January 25: Nigeria
Militants in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region kidnap three Chinese workers from the offices of the Chinese National Petroleum Company. In recent months, kidnappings increased in the region, resulting in more than 100 hostages. The regional militants say that despite the region’s rich oil deposits, local residents live in poverty. The instability in the region has resulted in a 20 percent loss of government revenue.
February 2: Sudan
Chinese President Hu Jintao pays an official visit to Sudan, where he signs several economic agreements relating to the construction of schools, roads, and a new presidential palace. China currently purchases 400,000 barrels of Sudan’s oil a day, 80 percent of the country’s oil exports. In the past, China financed a 1,000 mile-long pipeline that delivers oil from southern Sudan to Port Sudan on the Red Sea.
February 6: Democratic Republic of Congo
Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga of the Democratic Republic of Congo forms a new government consisting mostly of President Joseph Kabila’s supporters. Kabila was reelected president in October 2006 in the country’s first democratic election. His supporters claim that his victory gives him a mandate to govern without including former rebel leaders.
February 21: Somalia
The UN Security Council approves a resolution to send the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force to Somalia, where government troops and insurgents have been fighting since the withdrawal of Islamic militants last year. So far, however, only Uganda, Burundi, Nigeria, and Ghana have pledged to send soldiers to the mission.
March 1: Africa
Europe’s largest multi-national pharmaceutical company, Sanofi-Aventis, and the non-profit Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDI) launch an innovative, low-cost anti-malaria drug. ASAQ is easy to use and more affordable and efficient in treating the disease than other drugs. The companies promise to make ASAQ available to all patients, and will not patent the drug in order to keep costs down. In Africa, malaria kills more than a million children every year and consumes 25 percent of household incomes.
March 4: Côte Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire’s government and the country’s New Forces rebels sign a power-sharing peace agreement, mediated by Burkina Faso. Under the deal, New Forces leader Guillaume Soro will become prime minister, the north-south buffer zone will be removed, and the joint army command will include both rebels and government supporters.
March 21: Somalia/African Union
Sixteen people die during the heaviest clashes between the Somali government forces and insurgents since the African Union (AU) peacekeepers arrived in Somalia earlier this month. The AU peacekeepers take over from the Ethiopian troops that helped Somalia’s interim government oust the Union of Islamic Courts. The AU intends to send up to 8,000 troops to stabilize Somalia.
March 26: Mauritania
Mauritania’s former cabinet minister Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi wins run-off presidential elections in the country’s fairest democratic elections since its independence in 1960. The elections mark the restoration of civilian rule following a military regime that took power in a 2005 coup. The European Union election observers hail the elections as open and fair.
April 4: Burundi/Kenya/Madagascar
The World Bank grants Burundi, Kenya, and Madagascar $164.5 million to deliver cost-effective high-speed Internet networks aimed at improving the countries’ communication and business competitiveness. Eastern and much of southern Africa are the only regions in the world that are not connected to the global broadband infrastructure but rely on costly satellite services.
April 23: Nigeria
Nigeria declares Umaru Yar’Adua of the ruling People’s Democratic Party the winner in the country’s presidential elections. However, local and foreign observers allege widespread vote rigging. At least 200 people are reported to have been killed during election violence.
April 27: Liberia
The UN Security Council lifts a 2001 ban on the export of diamonds from Liberia on condition that Liberia will have to certify that its diamonds do not come from conflict zones. The UN decision rewards Liberia’s efforts to stabilize the country and control the illegal diamond trade after its civil war. Liberia’s president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has argued that her country needs the profits from diamonds to rebuild its economy.
May 3: Chad/Sudan
The presidents of Sudan and Chad agree to cooperate with the African Union (AU) and the United Nations to form a joint border force and deploy observers to the war-torn Darfur region. Both leaders also agree not to support each other’s rebels. The deal aims to stabilize Darfur and the bordering region in Chad.
May 8: Sudan
Amnesty International issues a report claiming that China and Russia are defying a UN weapons embargo by supplying arms to the Sudanese government for use in Darfur. Both countries deny the accusation.
May 9: Zimbabwe
In Zimbabwe, the government rations electricity, limiting households to four hours of electricity a day in order to help farmers who need power to irrigate their crops. Rampant inflation, which reached 2,200 percent in March, has led to widespread shortages of fuel and food.
May 14: China/Nigeria
China launches the Nigerian Communications Satellite NIGCOMSAT-1 that will offer broadcasting, telecommunications, and broadband Internet services for Africa for fifteen years. The event is the latest in the growing cooperation between China and Africa.
