Africa
Jestina Mukoko abducted in Zimababwe
Jestina Mukoko, a prominent journalist and executive director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, was abducted from her home in Norton about 40km from the captial Harare by “15 men in plain clothes” yesterday, according to the African Press Organization, “Everything must be done to secure the swift release of Jestina Mukoko and to ensure her […]
Thinking of going to Somalia?
Well if you are, Rob has some sage advice… and be sure to read the comments. Frontline bloggers David and Alex both blogged from Somalia earlier this year. I hope they don’t go back for a while. Not sure my nerves could take it.
Update on the Amanda Lindhout kidnap in Somalia
Amanda Lindhout and Nigel Brennan are safe and still being held in Somalia according to Reporters Without Borders. The two journalists were kidnapped in August along with their Somali fixers. A ransom deadline, for an alleged $2.5 million, passed a month ago. “What we can confirm is they are fine, in the same place and […]
Clifford Derrick reporting Kenyan election violence
Video journalist Clifford Derrick talks to The Mail & Guardian about how he reported the election violence in Kenya that began on December 27, 2007, He decided to set up base in the slums to record the story. It was a distinctly dangerous choice. “On three occasions cops threatened me. One came up and said […]
Contact with Somalia kidnappers
AFP reports that contact between the authorities in Puntland, Somalia and the kidnappers of one British and one Spanish journalist in Bosasso has been made, “The kidnappers are asking for a ransom, but we refuse negotiations. We just want them to be released,” [Bossaso Governor Musa Gueleh Yusuf] said without elaborating. “We are not giving […]
LIVE event: Gideon Mendel – Looking AIDS in the face
Award winning photographer Gideon Mendel has documented the impact of HIV/Aids in Africa for more than 12 years. He’ll be discussing his work at the Frontline Club tonight. If you can’t make it in person, do please join us online at 7.30pm UK time tonight Wed 26th November on the Frontline Club live channel, Tonight, […]
2 foreign journalists kidnapped in Somalia
Two freelance journalists, presumed to be British, are reported kidnapped by police in the northern Puntland region of Somalia earlier today, “I think both the journalists are British but we shall investigate … we are sending police to free them,” Puntland’s police spokesman Abshir Said Jama told Reuters. link via BreakingNewsOn. A report from AP […]
Kate Peyton inquest kicks off
The inquiry into the death of Kate Peyton, the BBC producer who was gunned down outside the Sahafi Hotel in Mogadishu in February 2005, opens today, Ms Peyton’s sister, Rebecca, an actress who lives in Brixton, south London, said: “All the journalists we’ve spoken to who have been to Somalia or who know about it […]
Mike Saburi wins Mohamed Amin Award
Mike Saburi, a freelance journalist working in Zimbabwe has won the 2008 Mohamed Amin Award for his work in Zimbabwe, “For the last 12 months Zimbabwe has been at the forefront of the international news agenda once again,” Amin said. “Covering this difficult story has meant that many journalists had to work under harrowing conditions […]
The Amanda Lindhout kidnap story
As other journalist kidnap stories take the limelight, the case of Amanda Lindhout and her four fellow kidnap victims in Somalia has slipped off the radar. Macleans publish a time line today of what is known in the case. In the four page article Ken Menkhaus talks about his time in Somalia some three years […]
Our man in Goma
The Ihusi Hotel, Goma I’m finding it pretty tough to pity Rob out in Goma at the moment. I know hotels can get a bit a dull a bit quickly, but come on Rob… Mustn’t grumble, ehh?
