The trial by the family and supporters of Ken Saro-Wiwa (hanged by Nigeria’s military in 1995 on trumped up charges in the Niger Delta) Shell Oil will resume on Wednesday. But this time not for the actual hearing–postponed “indefinitely” by the presiding last week–but for a pre-trial conference between the... [view entry]

I’ve convinced Marlon Burgess, Cape Town-born musician and graduate student who recently moved to New York City, to occasionally contribute regular blog posts to Africa is a Country (my theory about strength numbers refers). He agreed to write a review of young jazz pianist and bandleader Kyle Shepherd’s debut album,... [view entry]

Blogger Ryan Briggs (he is a PhD student in international relations, with a specialization in international development, at the School of International Service at American University in Washington, DC) is working on a project to analyze New York Times coverage of nine African countries from 1981 to 2008. He has published some of his... [view entry]

In a video report (above) and print article reporter Delphine Schrank (for The Atlantic) “… visits the empty lakes and scattered elephant bones left behind by the DRC’s ongoing violence.” You can also watch short interview clips on the website of the International Reporting Project (they paid for the trip)... [view entry]

Filmmakers Chris Nizza and Dara Kell have been in South Africa since mid-April on their first production shoot for the feature documentary film ‘Dear Mandela’ (the feature expands on a short film they shot last year). They post regular production updates about the shoot online. Like most recently when they... [view entry]

I recently discovered Metropolis TV, a project of the Dutch public television station, VPRO. An online project with 50 correspondents (a mix of film makers and video bloggers) from around the world, it consists of short video inserts (2 to 7 minutes each; all programs have English subtitles) that you... [view entry]

“Disciplinary boundaries” are often rigorously policed in the United States. Historians talk to historians. Political scientists to political scientists. And so on. Academics generally write in the jargons of their disciplines or, worse, their “sub-disciplines.” With a plethora of academic journals catering to the increasing specialization, academics now write more... [view entry]

Poet and novelist James Matthews turned 80 today. Here’s a link to a short note I wrote on the occasion of his 79th birthday. If you can read Afrikaans, here’s a link to piece in Cape Town’s “Die Burger” by reporter Heindrich Wyngaardt. [The picture, above, by photographer Michael Hammond... [view entry]

This image above was part of a now-abandoned, award-winning print media campaign to promote a television channel. The slogan ‘History is Written By the Winners” is printed in the top right-hand corner. The logo of the company is blocked out. The inscription, which is too small to see, reads: Iraqis... [view entry]

Next week (between June 4 and 7) European voters go to the polls to elect representatives for the 736 seats of the European Parliament. Polls indicate that traditionally centrist (and Pan-European parties) will take the bulk of the seats. 72 of these seats will be contested in Britain. And there,... [view entry]