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April 12, 2013 News

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Continue reading for stories including the opportunity internet offers youth in Africa, increasing foreign investment in infrastructure, Mozambique to meet with a delegation from Renamo, France's operation in Mali, Boko Haram rejecting the prospect of amnesty, and photos documenting changes occurring throughout Africa.

African youth hungry for connectivity
"For millions of unemployed yet tech-savvy youth across Africa, increased connectivity is bringing tremendous opportunities. By tapping into the continent's growing digital revolution, young entrepreneurs are using information and communications technology (ICT) to boost their own prospects.

"ICT brings tremendous opportunity" to Africa's youth, argues Ahmed Alfi, chief executive officer of Sawari Ventures, a venture capital firm in Egypt that focuses on new technology. "With software development, there's nowhere else you'll start with a thousand dollars and end with a million. It's one of the few times in history those types of returns are available," he told Africa Renewal..."
To read the full article, visit the Africa Renewal site here. 

Building Africa From The Ground Up
"International construction companies may be suffering from the economic downturn in Europe and North America but investment has never been greater in Africa. In common with any time over the past three years, the port sector continues to attract massive investment. Rising trade volumes and growing economic confidence are driving growth, while also underpinning a renaissance in road and rail construction..."
To read the full article, visit the African Business Magazine site here. 

Mozambique Government to Hold Talks With Rebels
"Mozambique's government has announced that it will meet a delegation from the ex-rebel group Renamo on Friday, amid threats of violence that echo the country's brutal civil war.

A spokesman for the defense ministry said the interior minister, Alberto Mondlane, would receive a Renamo delegation following the attacks between the former civil war foes in the central province of Sofala last week that left seven people dead, including four police officers..."
To read the full article, visit the AllAfrica site here.

The campaign stretches out
"The official version is that France's Mali operation has achieved all its objectives – the expulsion of jihadist forces from main northern towns and the destruction of several bases in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains – apart from the rescue of seven hostages still held in the region. This week the withdrawal began, with 100 or so French soldiers going home. France had airlifted 4,000 troops to Mali and sent another 2,000 from its bases in Chad and Côte d'Ivoire. Initially, French President François Hollande's government had said that all French troops would be out after elections were organised: they are scheduled for July. However, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who has been sceptical about the operation from the start, announced on a 5 April visit to Bamako that France would maintain a 'support force' of 1,000 soldiers in Mali on a 'permanent basis'. This was France's first public commitment to a long-term military presence. It was more forceful coming from the cautious Fabius rather than the more bullish Defence Minister, Jean-Yves le Drian... "
To read the full article, visit the Africa Confidential site here.

Nigeria: Boko Haram - We've Done Nothing Wrong To Warrant Amnesty
"Boko Haram, the Islamic terrorist group that has killed about 4,000 people since 2009 when it began its campaign of terror, for the second time in one week, threw a spanner in the works of a committee set up to consider amnesty for its members as it rejected the amnesty deal being worked out by the federal government.

But in a reaction to the Islamic sect's rejection of amnesty for its members, former Nigerian Ambassador to Switzerland, Yahaya Kwande, who was also part of the Northern Elders' Forum (NEF) that met and pleaded with President Goodluck Jonathan last week to grant Boko Haram amnesty, advised the federal government not to go back on its bid to explore the amnesty option despite its rejection by the sect's members..."
To read the full article, visit the AllAfrica site here.

Africa Is a Great Country
"Some see Africa's "rise" as a myth, others a reality. But it's hard to ignore the fact that the continent is changing rapidly. At 6 percent, Africa's GDP growth rate has surpassed that of Asia — making it the world's fastest-growing continent and a promising target for emerging-market investors. As the Economist noted in 2011 in its issue on "Africa rising," roughly 40 percent of Africans now live in cities, compared with 30 percent a generation ago. That percentage is expected to rise to 50 percent by 2025.

Yet despite this promising trajectory, the modern, urban, and thriving Africa is not the one we usually see — a reality that Swedish photographer Jens Assur is hoping to change with a new collection of photographs. "In Sweden, we see only two types of pictures from Africa," Assur tells FP. "It's either war, famine, and HIV, or pretty lions on the savanna. I know, because I have myself contributed to those images, being a photo journalist in the 90s," he adds..."
To read the full article and view the photos, visit the Foreign Policy site here.

Related Program

Africa Program

The Africa Program works to address the most critical issues facing Africa and US-Africa relations, build mutually beneficial US-Africa relations, and enhance knowledge and understanding about Africa in the United States. The Program achieves its mission through in-depth research and analyses, public discussion, working groups, and briefings that bring together policymakers, practitioners, and subject matter experts to analyze and offer practical options for tackling key challenges in Africa and in US-Africa relations.    Read more