Worldfocus was nominated for an Emmy in the “Best story in a regularly scheduled newscast” category for our coverage of the “Crisis in Congo” (Executive Producer: Marc Rosenwasser, Correspondent: Michael J. Kavanagh of the Pulitzer Center, Producers: Lisa Biagiotti, Taylor Krauss). The “Crisis in Congo” videos also won the 2009 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award in the international television category.

Pascal and Vestine are alive, but still not home

Rape as a weapon of war

Worldfocus was also nominated for an Emmy in the “Outstanding feature story in a regularly scheduled broadcast” for our coverage of “21st Century Africa” (Executive Producer: Marc Rosenwasser, Correspondent: Martin Seemungal, Producer: Yuval Lion).

China strengthens trading ties in Africa

Middle class sprawls in Nairobi, Kenya

Tech advances rev up across Africa

Rwanda aims for one laptop per child

Worldfocus contributor Samuel Loewenberg travels to the east African country of Tanzania to look at the impact of river blindness on one village, where the only source of water is also a breeding ground for disease.

From Kenya to Argentina, from Egypt to India, world citizens speak out about U.S. foreign policy, culture and infrastructure.

Below, see the final piece of the series. In it, David Marash travels to the Czech Republic to sample Czech opinion of the U.S. — somewhat boosted by American tourists but soured by U.S. foreign policy.

Worldfocus travels to both nations and finds that today, their people hold varying opinions of America. In Kenya, several Kenyans take comfort in American popular culture. Some Kenyans say they feel a connection to Americans because of their shared pain of terrorism and the ascent of presidential candidate Barack Obama, whose father was Kenyan.

In the Muslim-populated country of Tanzania, the view of America sours. Some citizens report a more negative view of the U.S. and its foreign policy.

Worldfocus correspondent Martin Seemungal and producer Yuval Lion report from Kenya and Tanzania.

Some of this trade, however, involves countries like Sudan and Zimbabwe, where human rights abuses have been cited. China is a permanent member of the United Nation’s Security Council, and the nation’s self-interest in Africa has been criticized for blocking U.N. action in Darfur and ultimately helping to fuel the crisis there.

In Kenya, the Chinese are building roads, shipping in goods and selling them in Chinese-owned shops. Kenyans are learning Chinese and Chinese are learning Swahili.

Listen to our online radio show on China’s role in Africa and view an interactive map of China’s recent diplomatic efforts on the continent.

Worldfocus special correspondent Martin Seemungal and producer Yuval Lion report from Kenya and Tanzania on China’s aggressive moves into the region’s marketplace.

AUDIO: Rob Crilly, an independent journalist and a Worldfocus contributing blogger, discusses the situation in Somalia.

CLICK on the image above for a complete interactive map from ICC Commercial Crime Services.

U.S. warships surrounded a pirate ship off the coast of Somalia — a pirate attack hotspot.

With piracy costing the maritime industry over $16 billion each year, efforts to combat pirates have increased.

However, the “Hunt of the Sea Wolves” blog points out that piracy extends far beyond these African hotspots - including recent attacks in Tanzania and India.

The Bali Times reports on the piracy problem in Indonesia, which is second only to Nigeria in number of attacks.

The Global Terrorism Analysis journal examines naval terrorism off the Iraqi and Sri Lankan shores by al-Qaeda and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The “Shipsworld” blog argues that unlike Somalia, India and Brazil have the resources to eliminate piracy.