By Michel Rocard
PARIS – We live in a time of progress and folly. From bullet trains to the Mars rover, humanity has an insatiable appetite for pushing boundaries and breaking records. But, while radical ambition can drive progress, it can also fuel recklessness and large-scale devastation, as we see today in Iraq, Syria, Gaza, western China, and elsewhere. In an age of extremes, how can peace be achieved?
By Carlos Lopes
On August 19th, like every night, Africa’s creative talent was showcased across the continent. In Cape Town, South African opera stars Andiswa Kedama and Pauline Malefane’s voices captivated audiences while they perform U-Carmen eKhayelitsha, a Xhosa adaptation of Bizet’s famous opera. In Agadez, internationally acclaimed guitarist and songwriter Bombino, dubbed the next Jimi Hendrix, mesmerized an audience with his music and lyrics for change. In Accra, more than 30,000 people danced the night away at a concert of Nigeria’s famous hip-hop duo, P-Square. Similar excitement occurred in Luanda as Big Nelo and C4 Pedro take the stage. In Dar es Saalam, 28-year old fashion designer Anisa Mpungwe, showcased her creations – probably by the coming weeks she will do the same in New York. In Kinshasa, crowds gathered to appreciate the paintings and sculptures created by award winning artist Rhode Bath-Schéba Makoumbou. Households across the continent were glued to their television screens watching Egyptian or Nollywood movies as were Africans in the diaspora.
IGAD slams death of its ceasefire monitor in South Sudan
The conflicting parties of South Sudan today signed the Implementation Matrix of the Cessation of Hostilities agreement and it’s addition at the ongoing 27th Extraordinary Session of the IGAD Assembly of Heads of State and Government on the situation in South Sudan in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, IGAD secretariat said.
