More than 500 leaders have gathered for the Munich Security Conference in Germany this weekend, among them the presidents of Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad to lead discussions on the situation in the Sahel. Yet this year, it’s the global coronavirus outbreak that has taken center stage. The latest numbers…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
As the African continent speeds up its response to the coronavirus spreading from China, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced Sunday a $10 million commitment in emergency funds and additional tech support to help responders in China and Africa contain the spread of 2019-nCoV. Half is going to China,…
China welcomed its New Year with President Xi Jinping acknowledging a “grave situation” as the country’s coronavirus epidemic continued to spread from Wuhan, in central Hubei province, to nearly all corners of mainland China. Confirmed cases also extended into 10 other nations, as well as Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan….
As China’s coronavirus spreads across the nation and into other countries, The World Health Organization said Thursday it has again postponed a decision on a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) while awaiting additional information. The PHEIC is a designation for an “extraordinary event” with the potential for international…
As the world waits for additional guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) on the fast-moving coronavirus outbreak centered in China, the number of cases continued to mount – as did concerns over the African continent, with its close ties to Beijing. “Has Ethiopian Airlines started screening passengers flying from…
Authorities in China say dozens of new cases of a coronavirus outbreak were reported over the weekend, with 136 new cases in Wuhan where the severe respiratory illness began, bringing that total to 198 including three fatalities. Health officials also reported new cases in Beijing and Shenzhen districts, adding to…
China denies that its policies put African nations in “debt traps” that will collapse like a “house of cards,” a comment made last month by Adam Boehler, head of the United States International Development Finance Corporation. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Monday there is no connection between debt loads…
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi was in Djibouti on Thursday as he continues a five-nation tour of the continent, with a stop to meet President Ismail Omar Guelleh in what is the home of one of China’s most strategic investments in Africa. Guelleh said China confirmed a commitment to back…
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi will head to Africa next week, with official visits planned in Egypt, Eritrea and Djibouti, as well as Burundi and Zimbabwe. The diplomatic schedule was announced Thursday by the Ministry of Affairs, which noted China’s tradition of beginning each new year on the African continent….
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo Addo delivered thousands of outboard motors and other fishing gear to the country’s coastal residents on Tuesday, while encouraging them to end illegal practices and pursue a sustainable industry. Akufo Addo, along with other agency leaders including fisheries minister Elizabeth Afoley Quaye, made the presentation during…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The Chinese government took a forceful position against the United States on Tuesday, denying the claims of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his warnings against trusting Beijing or the Huawei firm in Europe or in Africa. “The company, based in Shenzhen, maintains links to the Chinese People’s Liberation…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
There are at least 11,000 children working in Madagascar’s southern mica mining region, where poverty means that sometimes entire families are exposed to dangerous health and safety conditions. That’s according to a new report from human rights advocates at Terre des Hommes, which found that between 56 and 62 percent…
China delivered a blistering retort on Monday to new remarks about spying at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, a claim that has circulated in recent years but was recently referenced by a U.S. official seeking to persuade nations not to use China’s Huawei firm and its equipment. Spokesman…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
China’s Vice Premier Sun Chunlan headed to Namibia on Thursday, the second stop of a three-nation African tour that runs through November 13. Sun arrived in Windhoek to meet with her counterpart, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, after meetings in Madagascar with President Andry Rajoelina and Prime Minister Christian Ntsay. Rajoelina noted that…
South Africa is hosting the foreign minister of China on Friday, with his counterpart Naledi Pandor of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) of South Africa welcoming him to Durban. Pandor will host bilateral talks in Durban as Wang Yi begins a three-nation visit that also will take him…