United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan - fresh from the triumph of brokering the Iraqi deal, and cruising through his African tour with the air of a savior come to rescue his beloved continent from the folly of its ruler - suddenly faces the cruel prospect of being cut down to size.
Ethiopian government policy is being driven by the wild ambition of becoming not only a dominant power in eastern and northeastern Africa but also the ‘bread basket’ of the Gulf countries, as Addis Ababa’s extensive advertising for investment in the western and Arab media puts it.
One feature of the recent Iraq crisis was the role played by Kofi Annan, secretary general of the United Nations. A couple of weeks after returning in triumph from Baghdad, Annan was honoured with a meeting with Bill Clinton at the White House and presidential praise for his efforts, which he reciprocated by appreciating Washington’s role.
The US has won an emphatic victory without even firing a single shot. It has established the absurd rule that Washington alone decides who must implement United Nations resolutions as well as who need not...
Will the Arab regimes muster enough courage to defy the western-led embargo against Libya imposed through the UN security council since April 1992?
After four years of civil war which has left more than 100,000 dead, and the economy in shambles, the people of Tajikistan have had enough.
People in Africa have good reason to be wary of the new, USS 25 billion initiative launched by the United Nations on March 15 to help the impoverished continent. Called the ‘System-wide Special Initiative on Africa,’ the programme will be phased over a 10 year-period.
