The article is a review of a recent book on the PAIGC education programme in the anticolonial movement for national liberation. The piece raises questions about what a militant approach to history might be.

Cape Verde’s opposition candidate, Jorge Carlos Fonseca, 61, has won Sunday’s presidential run-off elections with 54 per cent of the votes cast. His rival, Manuel Inocencio Sousa, 60, has conceded defeat after 92 per cent of the overall ballots were counted by Monday morning.

Cape Verdeans are going to the polls this month to decide who will replace Pedro Pires as he approaches the end of his second and final term. As Cláudio Furtado writes, regardless of who ultimately triumphs, two things make this particular election stand out: the fact that four candidates – three with a genuine chance of winning – are in the running and the wider implications for the PAICV (Partido Africano de Independência de Cabo Verde) party and the country’s government.

Redy Wilson Lima, Aquilino Varela, Quintino Tavares

Bia Barbosa

Emir Sader

A first-ever outbreak of dengue fever in Cape Verde, already causing four deaths and infecting 9,000 persons, has caused panic on the archipelago. Tomorrow, everybody is urged to kill mosquitoes instead of going to work, and both the police and army are sent out to root out the disease.

The headling in Cape Verde's bilingual A Semana on August 13, (http://www.asemana.publ.cv/spip.php?article44442 or read "Clinton's visit to Cape Verde ignored by American media." And if coverage was sparse, historical perspective was even more strikingly absent. Search for mentions of "Hillary Clinton" and "Amilcar Cabral" on the web, for example. Apart from a few mentions of her landing at the Amilcar Cabral International Airport, the only reference one is likely to find is a Fox News attack on Obama administration green jobs czar Van Jones, because of his affiliation with an organization which once praised Amilcar Cabral in its newsletter.

The Agencia Nacional de Communicacoes of Cape Verde has signalled intention to legalise VoIP. It will licence international VoIP service providers offering cheap calling and offer two classes of numbering. It has also licensed another Triple Play operator which will take advantage of the change in regulation to offer IP-TV, Internet and voice services. It joins the last real legaliser Botswana’s BTA which also opened the door to international VoIP service providers at the end of last year.

The white sandy beaches, inland salt formations and volcanic landscapes of Sal island, in the Cape Verde archipelago, off the coast of Senegal in West Africa, have been drawing in tourists from across the world, but experts warn that it has become vulnerable to the spread of HIV/AIDS.

After entering into negotiations with the European Union (EU) over special ties and leaving the West Africa free travel union, the government of Cape Verde now has announced its desire to loosen its attachment to the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS). The Cape Verde government soon will present ECOWAS with proposals for "special status" of the island nation.

This week saw Cape Verdean incumbent telco Cabo Verde Telecom launch IP-TV ahead of the new competitor in its market. It also saw the introduction of what is probably the first African push-to-talk service by Maroc Telecom. But why is this happening? African markets are different from elsewhere comes the swelling chorus. Well maybe they are but maybe they aren’t. Russell Southwood looks at the two new services.

Slowly dragging its shell onto the beach, a turtle emerges from the ocean. It is midnight and the moon is casting its shadow over the remote, white-sandy coastline of Boa Vista - one of the ten islands that make up the West African island-nation of Cape Verde. The strong sea breeze does not seem to bother the turtle as it slowly, but determinedly, finds its way among the dunes in search of a safe spot to lay its eggs. Once found, a two-hour ritual then begins as the prehistoric sea creature meticulously digs a 30cm hole with its rear flippers. This exhausting exercise will provide a nest for more than 40 whitish, golfball-sized eggs.

Cape Verde’s incumbent President Pedro Pires on Monday (February 13) claimed victory in his campaign to win re-election as head of state of the cluster of 10 islands and five islets off the West African coast that are home to less than half a million people. Voting took place in the former Portuguese colony on Sunday and preliminary results on Monday gave the incumbent president a narrow lead of 51.1 percent of the vote. In a victory speech, Pires promised to fulfil campaign commitments, including a pledge to tackle poverty and unemployment.

Cape Verde's governing party, the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), has won Sunday's parliamentary elections. With almost all votes counted, the PAICV had gained 52% of the vote, while the main opposition party, the Movement for Democracy, had 42%. Voter turnout was as low as 58%. The new parliament will hold office for a five-year term. The PAICV has ruled the Atlantic archipelago continuously since 2001. The PAICV first came to power under a one-party system upon independence from Portugal in 1975. The Movement for Democracy won the first multi-party elections in 1990 but the PAICV regained office in 2001.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the Cape Verdean government organised the 5th Conference of African female Ministers and Parliamentarians from October 15-18 2002 whose motto "Gender and HIV/AIDS: Reinforcement of National Response" aims to discuss the fight against HIV/AIDS, poverty and gender promotion.

Thousands of people in Cape Verde have been hit by food shortages due in part to poor harvests, according to UN agencies which have begun channelling aid to the affected populations.