China watchers around the world are alarmed at the significant fall in Chinese stock markets. But Beijing may have a few tricks up its sleeve.
China watchers around the world are alarmed at the significant fall in Chinese stock markets. But Beijing may have a few tricks up its sleeve.
Recently, two major developments in Somalia and Djibouti have attracted international media attention. John Kerry became the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit Mogadishu, while China has negotiated the construction of a military base in the strategic port of Djibouti.
If the reports of the dead are true, this would be Boko Haram’s deadliest attack to date. War between the Islamic extremist group and Nigeria began in 2009, and has claimed an estimated 13,000 lives in six years.
Despite the roller coaster of political and security-related drama that dominated the headlines in this past year, I still remain optimistic about Somalia’s future — cautiously of course.
After eight years of planning, funds have become available for the planned 310 megawatt (MW) Lake Turkana wind farm project estimated to cost $775 million – the largest private investment in Kenya’s history.
With the recent U.S. “pivot to Asia,” some analysts argue the U.S. is losing interest and influence in Africa, resulting in China overtaking the United States as Africa’s largest trading partner.
As the deadly Ebola virus rips across West Africa causing death and civil unrest (i.e., due to the fear mongering that accompanies an epidemic) the fate of region remains at an impasse.
It was 38 years ago, in 1976, that scientists first identified the virus. It had been found in a small village in northern Zaire (as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was called in those days) along the banks of the Ebola River.
Considering the violent political unrest in various parts of the world, many accept the claim that the 21st century will go down in history as a period of global reorder, perpetual insecurity and bloodshed. If the grim headlines of the first decade could be taken as forecasts of the storms ahead, many nation-states are […]
Ever since it became a rising economic power, China started to realize the need for soft power in order to increase its global competitiveness. In Africa, Beijing found itself competing with Western companies backed by development agencies imposing good governance and human rights restrictions. Beijing sought to appeal to some African nations by offering to […]
By Sarah Lawson and Marina Tolchinsky The discovery of oil off Ghana’s coast in 2007 sparked both excitement and concern. While the actual finds were modest in comparison with regional oil powerhouses such as Nigeria and Angola, it was estimated that oil exports could bring $1 billion in gross annual revenues.[1] As the country began […]
The Kerala cargo vessel loaded with 60,000 tons of diesel on January 18 was an easy target for pirates lurking in the waters off West Africa. After maritime security firms warned of a tugboat stalking the Kerala off the coast of Angola, the tanker’s communication systems were turned off and the ship went missing for […]
East Africa is on the verge of personifying an energy transformation. New advances in natural gas, wind, geothermal, solar power and potentially oil are emerging to feed the hungry markets, while large hydro will continue to expand as well. Ethiopia, a country of 92 million and 7+ percent economic growth, has been a driver in […]
With the passing of another year comes the need to look ahead at the issues that will increasingly define the world we live in. Every year since 1945 the international community marks World Food Day, serving as a reminder of the importance of food security in a world where 1 in 8 go hungry. With […]
When I heard the news that Nelson Mandela, our beloved Madiba, was gone, I had flashbacks to the first time I laid eyes on my South African wife. I didn’t know much about South Africa at the time, and for some reason or another I kept calling her “Mandela” over the course of the entire […]