My area of interest is centered on francophone Africa, the status of minorities and immigrants in Europe & media biases. Raised in Madagascar, I hold a Master of Public Policy from Princeton University at the Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs with a focus on international development & international relations and PhD in Medical Sciences from Purdue University. I can be found on twitter at twitter.com/lrakoto.
Latest posts by Lova Rakotomalala from April, 2013
Impartial Justice Wanted in Côte d'Ivoire
Human Rights Watch reports that there is still work to do to achieve impartial justice in the post-2010-11 elections crisis in Côte d'Ivoire: The ICC’s one-sided approach has legitimized the same approach by Ivorian judicial authorities and undermined perceptions of the ICC’s impartiality.
Surprise Candidates for Madagascar Elections
Update: Here is the full list of the 49 candidates [fr] for the presidential elections. It does not include the current president of the transition. As the deadline to submit candidacies for the Malagasy presidential elections ends today (28/04), a few surprising candidates have allegedly come forth. While the earlier candidates...
Mapping Tool to Track Insecticide-Resistant Mosquitoes
Cameroonian blogger Edouard Tamba posted on twitter about the first online mapping tool to tool to track insecticide resistance in mosquitoes that cause malaria : IR Mapper.
Car Explosion at the French Embassy in Libya
Twitter user @Eh4b10 has posted several photos on twitter of a car explosion near the French Embassy today around 6:50 am local time in Tripoli, Libya.
Attempted Coup d'Etat in Comoros
Comoros police forces state that they have arrested Congolese and Chadian mercenaries in an attempted coup over the week-end. Linfo.re adds that [fr]: Army commanders did not want to engage in an open conflict with the mercenaries. They believe that “any Comoran casualties over protecting an elite cast is itself a act...
Madagascar's Economy Falling Behind Africa's
While sub-Saharan Africa's economic growth is projected to “outpace the global average“, a study by M. Razafindrakoto et al. from IRD (The Institute of Research on Development) published earlier this month unpacks the causes of Madagascar's economy lagging behind its African counterparts [fr] (Via Madagoravox).
Madagascar's Presidential Candidates
The presidential elections are set for July 24, 2013 in Madagascar. According to Ben from mada-tribune.com, the first candidates to have submitted their dossiers [fr] to the special electoral court are: Hajo Andrianainarivelo, Jean Lahiniriko et Roland Ratsiraka are the first to have filed their candidacies. Dr. Jean-Louis Robinson, Pierrot...
Djibouti: Arrests follow ‘Democratic’ Elections
Several opposition leaders were arrested in Djibouti after demonstrations which followed the February 22, 2013 general elections. The elections saw yet another victory for the party in power, the People's Rally for Progress. President Ismail Omar Guelleh, who has ruled since 1999, received 80% of votes cast, leading to allegations of fraud on a massive scale. Arrests were still continuing at the time of writing, April 2013.
In Global Downturn, Sustainable Development Begins at Home
It is becoming even more clear that sustainable development in the world's poorest countries should not be based on external wealth or redistribution, but must instead be generated at home.
