By Reuters Egypt will not allow any threat to Somalia, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Sunday after Ethiopia said it would consider recognising an independence claim by Somaliland in a deal that would give it access to a sea port. The remarks were the strongest yet made on the issue by Egypt, which already has frosty relations with Ethiopia, and were a sign that Cairo may get involved in a dispute that has raised fresh tensions in the volatile Horn of Africa. Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but has not won recognition from any country. The port…
Author: Partners
By AFP While the explosion of debt is throwing a shadow over global economic growth, experts warn that Sub-Saharan Africa, where several countries are already in default, is experiencing its worst-ever crisis. The rise in interest rates and over-indebtedness is already crimping the ability of countries to finance their development, as a number of African leaders emphasised at appearances at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Origins of the crisis Following the 2007-2009 global economic crisis, central banks in industrialised countries have generally kept interest rates low and countries from the Global South, which had mostly been borrowing bilaterally or…
Reuters The dollar rose on Tuesday as investors pared back bets on near-term rate-cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve following hawkish comments from European Central Bank officials, while worries of more attacks on ships in the Red Sea weighed on risk sentiment. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar rose 0.253% to 102.90, after having gained 0.2% overnight in subdued trading during a U.S. public holiday on Monday. The euro fell 0.3% to $1.09185, set for its steepest one-day percentage drop in two weeks. Sterling was last at $1.2681, down 0.36% on the day, edging away from a near-five month…
The Conversation African countries have become reliant on a few food items. Just 20 plant species now provide 90% of our food, with three – wheat, maize and rice – accounting for 60% of all calories consumed on the continent and globally. This deprives the continent of diverse food sources, at the very time when research has found massive food and nutrition insecurity in Africa. By 2020, about 20% of the continent’s population (281.6 million) faced hunger. This figure is likely to have increased, given the impacts of successive droughts, floods and COVID-19. Yet historically, Africa had 30,000 edible plant…
Mordern Diplomacy “The landmark application by the South African government to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to institute proceedings against Israel for its genocidal acts against the people of Palestine, caught the majority of the world off-guard. It represents a significant judicial test to the functionality of the international multilateral system.” The world watches in awe, the emboldened act of audacity as South Africa’s genocidal case against Israel is being presented at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court. It has been argued in South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ the Israeli…
The Conversation Across the African continent – from Nigeria and Ghana to South Africa – widespread protests have taken place to demand police reform in the wake of police misconduct and brutality. A continent-wide survey done in 2022 shows very low trust in the police and a prevailing perception of the police as the most corrupt among key institutions. Low public trust in police poses a serious problem for the most central state institution tasked with upholding law and order. Trust influences both police effectiveness and the perception of safety among the public. We are scholars with a longstanding research…
The Conversation South Africa has taken Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ, also known as the World Court) in The Hague claiming genocide has been committed against Palestinians during the Gaza conflict. A charge of genocide before the court in the midst of a heated armed conflict is exceptional. Likewise, the significance of South Africa’s claim against Israel has immense cultural, diplomatic, historical, and political significance. Israel has rejected South Africa’s claim and vowed to contest the case against it. International court cases such as these typically run for many years before a final judgement is reached, however South Africa has also…
By The Monitor In an attempt to deflect international pressure over human rights abuses, Uganda President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has sought to reassure Ugandans that all was well days after US President Joe Biden suspended the country from the Ush40 billion (about $10.5 million) trade deal. Biden removed Uganda, Central African Republic, Gabon and Niger from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), saying they did not meet the requirements to be part of the export deal. A December 2023 notice from the Office of the Trade Representative confirmed the termination, which now excludes Ugandan-made products from preferential treatment in the US…
By the end of 2023, China was facing a mysterious pneumonia that caused children to be hospitalized. The surge of cases of this disease had burdened China’s health care system. Modern Diplomacy By the end of 2023, China was facing a mysterious pneumonia that caused children to be hospitalized. The surge of cases of this disease had burdened China’s health care system. It also triggered global concern over the possibility of a new pandemic similar to COVID-19 that occurred a few years ago. The phenomenon of mysterious pneumonia originated from a number of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause that…
The Conversation The Sahel, a region 3,860km wide located south of the Sahara Desert and stretching east-west across the African continent, has been a focus of attention around the world recently. In the last decade, issues such as terrorism, insecurity and trafficking have characterised the region. Military takeovers have been a major source of concern in the region and beyond in the last few years. Since 2020, the region has had four successful coup d’étatsand three failed ones. The coup in Niger particularly attracted attention. This is because Niger was seen as a “darling of the west” and a model for democratic governance in the region. Despite the challenges facing…