AP: From Ethiopia to Child: Day 1 of a 7-Year Walk – Journalist Paul Salopek departed on Thursday for a 21,000 mile, 7-year walk that beings in Ethiopia, “winds through the Middle East, across Asia, hops over to Alaska, goes down the western United States, then Central and South America and ends in Chile.” His quest to retrace man’s first migration from Africa across the world will immerse him in a myriad of cultures and enable him to “tell a global mosaic of people stories.”
BBC: Khayelitsha fire: End to South Africa’s shack life? – As rebuilding begins after the catastrophic New Year’s Day fires in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha township, many residents are asking South Africa’s government for brick houses instead of shacks. Khaylitsha is home to about one million people, many of whom live in informal settlements made of highly flammable wooden frames, corrugated zinc, mattresses, carpets and varnished items. Cape Town’s authorities are proposing a “new, ground-breaking housing scheme” called “re-blocking” that would align housing plots and leave three meters between houses to allow for emergency vehicle access. (Mark Lobel)
AlJazeera: Recognizing Africa’s past, finding its future – Musician Femi Kuti was born in London in 1962, the child of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who is “arguably the greatest African musician of all time.” Femi has followed in his father’s footsteps and his new album, No place for my dream, focuses on global politics and poverty. Despite the themes of the album, Femi insists that “the music is very optimistic; it’s to get you thinking, not to discourage you.” (Tolu Ogunlesi)
Devex: What Obama might say about global development – The annual State of the Union address is an opportunity for President Obama to lay out his global development priorities for the coming year. While the speech will undoubtedly be focused on the economy, second terms are about legacy, and the president has “made clear that global development is a top national security priority.” It is unlikely that Obama will announce any substantial foreign aid reform or new foreign aid bureaucracy like PEPFAR of Feed the Future. If anything, Obama will “use his bully pulpit and his global popularity to advocate for an issue rather than to fund something new.” (Raj Kumar)
