Sunday, March 26, 2023

Africa

Africa’s porous borders promote transnational crimes rather than deeper integration

For positive continental regimes to succeed, there must be both conscious and concerted efforts, as well as political will, from all states to help eliminate transnational crimes while fostering integration across the whole of Africa through trade.

Russia’s war in Ukraine and high fertilizer costs are causing global food crisis

Russia’s war in Ukraine and high gas prices have boosted the cost of fertilizers having a major downstream effect on the global food supply,...

Sudan’s progress towards reform

Sudan's Forces of Freedom and Change, a wide coalition of civilian and rebel parties that opposes military rule in the country, is working with...

Sudan is unlawfully prolonging ex-president Al-Bashir’s trial

The 1989 coup in Sudan, known in the country as the National Salvation Revolution, is still awaiting a final decision from the Sudanese judiciary,...

Mozambique can become a major energy partner for Europe in return for governance & security support

The government of Mozambique recently hosted the 42nd Joint Parliamentary Assembly, a collection of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, along with the EU, as...

Ethiopia’s peace deal is critical for Africa on many levels

Ethiopia is one of the few countries in Africa with the food production potential to help meet the shortfall in the continent’s imports of cereal crops from Ukraine.

COP27 focuses on climate financing for developing nations

The COP27 U.N. climate summit, which kicked off on November 6 in Egypt, may reach a more concrete agreement this year as various climate...

Human rights abuses are becoming commonplace in Sudan

The Sudanese government has introduced some reforms but nothing to improve the existing legal base with regard to compliance with international human rights. 

How Maasai women are resisting land grabs

In Mwanza, Tanzania, Nairukoki Leyian-Naisinyai tells me that here, “Corporations come with papers from the government claiming that they have the right to our...

South Africa is on a knife edge as xenophobia escalates

Xenophobia is a global crisis, but in South Africa, it takes a particularly violent form. The day-to-day accumulation of insult and harassment from within...

Moscow is moving Wagner mercenaries from Syria and Africa to Ukraine

Media reports from around the world have indicated that more than 1,000 mercenaries from Russia's infamous private military company Wagner have been transferred from...

How will the Russian invasion of Ukraine impact Africa?

The first and most tragic impact has been on African students studying in Ukraine, who have been forced to flee the cities overland to...

Cautious optimism for peace in Ethiopia

International mediators hope that with the recent decision by Ethiopia to end the state of emergency in the country, the first green shoots of...

French influence in West Africa is in danger of fragmenting

Anti-French sentiment has been growing relentlessly throughout Francophone Africa where governments have struggled to contain mounting internal security problems from jihadi insurgents. France has...

As the UN Security Council meets, Ghana is pushing back against the scourge of urban warfare

Cast an eye around the globe and you will see that we are at a crossroads in the containment of urban warfare.  From the rubbled...

Burkina Faso coup raises serious questions about Islamic militants, the waning influence of France and Russia’s increased presence in West Africa

The military takeover in Burkina Faso on January 24 is the fourth coup in West Africa in the last 17 months. The removal of...

EU-Africa to tackle climate change, energy, infrastructure challenges

Ahead of the EU-African Union summit, European Council President Charles Michel participated via video link in a debate on climate and energy in the...

TotalEnergies joins Masdar and Siemens Energy to develop green hydrogen

Dubai-based renewable energy major Masdar announced on January 19 that TotalEnergies is adding its expertise in the energy sector to a Masdar-led initiative focused...

The case for peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia

Civil war has been raging in Ethiopia for over a year now, between the National Defence Forces of the Ethiopian Government, and rebel militia...

Protests against the UN escalate in the Central African Republic

The mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSCA in the Central African Republic ends on 15 November so it is appropriate to evaluate its...

US, UK and Europe launch ‘Just Energy Transition’ partnership with South Africa

The governments of South Africa, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, along with the European Union, announced on November...

The need for trilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific

A coercive China and a nuclear North Korea are peripherally affecting the U.S.’ security interests in the Indo-Pacific.  With increasingly well-developed power derived from...

EU-US mobilise further support for Global Methane Pledge

Ahead of the UN climate summit in Glasgow, European Union Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans, who leads the EU's international negotiations on climate, and Special...

Conflict is spreading across the African continent

Many African countries are run by dictatorships, but their grasp on power is increasingly unstable. Mali has seen at least 2 changes of power...

