http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/ from www.independent.co.uk en-GB Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:52:17 +0100 http://www.typepad.com/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/08/africa-unscra-2.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/08/africa-unscra-2.html By Steve Bloomfield I need a new phone. In fact, I've needed one for a long time. Bits of gaffer tape are holding it together, the battery lasts about an hour and now I'm having trouble hearing people at the... Africa Unscrambled Steve Bloomfield Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:28:16 +0100 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/08/africa-unscra-1.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/08/africa-unscra-1.html By Steve Bloomfield Africa is in the midst of its second mobile phone revolution. The first stage, which is still on-going in most countries, saw mobile phone usage shoot up across the continent (from 7.5m in 1999 to 76m five... Africa Unscrambled Steve Bloomfield Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:35:24 +0100 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/08/africa-unscramb.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/08/africa-unscramb.html By Steve Bloomfield How many people have died in Darfur? It depends who you ask. And how you ask it. The Sudanese government once claimed it was 9,000, now they admit to 10,000. The UN once said it was 200,000,... Africa Unscrambled Steve Bloomfield Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:44:57 +0100 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/07/africa-unscra-3.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/07/africa-unscra-3.html By Steve Bloomfield Marere doesn't feel like Somalia, at least not the Somalia of Black Hawk Down, warlords, and endless bloody violence. Nestled in the lower Juba valley, 20kms from the town of Jilib, it is a series of small... Africa Unscrambled Steve Bloomfield Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:01:14 +0100 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/07/africa-unscra-2.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/07/africa-unscra-2.html By Steve Bloomfield It’s all gone quiet in Khartoum. After days of feverish speculation and doomsday scenarios that Omar al-Bashir would unleash the dogs of war on aid workers, peacekeepers and Darfur’s displaced if he were indicted… nothing happened. Not... Africa Unscrambled Steve Bloomfield Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:21:24 +0100 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/07/africa-unscra-1.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/07/africa-unscra-1.html By Steve Bloomfield It hadn't rained for weeks. Not properly, anyway. But on Friday night it made up for lost time. Within about half an hour of the first raindrops the streets were flooded. Roads became raging rivers, waves crashing... Africa Unscrambled Steve Bloomfield Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:47:13 +0100 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/07/africa-unscramb.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/07/africa-unscramb.html By Steve Bloomfield Mia Farrow, unlike many of the prominent Darfur activists, cannot be accused of not spending time in the field (when was your last visit, Matt Damon?). She has visited Darfur and Chad on countless occasions and has... Africa Unscrambled Steve Bloomfield Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:39:00 +0100 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/06/africa-unscra-2.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/06/africa-unscra-2.html By Steve Bloomfield There may well be more fruitless jobs in the world than "Darfur peace negotiator", but if so, I can't think of one. Jan Eliasson and Salim Ahemd Salim, the UN and AU envoys, never had much of... Africa Unscrambled Steve Bloomfield Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:22:00 +0100 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/06/africa-unscra-1.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/06/africa-unscra-1.html By Steve Bloomfield Abazar, a Sudanese singer I met in Darfur earlier this month, faces the sort of challenges few British musicians have to deal with. His political lyrics are vetted, and often banned, by Sudan's music monitoring committee while... Africa Unscrambled Steve Bloomfield Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:49:00 +0100 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/06/china-in-sudan.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/06/china-in-sudan.html By Steve Bloomfield So just how influential is China's role in Sudan? China buys Sudan's oil, builds up its infrastructure and sells them the odd Fantan. Western governments have blamed the Chinese for watering down UN resolutions criticising Sudan and... Africa Unscrambled Steve Bloomfield Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:01:00 +0100