WTO Trade Talks * A month ago, the WTO trade talks were about to end with no agreement, largely over the issue of agricultural subsidies. * Deroy Murdock notes on NRO that the Group of 22 developing nations (many of them African) that scuttled the talks are now a force to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, Abiola blames the impasse on developed nations that continue to subsidize. * One issue that wasn't addressed at Cancun (but should have been) is GM foods. AfricaBlog has a monster post on the subject. Liberia * US Marines have left Liberia after providing logistical support in the wake of "President" Charles Taylor's exit. * Despite the Marines' departure, it's unclear that their mission is really accomplished. According to the Washington Post, Taylor continues to exert political and military influence in Liberia. If that's the case, Liberia's road to peace remains long and uncertain. * So it looks like the only way to really be finished with Taylor is to arrest him. Nigeria * Here's a quiz: What would you say is the happiest country in the world? If you said Nigeria, you win! JUST EMAIL ME YOUR BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER AND I'LL DEPOSIT $1,000,000 IN YOUR ACCOUNT. * And speaking of Nigeria, the Nigerian space agency this month launched the country's first satellite. I didn't know that Nigeria even had a space agency. * Amina Lawal, the Nigerian woman sentenced to stoning by a Nigerian Islamic court, was acquitted this month on a technicality. * Of course, this doesn't mean that Islamic extremism is no longer a force in Nigeria. * JK: Meanwhile, Flit goes head to head with Andrew Sullivan & Instapundit over the whole uranium yellowcake from Africa issue. Well researched? Yes. Does it affect my conclusions re: the war, or even the WMD threat from Iraq? No, because it was never central to those conclusions. More Africa * South African author John Coetzee has been awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. Abiola comments. * Ivory Coast: Still a French quagmire? * Yoweri Museveni, Uganda's pseudo-dictator and considered one of the most pro-Western of African heads-of-state, appears to be running for president-for-life. Sadly, few African leaders are in any position to criticize. * Last week marked the 10th anniversary of the Blackhawk Down incident in Somalia. It would have been hard to predict ten years ago, but it looks like military planners have realized that Africa is on the front line of the War against Terrorists and are planning accordingly.