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Published: 01 December, 2008

Former president of Botswana Festus Mogae was awarded the second Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership in a ceremony in Alexandria, Egypt. Mr Mogae was cited for his successes in expanding the Botswanan economy and in reducing the country’s HIV/Aids rate.

59cm

The possible rise in sea levels this century, according to the United Nations Panel on Climate Change. The UNPCC convened 187 nations in Poznan, Poland, in preparation for the creation of an international treaty on climate change in Copenhagen in 2009.

$100

China’s 2010 target for Sino-African trade, up from $39.7bn in 2005. China has also more than doubled the number of tariff-free import items from its African partners, to more than 440.

A seat at the table
With south Africa’s membership of the Brics, the continent now has formal representation amongst the world’s leading emerging markets
Traffic control
West Africa has emerged as a major hub for trans-Atlantic drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe, prompting warnings that the region could Mirror countries such as Mexico
Regional Ambitions
Plans to create a “Grand Free Trade Area” covering half of Africa could mark an important step towards strengthening the continent’s international competitiveness, but some suggest it may be overambitious
The price of stalemate
The breakdown of security caused by the ongoing conflict in Libya is raising concerns over the influence of Al Qaeda’s North African branch in the region’s leading oil producer
The illusion of strategy
The large scale of Indian corporate forays into Africa masks a relatively small and parochial diplomatic approach from New Delhi. However, the impact of the new wave of investors should not be dismissed

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