Resolution 1973, the UN Security Council resolution that implemented a no-fly zone over Libya, has been passed against the backdrop of a complex web of interests.

One might have gotten the impression that the wave of democratization which started in Tunisia and quickly spread to Egypt was destined to sweep through the entire region, leaving nothing an autocratic resonance autocracy in its wake.

While official results from the referendum in Sudan will not be revealed until sometime in February, it has become somewhat of a foregone conclusion that Africa’s largest country is on the verge of splitting.

The ascent of Ghana as an oil exporter will shift the energy landscape in Africa, potentially heralding in a new era of development in the West African state.

The al-Shabab attack on World Cup revelers in Uganda three weeks ago has served as a wake-up call for African Union leaders.

In the wake of last week’s highly symbolic though hollowed-out election in Sudan, the question on everyone’s mind is no longer whether or not the south will secede in 2011, but how bloody their secession will be.

Despite its accusations of “genocide” in Darfur and an outbreak of violence in oil-rich Abyei, the US is negotiating with Sudan to normalize diplomatic relations. 

China is selling small arms to Sudan, which are used in the Darfur conflict to maim and kill civilians, in exchange for access to Sudanese oil. The violence in Darfur will continue as long as China continues its oil-for-weapons trade with Sudan.