Jacob Zuma gives way to taxis over World Cup

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Jacob Zuma gives way to taxis over World Cup in final South African election push

• Man expected to be next president charms unions
• Lack of public transport could cripple World Cup

• David Smith in Johannesburg
• The Guardian, Tuesday 21 April 2009
• Article history

Jacob Zuma sings his trademark song Umshini wami during a taxi summit held in Johannesburg Photograph: STR/EPA

Jacob Zuma, expected to be elected president in tomorrow's South African elections, has yielded to the demands of a powerful union in a dispute that threatens to cripple next year's football World Cup.

The leader of the African National Congress (ANC) told taxi owners yesterday that he would agree to suspend a controversial plan to replace their vehicles with buses.

Mali Becomes Touchstone for World Music

If you have listened to non-commercial radio at all lately: the BBC, National Public Radio, APR, and more, you will no doubt agree that music from Mali seems to garner more attention than its modest size would indicate.

Oumou Sangare (born February 25, 1968, in Bamako, Mali) is a Malian Wassoulou musician, sometimes referred to as "The Songbird of Wassoulou." Wassoulou is a historic region south of the Niger River, and the music there is descended from traditional hunting songs, and is accompanied by a calabash. Her mother was the singer Aminata Diakité.

Mali has produced some of the great superstars of modern African music: kora player Toumani Diabaté, golden voiced singers Salif Keita and Oumou Sangare, dancebands like the Super Rail Band, and the great river-bluesman Ali Farka Touré. Lucy Duran, presenter of Radio 3's World Routes, has spent years in Mali researching the music of its flamboyant divas, and has worked as a producer with some of Mali's leading musicians.
Oumou Sangare

Radio 3 Guide to World Music - Mali
Wikipedia - Oumou Sangare

3407 Flight Crash Stills Vital Voices

The crash of Flight 3407 on the evening of February 12, 2009 has stilled 50 voices, all of them important, all of them loved. Four of those voices are among the many who have used their lives in areas that have affected me personally.

For those who, like myself, find themselves inexorably drawn to the joy and tragedy of the African experience, the death of Dr. Alison Des Forges is a terrible blow. Des Forges was a leading authority on the Rwanda genocide and has been a Senior Advisor to, and board member of, the world's foremost human right organization, Human Rights Watch, for nearly twenty years. Dr. Des Forges' example and wisdom have served to help us to better understand the triumphs and failing of the human condition and to see broadly the complexities of relationships between countries and ethnic groups. More


"A Sea of Boys"


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D-Link Uwaje Appointment Smart Choice

The appointment by D-Link of Chris Uwaje represents a smart step forward for the company and a positive development for the region. Few, if any, better understand the underlying IT challenges and opportunities faced by the countries of West Africa. Chris Uwaje's optimistic, "can-do" temperment and vision bode well for the future of IT development in the Region.

D-Link appoints Uwaje Regional Director for West Africa
Vanguard Online Edition - Thursday, 15 January 2009

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"Cultural Drumming, Ghana"

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Ghana Proves Its Readiness to Claim the Mantle - Economic Gateway to Africa

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The torch has been passed to a new generation of leadership in the West African nation of Ghana and all signs point to a very bright future for this nation. At a time when so much attention has been, understandably, focused on the historic transition taking place in the United States, we would do well to take a moment to herald the small country that has a very big story to tell - and the potential to lead an African renaissance in the coming years.

Just 50 years from its independence in 1958, Ghana has proven to be the "wise elder" of Africa in its fierce commitment to democracy, liberty and economic opportunity.

"Landing the Fishing Boat, Cape Coast, Ghana"
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While the day and Ghana's near-term future are in the hands of Professor John Evans Atta Mills, it should be said that defeated candidate Nana Akufo Addo deserves the praise and thanks of Ghana and the world for his leadership and example in defeat. History will remember that while other nations in Africa took the dark road in this historic year, Nana Akufo Addo, in yielding peacefully to the will of the people, has played a role no less important to the future of the country than that of the winner, Prof Mills. Future generations of Ghanaians will praise his name for this act alone.

And now Ghana has proven itself ready to lead Africa on all of the major fronts in the never ending struggle for the welfare of humanity: as a bulwark against terrorism on the continent; as an economic powerhouse with the legal infrastructure to truly open Africa to world trade and to secure the economic future of its own citizens; as a shining example of the power of ballots over bullets.