Sudan:The Chinese Are Coming And Losing AU Chair · Global Voices
SudaneseDrima

This roundup's highlights are Sudan losing African Union Chair to Ghana and some thoughts on China's interests in Africa. Black Kush is relieved that Sudan's president Omar Hassan al-Bashir has lost the bid to become the head of the African Union:
So the African heads have spoken. In the traditional way of resolving conflicts, the post of the AU chair has gone to  Ghana
You can give a sigh, but what deal has been made for next year? Nobody is speaking about it yet.
And so is The Sudanese Thinker. Both of them also shared their thoughts on China. Black Kush blogged a post entitled “The Chinese Are Coming!”:
The Sudanese Thinker had this to say:
Many Sudanese are happy about the fact that China has such close relations with Sudan. They love the idea of a broken America and a new Chinese super power filling the vacuum. I don’t. Frankly, the idea worries me. I would honestly prefer for America to be the sole super power rather than it being China. I fear what I don’t understand and I don’t understand China’s intentions well (maybe I should engage Chinese bloggers more often). I do however understand America’s and the West’s much better. Therefore I don’t mistrust them much. Moreover China is no democracy. It’s a country with no real freedom and a place where human rights are not well respected. It is communist, it is against religious freedom and it is essentially God denying. That does not sit well with me.
…China is profiting from its activities in Sudan without caring much about what’s happening in Darfur. It’s doing the same in other places too.
Meanwhile Path2Hope who lives in Tanzania blogged about her recent trip to Ethiopia:
No matter what preconceptions you might have about Ethiopia, it boasts some of the world's most beautiful people, a land of rich history, music and (ancient) breathtaking architecture.
‘Amharinye alchlem’ which basically means ‘don't speak/understand Amharic’, is a good phrase to remember. Although I must say I did have a hard time selling it, they simply concluded that I'm an Ethiopian snob denying her roots. A friend warned me that if suspected as a Somali, I would encounter a lot of problems. But if there's one country on earth that actually adores Sudanese people, it's Ethiopia.
Mimz has a post about Female Genital Mutilation:
Did you know that there are 3 types of FGM?
Each one is worse than the other, in ascending order.
This website contains useful info on the clinical management of FGM, and you can see for yourself the level of damage on the female genitals before and after giving birth.. as well as have a clear view on how painful the procedures of infibulation & suturing are.
Precious has been writing a highly informative series on different Sudanese political parties: historical intro, political parties after 1989 coup, the Umma Party, the Democratic Unionist Party, and the Sudanese People's Liberation Army.
Last but not least, Hipster is back from her break and she's blogging again.