There is an old joke in the Middle East that goes like this: One of Hosni Mubarak's advisers finally gets the courage to say, "Mr. President, maybe it's time to think about your farewell address to the Egyptian people." Mubarak looks at the adviser and asks, "Why? Where are they going?" In reality, Mubarak got the message loud and clear.

Wellbeing in Egypt and Tunisia decreased significantly over the past few years, even as GDP increased. In Egypt, where demonstrations have prompted President Hosni Mubarak to give up power after elections this fall, the percentage of people "thriving" fell by 18 percentage points since 2005.

The massive, exhilarating protests in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen mark a sea change for the better in the Arab world. But the implications of the uprisings for women in these countries have not yet been fully analyzed. All of the countries currently experiencing upheaval have made significant progress for women...

Ever since the victory over the dictator of Tunisia and the subsequent uprising in Egypt, my email has been flooded with messages from Jews around the world hoping and praying for the victory of the Egyptian people over their cruel Mubarak regime.

At a press briefing in Pretoria on 21 January, South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma broke his silence on the current situation in Côte d’Ivoire. At the briefing that concluded a two-day state visit by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, president Zuma indicated that ‘there were some discrepancies in the manner in which the [Ivorian] election had come to the final pronouncement of the vote.’

The event served to inform the guests on the AFRICOM mission and further develop local German-American relations. Held in the command's new state-of-the-art multi-purpose center, the day began with a German media roundtable covering a variety of topics and answering questions such as why the command is located in Stuttgart.

In recent years, filmmakers and business executives from the United States, South Asia, and Europe have shown a growing interest in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, not only as a potential market but also as a wellspring of talent and inspiration.

It will probably take many years and even decades before the real lessons contained in these informative cables may be drawn. However, African governments and citizens should at least begin to reflect and learn preliminary but valuable lessons from the contents and the style of these informative cables.