In a State of the Nation speech that included a nod to the late South African musician Hugh Masekela, the country’s President Cyril Ramaphosa promised a new beginning rooted in hope and a chance to move beyond the economic and political crises of recent years. “I wanna be there when…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
As yet it’s still unclear exactly what happened to Egyptian politician Hisham Geneina on Saturday, but the country’s opposition leaders say it’s another attempt at intimidation by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi as he pushes for a second term. Widely circulated images of the former auditor, who served a brief jail sentence last…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The United Nations needs to “change the way we are doing business” when it comes to peacekeeping operations, because the high-risk environments encountered in today’s conflict zones – especially on the African continent – come with new and greater threats to the traditional mission. That’s the conclusion of a newly…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
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
Tensions in the Horn of Africa are drawing attention to the border between Sudan and Eritrea, raising new concerns – and not a little complexity – about regional instability, and the diplomatic and security touchpoints that have implications extending across the Middle East. Sudan announced a border closure in Kassala…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
There’s one thing readers and viewers can count on as the year winds down, and that’s a deluge of “Year in Review” stories and posts. The political changes, the celebrity news, the economic issues – media outlets contribute their take on what shaped our days and the shared history of…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Another businessman outed by the Paradise Papers has been sanctioned by the US government: Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler has been accused of handling hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of corrupt mining and oil deals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and President Trump has responded by declaring a…
Arnaud is a French freelance writer with an African heart who has lived in 10 different Sub-Saharan countries in the past decade. He is currently based in Paris.
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
Prosecutors in Cameroon now say writer and university professor Patrice Nganang faces charges of contempt of state for publicly insulting President Paul Biya, while also accusing the 47-year-old scholar of death threats, illegal immigration and forgery. Nganang and his attorney, Emmanuel Simh, disputed the charges during a Saturday hearing, according…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
A corruption case revealed this week in the United States led to the arrest of the former foreign minister of Senegal while implicating high-level African leaders in two countries – and casting a new shadow on China’s role on the continent as Beijing advances its Belt and Road Initiative. The…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The international news coverage on Libyan slave markets over the past week has resulted in a lot of issued statements, coming from outraged and passionate Parisian street protesters to British sports heroes to presidents and diplomats. “I am here because I saw my brothers sold in Libya as tomatoes on a counter,…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
It’s not been two weeks since World Bank released its annual “Ease of Doing Business” report, which ranks countries on their business-friendly environment. It named Mauritius as the best country in Africa – less than two points behind Germany, and ahead of Thailand, Spain, France and Japan. What’s clouded this…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Despite its turbulent history, marred by civil war and the 2014 Ebola epidemic, Liberia should be on the verge of experiencing the first peaceful transition of power in 73 years. With President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf stepping down after two terms, former international football star and now Senator George Weah, 51…
Arnaud is a French freelance writer with an African heart who has lived in 10 different Sub-Saharan countries in the past decade. He is currently based in Paris.
Many Europeans were disturbed to discover last week that a 2015 EU fund established to pay for border security, including measures aimed at keeping African citizens from leaving their own borders, is fast running out. Despite pledges from Germany and Sweden to stem shortfalls, the President of the European Commission…
I am a London-based researcher specialized in security issues and environmental protection. He is currently writing a book about the role lobbying plays in keeping African leaders in power.
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