May 24 : Africa
According to a report by Doctors Without Borders, the lack of doctors and nurses in southern Africa increases deaths from HIV/AIDS. Medical professionals, who are underpaid, overworked, and disillusioned, often leave the region, resulting in a very small doctor-to-patient ratio. Some of the solutions include improving working conditions and giving nurses the power to prescribe drugs.
May 29: Sudan
The United States toughens its sanctions against Sudan, protesting the government’s alleged involvement in killings in the region of Darfur. More Sudanese companies and individuals involved in the violence will be barred from trading or banking with the United States. Sudan, however, can still rely on major commercial partners such as China.
June 4: Liberia/Special Court for Sierra Leone
The United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone begins the trial of Liberia’s former president, Charles Taylor. Taylor faces eleven charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over his alleged role in the civil war in Sierra Leone. He is accused of supporting the Sierra Leone rebels who committed widespread atrocities. The trial, which is being held in The Hague, Netherlands, is expected to last up to eighteen months.
June 18: East African Community
The East African Community (EAC) — comprised of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania — admits Rwanda and Burundi as new members. Member-states do not pay duties on goods within the EAC, which is the most significant part of the membership. The EAC plans further economic integration, including a common market and a single currency.
August 1: Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe introduces a 200,000 Zimbabwe dollar note in order to address the country’s uncontrollable inflation. At the official exchange rate, the new note is worth 13 US dollars, but is worth only 1 US dollar on the black market. The note buys 2.2 pounds of sugar. Inflation in Zimbabwe is the highest in the world, reaching an annual rate of 4,500 percent.
August 1: Sudan
The UN Security Council approves a resolution authorizing a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force for Darfur known as the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). Under a joint UN and African Union (AU) mandate, the mission will provide security for civilians and aid workers, and is expected to cost up to $2 billion a year. The first peacekeepers will arrive in Darfur in October. Sudan says it will cooperate with UNAMID.
August 3: Libya
Libya signs a $405 million arms agreement with France to purchase anti-tank missiles and radio communications equipment. It is Libya’s first deal with a Western country since the European Union lifted its embargo on Libya in 2004. France’s president, Nicolas Sarkozy, is accused of using the deal to secure the release of six Bulgarian medics imprisoned in Libya. In response to these accusations, France’s opposition leader calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the negotiations between the two countries.
September 1: Democratic Republic of Congo
Fighting breaks out in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern region of Kivu between government troops and a dissident General Laurent Nkunda’s forces. Nkunda, a Congolese Tutsi, proclaims a state of war, and says he will not support a government that works with Hutus. Tens of thousands of residents from the region flee their homes in order to avoid the fighting.
October 15: Africa
The World Trade Organization (WTO) rules that cotton subsidies to American farmers by the United States government are illegal. Cotton industries in West Africa and Brazil welcome the ruling, saying the subsidies drive down prices, making it difficult for cotton farmers in developing countries to compete.
November 12: South Africa
The South African Institute of Race Relations reports that poverty in South Africa has increased in the last decade. The Institute says that in 1996 there were 1.9 million people living on less that $1 a day. This number increased to 4.2 million in 2005. The report also states that poverty has increased among the white population as well. Despite good economic growth in the country, the government has not managed to lower unemployment, which remains at about 26 percent.
December 10: Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone’s president, Ernest Bai Koroma, announces a plan to turn a 185,000 acre area of endangered rainforest into a national park. The Gola Forest is home to 50 species of mammals and 274 species of birds, some of them near extinction. The government hopes that the national park will boost tourism and help fight climate change.
December 11: Algeria
Two car bombs explode in Algeria’s capital, Algiers, hitting a bus full of students near the supreme constitutional court, as well as United Nations buildings in another part of town. More than 40 people are killed. Al Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM), Al Qaeda’s North Africa branch, takes responsibility for the attack. Throughout 2007, Algeria has witnessed an upsurge in terrorist attacks. A triple suicide attack in Algiers in April, also claimed by AQLIM, killed 33 people.
December 31: Sudan
The United Nations takes over the peacekeeping operation in Sudan’s troubled region of Darfur, replacing the African Union mission. The operation, called UNAMID, is supposed to be 26,000 troops strong. So far, however, the UNAMID has a little over 6,800 troops. The mission’s chief, Rodolphe Adada, calls for the donor countries to send more troops as soon as possible.