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The completion of the Tekeze hydro-power project in Ethiopia ushers in a new source of renewable energy, educational opportunities and economic development for the people of Ethiopia

On the first Thursday in December a young Danish-Somali man in women’s clothes blew himself up in a suicide attack in Mogadishu. Four days earlier, Somali pirates had hijacked a 300,000-tonne supertanker 800 miles out to sea. Somalia’s abject failure does not end at its own borders: the chaos is spreading far across its frontiers and beyond its coastline.

China flexed its growing political muscle to seal a compromise climate deal that protected its national sovereignty, but did little for global warming or Beijing's international image.

Technological advances in rice production have enabled China to feed an additional 60 million people per year since 1978, while investments in agriculture by farmers in Niger have revitalised an estimated 5 million hectares of land and improved access to food for at least 1 million people.

Its historic visit or is it? The current visit of DDS officials in Europe has created quite some excitement in the Somali State Diaspora community, both the pro-government and the Opposition. Whether they are in Europe, in the Scandinavian, or in North America, the Diaspora community was engaged in a lively heated debate since the first day the DDS officials led by Abdifatax Sheikh Abdullahi, head of the ruling party SPDP, landed in Stockholm, Sweden. Before the DDS officials left the country, they were not sure what to expect from the Diaspora community. They had some serious reservation and some were even fearful of the encounter. The Diaspora community was also divided: the opposition was up in arms and even went as far as calling for their heads, while the majority was confused and didn’t know what to do. They were absorbed in self debate; whether to meet or not to meet with these officials. The majority were willing to listen but didn’t want to give the impression of supporting what some believed were irresponsible and deficient leaders. Both sides were hopeful of the encounter but didn’t have any clue how it will play out or the outcome. On the other side, were the Ethiopian embassies in Stockholm, Sweden and London, working tirelessly to host conferences and meetings between the communities and the officials without any embarrassments. The goal of the trip was first and foremost, to expose the DDS officials to both their critics and supporters. The second goal was to engage, inform and win the hearts and souls of the Diaspora community which has significant impact on the Somali regional government-socially and politically. The third goal was to open and create a doubt in the minds of the Diaspora community about the ONLF, an armed group currently engaged in the region.

It is a good read out on the political situation of the Somali region but there are some corrections I would like to make, based on my reading of the situation. I also want to raise a few questions that may incite a further discussion.

By MICHAEL SCHERER AND JEFF ISRAELY, L'AQUILA Time Magazine. There was a time when eight was enough: the annual meetings of the leaders of the world's eight most industrialized nations (well, seven, plus Russia, which while lagging well behind in the economic stakes was deemed a politically wise addition back in the mid-1990s) were once the unquestioned epicenter of global economic and military might. The G-8 summits staged in scenic spots around the world offered opportunities for the key leaders of the northern hemisphere to chart the direction of the world economy, and for thousands of protesters to gather and quixotically challenge that direction amid clouds of tear gas.

By COLLINS WANDERI MANY JOURNALISTS SEEM to support the idea of Kenya sending its armed forces to Somalia to fight the Al-Shabaab. Go to war over what and why? What dispute does Kenya have with the militia or the Somali citizens who support it?

If only we could get our politics right, there are rich opportunities that beckon quite simply because of the strategic position Kenya occupies. Uganda and Rwanda are already captive markets, judging from the volume of trade we do with them.

Political space is a realm in which opinions are exchanged between persons and persons, person and the public or the public and the government. According to Jurgan Habermess, it is a space where citizens could participate politically in their community through rational critical discourse. Moreover, political space is a sphere where people come together to form a public whose reason would work as a check to the state. Generally speaking, political space is a sphere where citizens, individually or in group, participate in all affairs of their country that directly or in-directly affect/influence them.