Heavy rains are causing the Zambezi and the Shire to flood.
Here’s a BBC report:
The Malawian government is warning people to relocate from flood-prone areas, but many have been reluctant to leave their farms.
Category: africa
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Breakfast talk
This Newsweek column on Barack Obama made me wonder how high the chances are that he’ll be elected by mainstream America.
Questions like “Is Obama a Muslim?” are already part of the debate. But apart from his religious affiliation, does he really stand a chance?
- Kenyan father
- Indonesian stepfather
- foreign name
- growing up in Indonesia
Another recurring question is
“Who has the better qualifications to lead the world’s only superpower?”Besides his formal qualifications, Obama argues that his personal history will help understand foreign affairs.
I agree with the Newsweek columnist that living outside of Europe and North America changes perspectives and helps to see things from different angles. The author lists examples such as Zalmay Khalizad and Henry Kissinger.
Whatever the outcome, it will be interesting to follow Obama’s campaign.
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IHT: The 53 places to go in 2008
The International Herald Tribune writes:
29. MALAWI
Blame Madonna. Safarigoers tended to overlook Malawi, but that has changed since she began her effort to adopt a 1-year-old boy from this tiny African country that lies within the Great Rift Valley. Next July, the luxury lodge Pumulani (www.pumulani.com) is set to open 10 villas on spectacular Lake Malawi, home to rare cichlids and pied kingfishers.
All listed in the NYT
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Search phrases
I saw this search phrase in my blog stats:
was idi amin involved in movie production?
errr…
“The Last King of Scotland” is based on a fictional book by Giles Foden and is a US and UK production with Forest Whitaker in the main role.
See also this Wikipedia page on Idi Amin.
And this IHT article.
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The van der Post trail
Found this interesting read at Times Online:
A voyage round my fatherA daughter follows her father’s footsteps to Mount Mulanje.
Page three of the article includes travel tips.
Malawi is Africa as it once was, so there are no vast luxurious holiday compounds and few sumptuous lodges to insulate you from the masses.
Here are a couple of links on the book “Venture to the Interior” by Laurens van der Post: 1 2
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African Web 2.0 Sites
White African has listed some company logos here.
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Ant hill phone booth
Remember I wrote about the villagers in northern Malawi that climb an ant hill to get GSM reception?
Looks like Soyapi saved the newspaper article and passed it on to Mike:
(Insert comment on power of blogging, impossible is nothing, etc.)
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Bush League
Interesting read:
Cy on his Malawi experiences
The contrast between rural and urban areas in Malawi is huge. I remember an article I read (probably The Nation or The Daily Times) during my last stay, on how people in a remote village in the northern region near Rumphi can get reception for their mobile phones if they climb a certain ant hill. There was a photo of a group of people with a solar panel. And somebody was quoted as saying how this is improving communication with family members all over the world.
(BTW, if anybody in Malawi remembers this article and has access to the archives, I’d appreciate a digital copy. Should be an issue in Feb or March 2007… i’m asking for the impossible)
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Chinese Business in Africa
Howard French, senior writer at the New York Times on:
New Power in Africa: Entrepreneurs From China Flourish in Africa