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In a devastatingly interconnected world, there is no escaping the spread of COVID-19 into all of Africa, with reverberating consequences for its 1.3 billion inhabitants – and for the rest of us. At the end of March, Africa had fewer than 5,000 cases and a smattering of deaths across almost all its 54 countries. … Continue reading
When economically challenged rulers try to run nations, especially fragile ones, they easily make mistakes. Demonstrators have taken to the streets of Khartoum and Omdurman for weeks to protest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s removal of subsidies that have long kept bread and fuel affordable. They seek his ouster. Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan insists on … Continue reading
Africans are containing terror and terrorists, but declaring victory against the forces of revolution and insurrection in 2018 is premature . It is still a massive work in progress . In addition to the swirl of repetitive civil conflict in such disparate African countries as Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, … Continue reading
Africans are containing terror and terrorists, but declaring victory against the forces of revolution and insurrection in 2018 is premature It is still a massive work in progress In addition to the swirl of repetitive civil conflict in such disparate African countries as Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South … Continue reading
The cradle of human civilization developed in northeastern Africa largely because of abundant supplies of flowing water and the annual floods that submerged fertile soils along the Nile River. But ambitious modern economic-development initiatives threaten the liquid promises of millennia past and urban lives ahead. Ethiopia is now building a massive dam that will slow, … Continue reading
Terrorism, civil conflict, global warming, population growth, urb- anization, education, economic sustainability, managing China, strengthening leadership and improving governance are Africa’s 10 most pressing problems as 2018 unfolds None of these acute challenges is new, but 2018 will see each of them become more central to Africa’s ability to improve the standards of living and … Continue reading
When the scheming spouse attempts to take power and prominence away from a long-time heir-apparent, victory is rarely guaranteed in family or corporate struggles. Nor is such a triumph certain in politics. In today’s Zimbabwe, however, Grace Mugabe, President Robert Mugabe’s wife, has prevailed upon her husband to oust his veritable presumed successor, vice-president (until … Continue reading
We had just arrived at Harare International Airport from less troubled and far less corrupt parts of Africa when we came face to face with the daily punishments that Zimbabwe’s government metes out to its own hapless citizens. Our local car was a mere 100 metres beyond the terminal when the vehicle, along with many … Continue reading
Why do Africans kill each other so easily? Atrocities abound, whether in Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, South Sudan or Zimbabwe. Even South Africans, in fits of xenophobia, attack outsiders. Some of these episodes of murderous mayhem rise to the scale of genocide, as defined and prohibited … Continue reading
At the very moment when acute hunger has made hardscrabble South Sudanese, Somalis and Yemenis the world’s most vulnerable people – in their millions – so the rise of xenophobic populism in Europe and the United States has made the provision of meaningful assistance much less likely. President Donald Trump’s ham-fisted retreat from soft power … Continue reading
Africa and Asia: The Key Issues 