of Zimbabwe's Unfinished Business (2000) and author of Zimbabwe and Norway (1996). She is professor of African studies at Copenhagen University.

About Sub-Saharan Monitor

Africa News Headlines for 31 May 2014

Mbabazi launches anti-corruption campaign
Source: New Vision

Malawi's New President and Vice President
Source: U.S. Department of State

West Africa seeks regional effort against Boko Haram
Source: Times of India/AFP

Africa needs some positive PR
Source: The Voice

5 Devastating Religious Conflicts in Africa That Will Make You Question All You Thought About Religion‏
Source: Atlanta Black Star

Wole Soyinka’s Tribute to Maya Angelou
Source: PM News Nigeria

Negotiating Democracy in Malawi
Source: Africa in Transition

Nigerian young entrepreneur nominated for Africa’s top award
Source: Premium Times

East African alliances necessary for U.S. to combat radicalism
Source: Foreign Policy Association

I was ambitious from childhood-Kola Aluko •On Forbes radar list of Africa’s 50 richest
Source: Nigerian Tribune

How to Find Charities That Are Worthy of Your Contributions
Source: Daily Finance

Reviving tourism sector in EA requires joint initiatives
Source: Daily News

Central African President: "We Will Come Out of This Crisis"
Source: Boston.com

Einstein African search to expand to Tanzania
Source: Daily News

Presidency denies amnesty offer to Boko Haram
Source: The Sun

McIver dismisses Tutu as misinformed ‘celebrity’ on oilsands
Source: Calgary Herald

New Africa Book of the Day - 29 May 2014

Ireland, Africa and the End of Empire: Small State Identity in the Cold War 1955-75 by Kevin O'Sullivan

Release Date: May 29, 2014
Publisher: Manchester University Press

In the twenty years after Ireland joined the UN in 1955, one subject dominated its fortunes: Africa. The first detailed study of Ireland's relationship with that continent, this book, now available in paperback, documents its special place in Irish history.

Adopting a highly original, and strongly comparative approach, it shows how small and middling powers like Ireland, Canada, the Netherlands and the Nordic states used Africa to shape their position in the international system, and how their influence waned with the rise of the Afro-Asian bloc. O'Sullivan chronicles Africa's impact on Irish foreign policy; the link between African decolonisation and Irish post-colonial identity; and the missionaries, aid workers, diplomats, peacekeepers, and anti-apartheid protesters at the heart of Irish popular understanding of the developing world.

Offering a fascinating account of small state diplomacy, and a unique perspective on African decolonisation, this book provides essential insight for scholars of Irish history, African history, international relations, and the history of NGOs, as well as anyone interested in Africa's important place in the Irish public imagination.

Kevin O'Sullivan is a lecturer in history at the National University of Ireland-Galway. He has contributed chapters to International Organizations and Development, 1945-1990 (forthcoming, 2014; edited by Marc Frey, Sonke Kunkel, and Corinna R Unger), Saints and Sinners: Official Development Aid and Its Dynamics in a Historical and Comparative Perspective (edited by Thorsten Borring Olesen, Helge O. Pharo, and Kristian Paaskesen), and Obligations and Responsibilities: Ireland and the United Nations, 1955-2005: Essays Marking Fifty Years of Ireland's United Nations Membership.

Africa News Headlines for 29 May 2014

BBC zones in on African audiences
Source: Independent Online

Lagarde Urges Africa to Act on Poverty
Source: International Business Times

Electrify Africa: bringing light to the dark continent
Source: Media Club South Africa

African Currencies Weaken, as Emerging Markets Bounce Back
Source: Wall Street Journal

Marlon Wayans To Host The 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards
Source: Vibe

Made in Africa: Is manufacturing taking off on the continent?
Source: BBC News

SABMiller Cleans Up South Africa's Bars to Attract Women
Source: Bloomberg Businessweek

5 reasons Bathurst may be South Africa's most eccentric town
Source: CNN

Africa Rising—Building to the Future
Source: International Monetary Fund

PM hails Nordic countries for supporting Uganda
Source: New Vision

AASU On The Current Student Strikes In Africa
Source: SpyGhana

IMF warns ‘rising’ African nations on sovereign debt risks
Source: Financial Times

Chinese investments taking root in Central African nation
Source: China Daily USA

African-focussed films to feature at Encounters Festival
Source: Bizcommunity.com

Modern weather prediction for West African oil and gas operations
Source: Energy Global

With Swift, Quiet Moves, Nigerian Group Limits Religious Violence
Source: NPR

Investors show confidence in Nigeria’s hydrocarbons sector
Source: Oxford Business Group

Experts: Corruption Exposing Kenya to Terrorism
Source: ABC News/AP

S. Sudanese rebel leader meets Kenyan president in Nairobi
Source: Sudan Tribune

Kenyan president urges young people to bid for government contracts allocated to them
Source: Supply Management

Africa News Headlines for 28 May 2014

Making a hash(tag) of Africa policy
Source: The Hill

Gabon Oil Company to boost oil sales, eyes acquisitions
Source: Reuters

Independents stepping up role in Nigeria’s oil industry
Source: Business Day

China Turns To Africa For Resources, Jobs And Future Customers
Source: NPR's Fresh Air

Zebras take prize for longest terrestrial large mammal migration in Africa
Source: PBS Newshour

Interactive Map: Africa’s mixed progress on water and sanitation access
Source: Humanosphere

No sex please, we're parliamentarians: S.Africa's ANC
Source: Yahoo! News

U.S. Special Forces Worry #BringBackOurGirls Will Tweet Them Into Africa Like #Kony2012 Did
Source: The Wire

How is China expanding its economic empire in Africa?
Source: PRI's The World

E-learning Africa Conference opens in Uganda
Source: New Vision

Why Ending Child Marriage in Africa Can No Longer Wait
Source: Inter Press Service

Youth unemployment Africa’s greatest challenge
Source: NewsDay

Boko Haram too extreme for 'al Qaeda in W.Africa' brand
Source: Reuters

US prepares investment push into Africa
Source: Financial Times

US special operations troops reportedly training counterterrorism units in Africa
Source: Fox News

Africa maintains growth momentum despite security challenges
Source: Euronews

African young people are shaping their future
Source: UNAIDS

Gabon starts talks on massive Belinga iron ore mining
Source: The Africa Report

Africa News Headlines for 26 May 2014

U.S. Trains African Commandos to Fight Terrorism
Source: New York Times

Saudis drawn to Cameroon as investment and tourism destination
Source: Saudi Gazette

FG to revigorate rural electrification agency •Pledges renewable energy policy soon
Source: Nigerian Tribune

Mobile Internet Comes To Africa In A Big Way
Source: NPR Morning Edition

Why Nigeria, Others Lose Investors in Power
Source: This Day Live

U.S. seeks to expand business opportunities in Africa
Source: BusinessDay

Swaziland's reserves dwindle to $790,000
Source: Aljazeera

For a new approach in US-Africa relations
Source: The Africa Report

The Next 50 Years: Africa’s Obligation to Posterity
Source: Nehanda Radio

Mobile offers brighter future for Africa's rural homes
Source: BBC News

Nigerian military official claims he knows whereabouts of kidnapped girls
Source: CNN

South Africa appoints first lesbian to cabinet
Source: The Guardian

Airtel reiterates commitment to work with govts on human capital
Source: WorldStage

Angola and Gabon 'to become holiday hotspots'
Source: The Telegraph