EVENT: Premier Wen Jiabao said yesterday that getting back to normality after the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan is a priority. SIGNIFICANCE: In some areas in the affected zone, this may prove...
DR Congo + 1 more
SUBJECT: The causes and impact of border tensions around Lake Albert. SIGNIFICANCE: After several years in which the relations between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda defined the...
Sudan + 1 more
EVENT: Rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement on May 10 launched an assault on Omdurman, a western suburb of Khartoum. SIGNIFICANCE: Omdurman, situated across the Nile from Khartoum proper, is...
EVENT: Two car bombs exploded near a government office in Sana'a yesterday, a day after seven soldiers were killed in clashes with rebels in the north. SIGNIFICANCE: A confluence of crises including...
EVENT: Insurgents temporarily occupied three strategic towns in southern Somalia on April 3. SIGNIFICANCE: Hopes for the beleaguered Transitional Federal Government (TFG) were revived this year with...
EVENT: Eastern Province council elections will take place in May, the Election Commission confirmed on March 14. SIGNIFICANCE: The government last year regained control over the area from the rebel...
Sudan + 1 more
EVENT: A new Chad-Sudan peace agreement may be signed today in Senegal. SIGNIFICANCE: Relations between Sudan and Chad have been plagued by distrust and covert support for each other's rebels. The...
EVENT: Kofi Annan today announced that an "agreement" had been reached between the government and opposition. SIGNIFICANCE: Annan had suspended the mediation process two days ago, and concentrated...
EVENT: The majority of Afghanistan is under tribal control, US Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell said yesterday. SIGNIFICANCE: The intelligence chief, addressing senators, said...
EVENT: The Senate yesterday endorsed the death sentence recently awarded to a journalist for blasphemy. SIGNIFICANCE: Senators also dismissed foreign criticism of the Mazar-e-Sharif Council of...
Zambia + 5 more
EVENT: Heavy rains and flooding in Southern Africa are jeopardising food security in the region. SIGNIFICANCE: Flooding in Southern Africa is leading to large-scale displacement and the destruction...
Kenya + 3 more
SUBJECT: Natural disaster preparedness in East Africa and the Great Lakes. SIGNIFICANCE: Over the past 20 years, greater responsibility has been placed upon national governments for disaster...
SUBJECT: The political outlook for the Balkans in 2008. SIGNIFICANCE: Kosovo's expected unilateral declaration of independence and Serbia's negative reaction to it will be a challenge to regional...
Ethiopia + 2 more
SUBJECT: The political and economic outlook for the Horn of Africa in 2008. SIGNIFICANCE: The region in 2008 will continue to be one of the world's most active sites for emergency relief operations,...
Sudan + 2 more
SUBJECT: The outlook for conflict and security in the Darfur, Chad, Central African Republic border region in 2008. SIGNIFICANCE: Over the past two years, the border region between Darfur (Sudan),...
EVENT: Environmental disasters will slow economic growth to below 6% this fiscal year (ending June), the Asian Development Bank warned on November 26. SIGNIFICANCE: The country has been hit by severe...
SUBJECT: Causes and consequences of the lack of progress in Ivory Coast's eight-month-old peace process. SIGNIFICANCE: As the Ouagadougou process falls further behind schedule, the risk increases...
EVENT: Darfur peace talks are set to begin in Libya on October 27. SIGNIFICANCE: On October 11, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) suspended its participation in Sudan's national...
EVENT: Water levels in the Akosombo Dam now exceed the minimum operating level, following some of the heaviest torrential rains experienced in 30 years. SIGNIFICANCE: Although the heavier than...
SUBJECT: Politics and internal armed conflict in Chad. SIGNIFICANCE: Politics and the economy in Chad have long been marred by corruption, discontent and armed and unarmed opposition to the...