One can’t help but wonder what was going through the minds of Botswana’s Ministry of International Affairs staff this week, as they prepared the official response to United States President Donald Trump’s reported remarks about African nations. It’s hard to imagine, without wincing, any real-life scenario in which thoughtful diplomats…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
American media outlets were busy Thursday night keeping up with the fallout following reports that President Donald Trump – in yet another controversial remark – insulted African nations with a profane slur while discussing United States immigration policy. Trump met with U.S. congressional leaders at the White House to negotiate…
Egyptian lawmakers on Monday approved a long-awaited law formally establishing the nation’s space agency, while announcing a planned research satellite launch with partners Japan and China. Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, Egypt’s Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, showed MPs a model of the satellite and said its components will be built…
It’s the time of year when the world’s 2.3 billion Christians, alongside those of other faith affiliations warmed by the Christmas tradition, turn toward the city of Bethlehem. Among them are millions of believers across the African continent whose fast-growing faith is centered on the Church of the Nativity and…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a body that counts half of all African nations among its members, condemned the United States decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel following a summit held in Istanbul on Wednesday. OIC Secretary General Yousef Al-Othaimeen said the decision announced last week…
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled late Monday to allow a controversial travel ban affecting citizens of Chad, Libya and Somalia to go into effect. The 7-2 ruling allows President Donald Trump’s administration to move forward with restrictions that were put on hold in October when lower U.S. courts determined that…
The United States said Friday it was postponing a decision on importing African elephant-hunt trophies, following a global outcry from wildlife and environmental activists. President Donald Trump said he was putting the big game trophy decision affecting Zambia and Zimbabwe on hold until all the conservation facts had been reviewed….
African climate activists attending the COP23 conference in Bonn are vocal about condemning United States President Donald Trump and the U.S. pullout from the 2015 global Paris climate agreement. The U.S. is now the only country on earth refusing to honor the accord, which went into effect last October after…
Decades ago, during the U.S. presidency of Richard Nixon and the war in Southeast Asia, political cartoonist Garry Trudeau of “Doonesbury” fame created some classic commentary on a U.S. Senate inquiry into “secret” bombing raids that weren’t in Vietnam at all, but rather in Cambodia. The 1973 Sunday cartoon made…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
A federal judge in the United States has ruled to block President Donald Trump’s latest version of a travel ban that affects people from Chad, Libya and Somalia, as well as five other nations including Syria. The decision by U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson in Honolulu, Hawaii, prevents the ban…
Citizens of Chad now face travel restrictions to the United States, following a Sunday announcement by President Donald Trump that names eight countries on a new list of suspensions – but removes the previous restrictions against citizens of Sudan. Chad, along with Libya and Somalia, are the three African nations…
The United Nations General Assembly speech delivered by President Donald Trump of the United States raised quite a few eyebrows Tuesday over capricious and aggressive remarks on North Korea, and his blunt talk on how “major portions of the world are in conflict, and some, in fact, are going to…
As world leaders gathered for the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, two Somali immigrants to the United States found themselves there too – living in the childhood home of President Donald Trump. Eiman Ali and Abdi Iftin moved into the old homestead in Queens for the weekend,…
In the United States, President Donald J. Trump and his administration have faced much criticism for failing to fill key positions that affect foreign policy – especially on Africa. Yet it appears that in the case of J. Peter Pham, the likely nominee for the assistant secretary for African affairs…
The highly contentious ban on travel to the United States from six nations – three of them in Africa – went into effect at 0000 GMT, or midnight in Ghana and 3 a.m. Friday morning in Khartoum. The ban affects travelers from Sudan, Libya and Somalia. The original “Protecting the…