Category Archives: Libya
#Mauritania: On The Edge
In April 2012, it seemed that all Mauritania’s sources of discontent were erupting at once. But protests are nothing new in this land where a coup has been the answer to every political ill, whether real or imagined, for decades. Now Mauritania appears to be entering a new phase in its ever-evolving struggle.
Black Tuesday in #Mali – Ansar Dine Attack Tuareg Women in Public
Now they’ve torn it. No man, not even the allegedly brutal soldiers of the Malian army (you remember, the ones 300,000 refugees reportedly fled from in terror?) has apparently raised his hand against a woman in public for sixteen hundred years. For it was in the 4th century that Queen Tin Hinan ruled the tents of this […]
How the Arab World Uses Facebook and Twitter
Social media has been often touted for the role it played in the popular uprisings that have spread across the Arab world since December 2010. Despite the buzz, you may be surprised that only 0.26% of the Egyptian population, 0.1% of the Tunisian population and 0.04% of the Syrian population are active on Twitter. Of […]
#Mauritania Headlines 29 May 2012
A quick round up of news and opinion from Mauritania: Fuel prices have been increased for the fifth time this year. Residents of three villages near Kaédi will be marking this as the date it was announced they will be getting electrical power after waiting more than 50 years. Russia’s envoy for African affairs, Mikhail Margelov, […]
West African “Terror Threat”: After Decades, Anarchy Hasn’t Arrived
While riddled with weak states, West Africa has not become the international terrorist playground some feared it would. That does not mean warnings about extremists should be overlooked however. By Charlie Warren for ISN Security Watch In 1994, journalist Robert Kaplan wrote a controversial Atlantic article, “The Coming Anarchy,” warning of West Africa’s ungoverned spaces, disease-ridden slums, […]
