Global Voices Online

Fodé-Moussa Keita links to an article that presents sons of African presidents who are groomed to take over the presidency (fr).

In a world where editors balk at taking risks, Reve d'Afrique examines the possibilities and perils of self-publishing (Fr).

Togo-iTunes posts an article about a new law for financing political parties (Fr). Any of Togo's nearly 80 political parties that have received at least five percent of the vote in legislative elections, five seats in the National Assembly, or 10% in local elections will be eligible for government funding.

Reaseau sida Afrique writes about HIV-positive women who have been abandoned [Fr] by their husbands or families, and are left to raise their children on their own.

Togo played Benin in Cotonu this Sunday, the fifth day of qualifying matches for the 2008 Africa cup. Benin won (4-1), but not before their supporters engaged in what Togo-iTunes calls “gratuitous violence” (Fr). Togo-iTunes has photographs of the match and the rowdy fans, taken by a Togolese journalist posing as a Congolese.

Togo iTunes writes about a suspected case of avian flu in Togo [Fr]. On a semi-commercial farm 45 km outside of Lome, 2,000 of 3,000 chickens died in two days.

Agence Togolaise de Presse Atop, the Togolese press agency, celebrates its 32nd anniversary and the first anniversary of its new director, Claudine Assiba, the first woman to ever head a public media organization in Togo. In an interview (Fr) she says, “men and women have the same rights, the same education, and so what would be more normal than to offer them the same opportunity to manage the affairs of our country?”

Julie Akofka Akoussah, the “Diva” of Togolese music, said, “Music is in my blood. It allows me to communicate the joy that animates me to all of those whose hearts are suffering and who have lost their smile.” [Fr] She passed away in late April and will be buried this Saturday in her native village in southwest Togo. Togo-iTunes has information on a memorial held for her in Brussels and Agence Togolaise Press Atop her death and legacy.

African journalists working in France are calling on the two remaining French presidential candidates, Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal, to begin a new chapter in Franco-African relations (Fr), according to the blog of the Alliance for Democratic Progress. “We have to reconsider everything, make a fresh start, a sort of “big bang,” so that France stops treating us like children. Africa must be a partner.” (Fr)