My Africa Today

PAJERO is one of those names which "built" the Mitsubishi fame and reputation. Throughout the years it went from a strict off-roader to an SUV but always with serious 4x4 abilities. The latest generation makes no exception and the 3 diamonds brand decided to show it a little love through a limited edition called "EXCEED".

The image of the Pajero has always been strong and safe, this special edition intends to improve the overall quality feel through classic body colors (Black Mica - White Pearl), a slightly modified front grille and, the cherry on top, a new Satellite Navigation System featuring a 30GB hard disk drive, 7 inches monitor and compatible with the Japanese Digital Television called 1Seg, a sweet addition for those who want to enjoy their favorite medias in the middle of nowhere.

The excellent 3 litre V6, 4 speeds auto gearbox and all wheel drive system are of course all there, the price tag of 3.696.000yen, not too far from the price of a standard version makes it a very interesting offer for all our Japanese friends.

Double Your Gas Mileage! 2X - video powered by Metacafe

Until September 1972, there was only one Magic Roundabout and it was a children's television programme featuring Dougal the dog, a hippy rabbit called Dylan and the spring-loaded Zebedee.

Then a revolutionary idea (in more ways than one) which had been tested in Colchester, Essex, was also tested on Swindon's County Ground Roundabout. Until then the area had been a motorist's nightmare which routinely failed to handle the volume of traffic which converged on it from five directions.

The documentary, directed by Hubert Sauper, focuses on the area surrounding Lake Victoria in the African country of Tanzania. The lake has been over-run by the Nile Perch, a large fresh-water fish that was accidentally introduced 50 years ago. This has created a huge supply of fish for export to Europe, which has made a few businessmen quite wealthy and provided jobs for many of the people who live around the like. But the species has decimated the eco-system, including the smaller fish that used to provide much of the food for Tanzania's population. And because Europeans can pay much more for the Nile Perch than ordinary Tanzanians, few of the people living around the lake and in the wider countryside can afford to eat what was once a staple of their lifestyle. Economists talk about globalization bringing down the price of commodities, but the opposite is often true in the Third World.

Sauper does a nice job of giving the feel of the lake towns, interviewing everyone from the owner of the fish factory to the pilots who fly the food back to Europe to the homeless boys who eke out an existence on the street. He spends much more time with the marginalized Africans than with the ecologists and economists who are often trotted out in these kinds of movies. This helps us understand how the problem has impacted the native townsfolk, though it makes it harder for us to understand the full scale of the problem. We see the particular rather than the general. But given how often economists and politicians talk about Africa and globalization in general terms, I welcome a movie that shows us how those abstractions are impacting specific people.

Darwin's Nightmare is shot in ugly-looking digital video, but the format certainly makes it easier to get the range of interviews Sauper does. A pair of scenes that focus on a group of boys is both touching and harrowing, as is a long sequence that shows how resourceful Africans use the cast-offs from the fish factories. Sauper also spends a great deal of time shooting the apparently empty planes that fly into the local airport. At first, it seems as if he's emphasizing that Europe doesn't provide anything to Africa in return for the food. But he finally gets around to the presumption that illegal arms shipments are actually flying in. That's an even more provocative argument--that Europe takes Africa's food and offers only warfare in return--and the film would've been helped if that argument had been made earlier on. Still, this is a compelling examination on the impact of globalization and a heart-felt look at an area of the world we rarely see.

The Chinese have lately taken a keener interest in oil exploration in sub Saharan Africa – regarded as one of the fastest growing oil arenas in the world. A STAFF WRITER reports

Two major European oil exploration companies have protested that they are unable to access Kenya even as the country emerges as the latest frontier in the ferocious global battle between Europe and China for oil resources.