African Spotlight Spotlighting Africans at Home and Abroad

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta held talks Tuesday with Djibouti President Ismael Omar Guelleh on tackling terrorism during a visit to the Red Sea state, home to the only US army base in Africa. “Djibouti is a central location for continuing the efforts against terrorism,” Panetta said in a speech to around 500 US soldiers at the Camp Lemonier military ...

Far from the uproar of Cairo’s Tahrir Square, Israel has been doubling its efforts to erect a giant, impenetrable security barrier along its 240km border with the Egyptian Sinai. Work on the new border fence began a year ago, in a project initially aimed at stemming the growing tide of economic migrants and asylum seekers from Africa, as well as ...

Several persons seeking compromise means of travelling and settling in parts of Europe and United States of America may have had a travel-made-easy process, as their claim to being gay could brighten their chances of seeking asylum in such countries. Following the recent passage of the Same-Sex Prohibition Bill by the Senate, where a jail sentence of 14 years is ...

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor left Accra Sunday night for Washington DC to receive two separate awards for his exemplery leadership qualities. A statement signed by the former President’s spokesperson, Mr Frank Agyekum, said the first is by the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation which will honour him as ‘Champion of Democracy and Development in Africa,’ at its 10th annual Honours ...

The enshrinement of equal rights for homosexuals into US foreign policy activities has drawn quick ire from African nations, with one senior figure saying the notion is “abhorrent” across the continent. President Obama has instructed officials across government to “ensure that US diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of lesbian, gay, and transgender persons” around the ...