Enough of the Durban depravity

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the so-called “World Conference Against Racism”, otherwise known as Durban I. The 2001 conference was to be...

As UN issues stark climate warning, wildfires spread across Med region

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued a stark warning, noting that Climate change is widespread, rapid and intensifying. The report,...

Italy’s ENI starts production of the Cuica field offshore Angola

Italian energy major ENI said on August 13 the company started production of the Cuica Field, in Block 15/06 of the Angolan deep offshore,...

France has a generals problem: Why there’s a fray in civilian-military relations

The sensitive question of civilian control of the armed forces is one which Western democracies like the United States and France must continue to...

Italy’s ENI and Kenya’s government to promote decarbonization

Italian energy major ENI and Kenya’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mining signed on July 21 a Memorandum of Understanding to promote the decarbonization process...

If Europe is serious about fighting antisemitism, it must skip Durban 20

Countries are lining up to declare they will not attend the20th anniversary of the UN’s notorious 2001 World Conference Against Racism, held in Durban,...

African universities face greatest-ever challenge to educate future digital revolution leaders

Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest rates of access to quality education in the world. A recent UNESCO report shows that well over half of...

Morocco and EU host launch ceremony ahead of a landmark green energy partnership

With the European Union fully invested in promoting the transition towards clean energy and countering global warming, the EU and the Kingdom of Morocco...

COSUA mourns with Zambia following the death of the country’s first president

The President of the Coalition of Supporters Unions of Africa (COSUA), which is a civil society partner to the African Union, has extended the...

The Heart of Darkness

The conflict-stricken Central African Republic (CAR) has been struggling to forge a lasting peace since 2013. The deployment back in 2014 of the United...

The biggest investment for African public health is its healthcare workers

In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus asked African Union states “to come together to be more aggressive in attacking” the...

Must “resource cursed” countries always suffer the double jinx of conflict traps?

A “resource cursed” country is one in which an abundance of natural resources fosters worse development outcomes than those without.  Often termed “the paradox...

Terrorist threat moves to North and Central Africa

The current situation in North and Central Africa is highly explosive and poses certain risks not only to regional security but to Western Europe...

ENI and BP mull combining Angolan interests into new joint venture

Italy’s ENI and British Petroleum announced on May 19 they have entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) to progress detailed discussions on...

The cobalt corrective: Are we facing a supply crunch?

The recent ease in global demand for blue metal - cobalt - has dampened concerns about a pending supply crunch. Earlier reports predicted that...

Emerging market-focused Millicom finalizes Africa exit, focuses on Latin America

Luxembourg-based telecommunications company Millicom, which focuses exclusively on emerging markets, announced on April 19 that it will finalize the divestment of its African holdings...

ΕU condemns move to extend Somalia president’s term, warns of ‘further measures’

The European Union has threatened to take "further measures" against Somalia if it fails to resume talks to end the elections deadlock."We call for...

Does the UN have the right solution for the Central African Republic?

The United Nations was established after World War II as a successor of the ineffective League of Nations. It is an intergovernmental organization that...

Zimbabwe is opening up

Zimbabwe has turned a corner.  And whilst across the world the past year has been focused on closing – from lockdowns to closed borders...

EBRD and Green Climate Fund extend green programme that spans 3 continents

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on March 11 the bank approved additional headroom for the next phase of its successful...

Italy’s ambassador to DR Congo killed in attack on UN convoy

The Italian Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Luca Attanasio and two other people have been killed on Monday during in an...

Macron urges Europe to send vaccines to Africa

The European Union and the United States need to provide African countries with vaccines, to prevent exacerbation of global inequality, French President Emmanuel Macron...

Greece reopens embassy in Tripoli

Greece's Foreign Ministry on Saturday announced it is immediately reopening its embassy in Libya's capital, Tripoli and a consulate in Benghazi.The announcement came a day...

EU vows to work with international partners to be climate neutral by 2050

The Europe Union can be a powerful promotor of climate ambitions also because it can offer a model of a socially just Green Deal...

Uncertainty, outrage abound as African Union prepares for leadership election

The African Union Commission elections that are slated for February 7 in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is facing an unprecedented level of public...

France looking to withdraw ‘some troops’ from Sahel anti-terror operations

France is eyeing at withdrawing some of its troops from the Sahel region in Africa, following successes against Islamist militants and support by European...

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