In The News

Angela Merkel Tells African Union It Must Do More to Stop Migration to Europe

Adam Withnall October 17, 2016
Germany will be at the helm of the G20 for 2017, and Chancellor Angela Merkel has signaled that Africa will be a primary area of focus: “But in return, she has asked that the African countries do more to stop the growing culture of young people leaving to seek a better life in Europe,” reports Adam Withnall for the Independent. In a tour to Mali, Niger and Ethiopia, Merkel implied that failed...

North-South Divide in Nigeria Is Hiding a Humanitarian Crisis

Emmanuel Akinwotu September 21, 2016
Boko Haram has terrorized northeastern Nigeria for seven years, leaving almost 2 million people displaced and many communities impoverished. The country of 180 million is ethnically diverse. The humanitarian crisis that also stretches into Chad, Niger and Cameroon has prompted outrage around the globe. The crisis is less urgent for journalists and government leaders of Nigeria, largely based in...

Africa’s Economic Potential Hit Hard by Gender Inequality

Amy Copley September 12, 2016
A recent United Nations Development Project report shows how increased gender equality in Africa would create economic benefits for the region as a whole – for both men and women. Gender disparities in educational and economic opportunities and health care are persistent. The report suggests that reduced GDP represents billions of dollars of loss, with $104.75 billion in 2014 alone, as a result...

Rising Sino-Japanese Competition in Africa

Yun Sun September 8, 2016
Japan is showing increased interest in Africa, most recently with a visit from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his $30 billion pledge. Analysts view such diplomacy as part of long history of rivalry between Japan’s and China – from the legacy of World War II and the subsequent shaping of the United Nations to regional conflicts such as the South China Sea and Taiwan. The rivalry finds new...

Scramble in the Horn

James Jeffrey August 24, 2016
Landlocked Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country with more than 96 million people. Conflict lingers between Ethiopia and Eritrea since the latter obtained independence in 1993. “The fighting that broke out at the Ethiopia-Eritrea border on 12 June, reportedly involving artillery and tanks, resulting in hundreds killed and wounded, has highlighted how old-fashioned power politics has...

Will South Africa Split Apart?

David Adler August 8, 2016
Majority control by South Africa’s dominant political party is slipping in metropolitan areas. “The ANC has ruled South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994, but it faces growing threats from the left, from the right, and from within the party itself,” explains David Adler for Foreign Affairs, as voters reject “economic stagnation, official corruption, and poor public services.” The hope is...

South American Tomato Moth Is Stoking Food Security Fears in Nigeria

Yomi Kazeem May 30, 2016
Nigeria struggles with declining oil prices and currency devaluation, but agriculture, representing 30 percent of the Nigerian economy, is also taking a hit: “Africa’s largest economy is facing a food crisis as major tomato fields have been destroyed by a moth, leading to a nationwide shortage and escalating prices,” explains reporter Yomi Kazeem for Quartz. “The moth, Tuta absoluta, has...