Yesterday, Jacob Zuma, was sworn in as South Africa’s President. What is instructive is the peaceful transition that South Africans have allowed themselves. Whereas peaceful transitions should be the norm, this has been a rare occurrence in most of Africa.
Transfer of power has in most cases in post-colonial Africa been a violent affair; in the form of military coups or civil war. Despite its history of racial tension and apartheid, South Africans have since 1994, and on many occasions demonstrated a high level of political maturity as evidenced by the …

Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Monday he would pay close attention to religious sensibilities in his new role as NATO chief in comments aimed at allaying Muslim concern at his appointment.
Turkey had threatened to veto the former Danish prime minister’s appointment over his handling of a 2006 crisis triggered by cartoons of Prophet Mohammad in a Danish newspaper.
His comments at an Istanbul conference on Monday fell short of the outright apology which Turkish officials had hoped for.

The US and its European allies are ­preparing to plant a high-profile figure in the heart of the Kabul government in a direct challenge to the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, the Guardian has learned.
The creation of a new chief executive or prime ministerial role is aimed at bypassing Karzai. In a further dilution of his power, it is proposed that money be diverted from the Kabul government to the provinces. Many US and European officials have become disillusioned with the extent of the corruption and incompetence in the Karzai government, …

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin rejected the rumors about the possibility of a new currency to appear in the world, RIA Novosti reports. Putin also urged not to compare the current crisis in the USA with the Great Depression.
“There are rumors of a new currency that is going to appear in the world already this summer. It’s going to be neither the dollar, nor the euro, but something different,” an unemployed woman told Putin when he was visiting an employment center in the Moscow region.
“Those are just rumors. The US …

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said on Thursday his government had expelled 10 foreign aid agencies and vowed to act “decisively” but responsibly against those who threaten his country’s stability.
“We will act as a responsible government,” he told a session of the country’s top politicians and cabinet members in his first public response after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him over war crimes in Darfur.

Guinea-Bissau’s National Assembly speaker Raimundo Pereira has won parliament approval to replace the West African nation’s slain leader.
Lawmakers voted on Tuesday to uphold the constitution and automatically give the speaker the post of interim president on Monday following the assassination of President Joao Bernardo Vieira near his home.
“We have just applied the constitution in choosing the parliament speaker as interim head of state,” head of the majority PAIGC party’s group in parliament, Antonia Mendes Pexeira, told reporters.

It’s something few people can tell Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez: stop talking.
Chavez, whose speeches often stretch five hours or more, said on Sunday his doctor told him to stay quiet for three days to help a sore throat.
“I am a little affected by the intensive, continuous and permanent use of this cannon I’ve got here and the doctor has told me not to talk,” Chavez said to audience laughter.
Chavez immediately responded that silence was not the best medicine for him.

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe is preparing to celebrate his 85th birthday at a lavish party paid for by his supporters.
They have raised $250,000 (£176,000) for the event, being held in Chinhoyi, north-west of the capital, Harare.
The new prime minister, former opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, is expected to be attending.
The event comes days after Zimbabwe asked other African countries for $2bn (£1.4bn) to rescue its failing economy.
Mr Mugabe turned 85 on 21 February but his party is being held a week later.

It is one of the most powerful and dangerous jobs in the world and, for decades, foreign politicians, academics and spies have speculated over who will one day succeed to it. It brings with it absolute power over 24 million people, the command of a fanatical, nuclear-equipped army of a million men and a brutal state security apparatus. And yesterday the man who is likely to inherit it emerged from the shadows – a little-known 25-year-old with a European education and fondness for sushi, German cars and baseball.
Reports from …

Binyamin Netanyahu described Iran as the greatest threat that Israel has ever faced and failed to mention stalled talks with the Palestinians after he was asked to be the country’s new Prime Minister today.
In a speech made outside the residence of President Shimon Peres, the Likud leader said that protecting Israel would be his greatest responsibility as leader, and condemned “formidable” challenges posed by the Islamic Republic.
However, he did not once mention the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process or a two-state solution throughout his address, omissions that will cause concern within …