Congo – Condition Critical
[video:youtube:I-LJEdCiMEc] Médecins Sans Frontières launch their Congo – Condition Critical campaign this Thursday. Last week I did some training for the folks at the MSF offices in London and promised to give this very worthwhile campaign a push here. If you can help MSF get the word out, please do pass on the video and […]
Donations for David Axe
Frontline blogger David Axe is heading to the Horn of Africa again and is looking for donations, Six months ago my readers contributed nearly $2,000 to help me fund a month reporting from Central Africa. This time around I’m asking for $3,000 to help jump-start my piracy coverage. Donations will help pay for air fare, […]
Thomas Scheen freed
Belgian journalist Thomas Scheen, who was kidnapped by Mai Mai militia in the DRC earlier this week, has been released after being held captive for three days, “We thank all those in Germany, Belgium and Congo who worked intensively over the past days for the release of Thomas Scheen and his co-workers, especially the German […]
Radio journalist killed in Congo
Alfred Nzonzo Bitwahiki is reportedly among 20 killed in a battle for control of Kiwanja in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The Radio Racou journalist was confirmed killed by Human Rights Watch. The International Federation of Journalists has released a statement condemning the killing, “Our colleagues covering the conflict in the eastern part of the […]
Thomas Scheen kidnapped in Congo
Thomas Scheen has been named as the Belgian journalist kidnapped by the Mai Mai in the village of Mabenga in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sheen works for the German daily, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, “Contacts have been opened with people involved or able to help with his release,” he added. The abduction happened in […]
Click for Congo
Janeen Heath at the Pulitzer Center argues for keeping Congo in the headlines now that the US election is over and violence in the DRC has escalated yet again. However, as she argues in her post on the Untold Stories blog, space for international news coverage in general and in the US in particular is […]
Belgian journalist seized
A Belgian journalist has been kidnapped by the Mai Mai in Mabenga, 70km north of Goma in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, In nearby village of Mabenga, a Belgian journalist working for a German newspaper was kidnapped by the Mai Mai late Tuesday along with his assistant and three rebel fighters, […]
Journalists at Liberia Truth and Reconciliation hearings
This week Robin White, the former Editor of the BBC World Service’s daily English programmes for Africa, testified at the ongoing Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Thematic hearings following the war in Liberia, [White said] he had no knowledge whether his interviews of rebel leaders during the Liberian conflict helped to fuel the civil conflict. […]
Understanding Congo
[video:youtube:NC8GzpcVY_o] Fred’s put together an excellent post detailing the background to the conflict in North Kivu in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The situation in Goma is tense, as can be seen in the Sky News report above. To get a flavour of how this feels on the ground take a look at Samantha’s […]
Background to the crisis in North Kivu
Recent turbulence in the financial market is a reminder that economic stability is heavily reliant on collective perceptions and ‘market confidence’. So it is with security, and nowhere is this more evident than in a so-called fragile state like the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is plummeting into a different kind of recession. The seemingly […]
Five car bombs hit Hargeisa and Bosasso
A total of five “VERY VERY BIG” car bombs have reportedly hit Somaliland. Three targetted the Puntland Intelligence Service in Bossasso, another at the UNDP office and one at the Elections Commission. The two other bombs reportedly targetted the Ethiopian embassy in Hargeisa’ Somaliland. There are unconfirmed reports that 3 people were killed and 8 […]
Reuters report from Goma
[video:youtube:kirA-0BEDU0] Marlene Rabaud and Nina Schwendemann have put together an excellent report on the situation in Goma. It dates from yesterday and this story is moving fast, but it’s still worth a look. The ten minute report frames this week’s violence in Goma in the recent past relating it to the different interest groups involved. […]
Taxi ride Namibia style
BBC News website reader Henk Dop took this photo in central Namibia where he says Toyota Hilux 4×4 vehicles are popular.
Somalia kidnap deadline looms
The ransom deadline reportedly set by the kidnappers of journalists Amanda Lindhout, Nigel Brennan and their fixer Abdifatah Mohammed Elmi and driver Mahad Clise looms today reports the National Post. The kidnappers are reported to have asked for $2.5 million, but “a travel writer who met Ms. Lindhout last year in Afghanistan says he’s optimistic […]
Thousands flee as Goma flares
[video:youtube:3sRxXiBNQSI] Michael Kavanagh is one of a small group of journalists in Goma, the provincial capital of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on the border with Rwanda. Violence flared yesterday when protesters pelted the UN compound in Goma with stones, “We’re on alert,” Murthy said. “We’re not sure what’s in store for the future, […]
Jonathan Elendu held in Nigeria
Jonathan Elendu, an online journalist based in Michigan, has been detained by security forces since he arrived in Nigeria on October 17, say Reporters Without Borders. Elendu publishes the online publication Elendu Reports. The journalist recently wrote about the economic and ecological disaster happening in the Niger delta and where the documentary filmaker Andrew Berends […]
15 day threat to Somalia kidnap victims
According to a report from Press TV Iran’s correspondent in Mogadishu, the two journalists kidnapped in Somalia on August 23 – Amanda Lindhout and Nigel Brennan – will be killed if a $2.5 million ransom is not paid within 15 days. The National Union of Somali Journalists released a statement calling for the release of […]
Welcome to Khartoum
[video:youtube:uA3FOuo8iDo] The reassuring voice of air traffic control as you land in Khartoum International Airport courtesy of Blake Evans-Pritchard, “I must apologise for the time it took for us to taxi across the runway,†announced the pilot once we had touched down in Khartoum’s airport – already, his voice was dripping with sarcasm. “There were […]
Zimbabwe – There is no freedom after expression
Memorable quote from Davison Maruziva, the editor of the Independent Zimbabwean newspaper, in the IHT today, Davison Maruziva says there’s plenty of freedom of expression in Zimbabwe. Problem is: “There is no freedom after expression.” link The article goes on to discuss the state of the media in the beleagured nation and quotes Zimbabwe Information […]