Mugabe at 88: Five Zimbabwean Politicians To Watch in 2012
AS Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe turns 88, he faces the challenge of coming up with a viable successor who commands enough influence within Zanu PF ranks and Zimbabwe’s highly influential security establishment to maintain control of the state apparatus.
5 Reasons Why Mugabe Needs an Election More Than Ever
As he nears the end of his eighth term in office with a weakened ruling party and a stronger, though divided opposition, Mugabe realizes that without an election, there is no clear way of guaranteeing the transition of power within his Zanu PF party nor the security of his private family assets.
Ousted Tunisian leader Ben Ali’s 34 cars and 48 yachts are seized
Further evidence of the extent of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali’s wide-reaching financial empire has been revealed after police reportedly seized dozens of luxury items and company shares belonging to the ousted Tunisian leader.
Equatorial Guinea: France impounds African autocrats’ ‘ill-gotten gains’
At 42 Avenue Foch, the tree-lined boulevard that is one of Paris’s most expensive streets, looms a five-storey private mansion complete with disco, spa room, hair salon, gold- and jewel-encrusted taps, lift, pastel pink dining room and a breathtaking balcony-view of the Arc de Triomphe.
Court confirms legality of freezing Mubarak family assets
An Egyptian court of appeal on Thursday ruled in favor of the government’s decision to freeze assets belonging to toppled President Hosni Mubarak and his family members.
Flying With Gems: AirZim Receives First Airbus Jet
Air Zimbabwe today received the first of three Airbus jets acquired from the French aircraft giant through a controversial deal that opposition partners in the Zimbabwe government have sought to distance themselves from. The airline, which is currently struggling to pay its pilots and engineers, spend several hundred millions of dollars on the acquisition, aimed at [...]
King’s 12th wife thrown out of royal household
Daniel Howden – The twelfth wife of King Mswati III has accused Africa’s last absolute monarch of throwing her out of Swaziland’s royal household after imprisoning her for a year over an alleged affair with a government minister.
Congo Loses Billions in Asset Sales: British MP
A British lawmaker has accused the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government of selling off some of the country’s mining assets for an estimated $5.5-billion (U.S.) below the market value, largely through offshore shell companies that hide the new owners.
Guide to U.S. Campaign Finance: ProPublica
Super-PACs and Dark Money: ProPublica’s Guide to the New World of Campaign Finance by Kim Barker and Marian Wang ProPublica, July 11, 2011, 1:38 p.m. The nation is gearing up for yet another “most expensive election in history,” the quadrennial exercise in which mind-numbing amounts of money pour into the political system. But this year [...]
Dirty Dictator Loot
Obama talks tough, but the U.S. remains a haven for the ill-gotten gains of bloodthirsty despots. In this week’s Newsweek, Philip Shenon looks at the uncomfortable, often overlooked fact that the U.S. remains as much a haven for the loot of bloodthirsty foreign despots as Switzerland, Dubai, the Cayman Islands, and the other international banking centers that usually take blame for stashing autocrats’ dirty money. THE DAILY BEAST
Algeria on the edge as Mubarak’s regime collapses, promises to repeal emergency law
Thousands of police are reportedly being drafted into the Algerian capital ahead of planned pro-democracy marches, opposition groups have said.
Mubarak’s assets estimated at $80bn
President Hosni Mubarak’s family fortune could be as much as $70bn (£43.5bn) according to analysis by Middle East experts, with much of his wealth in British and Swiss banks or tied up in real estate in London, New York, Los Angeles and along expensive tracts of the Red Sea coast.