As African ministers prepare for next week’s meeting in Beijing – a follow-up to last September’s Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit – a new World Bank report warns that nations participating in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will need significant policy reforms to truly benefit from the BRI…
A new report on the world’s refugees finds the number of people fleeing their homes because of conflict, persecution or other harrowing circumstances exceeded 70 million in 2018 – and it’s the highest level in almost 70 years. That’s according to UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency, which released its…
The Human Rights Watch organization has called for an independent investigation into the death of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, who collapsed during a court appearance in Cairo on Monday. Morsi had just finished statements to the court when he lost consciousness, according to Egyptian media. He was rushed to…
Population trends continue to put a number of African nations at the top of countries seeing the biggest increases by 2050, according to “The World Population Prospects 2019: Highlights” report released Monday by the United Nations. Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Egypt all are among the…
Namibia’s government plans to auction off some of the wildlife living in its national parks because of the severe drought affecting the southwest African nation – a drought that has left them without water and vegetation to sustain them. Stanley Simataa, the country’s information minister, made the announcement during a…
Investigative journalists whose work focused on what really happened to United Nations experts Zaida Catalán of Sweden and American Michael Sharp in the Democratic Republic of Congo have won top honors from the Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE) organization for their work. The “Deceptive Diplomacy” reporting, which won in the…
When it comes to the critical role of remittances, it’s hard to overstate the impact in African nations and the trend only continues to grow. For Gambians, such remittances – money sent home to families from loved ones working abroad – accounted for 15.1 percent of GDP in 2018. That’s…
Opinions were sharply divided on Burundi during discussions at the United Nations Security Council on Friday, as the nation’s security status was evaluated with an eye toward 2020 presidential elections. President Pierre Nkurunziza has said he will not run again, but his 2015 decision to force a third term and…
Although the World Health Organization decided Friday that the Ebola crisis does not yet warrant an international emergency declaration, the outbreak continues in Democratic Republic of Congo where they’ve now reached a total of 2,143 cases. Among them are 1,427 fatalities, according to the daily update from the Congolese Ministry…
Karen Attiah, the Global Opinions editor for The Washington Post and a Ghanaian American writer, has received the 2019 Journalist of the Year Award from the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in the United States. She coordinates and edits commentary on global issues from a variety of international writers…
The Eritrean government responded on Thursday to a letter sent earlier this week by more than 100 Africans seeking dialogue on democratic space, calling them “a motley network of African writers and journalists” they say chose a “rather inappropriate” communication strategy in their outreach. Asmara acknowledged the letter in a…
On the question of Libya, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with his Tunisian and Algerian counterparts Wednesday to discuss the crisis, agreeing to press for a ceasefire and advance the cause of a Libyan political agreement jeopardized by the fighting in Tripoli. Shoukry, Tunisian Khemaies Jhinaoui and Algeria’s Ramtane…
A study that looked at the potential regional impacts of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement suggests that it’s Central Africa that stands to gain the most from a unified African market of 1.3 billion consumers, and the easier movement of people and goods across borders. Research director…
President Donald Trump of the United States has never been known for his attention to the African continent, with the exception of unfortunate negative remarks that reverberate around the world. With the 2020 U.S. presidential race taking off, though, other candidates are starting to address the importance of Africa in…
The World Health Organization plans an emergency meeting on Friday, following the news that Ebola has spread from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo into Uganda. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee will meet in Geneva to determine if the spread of the…