Senegalese leaders propose June elections after court rejects president’s 10-month delay
DAKAR, Senegal—A group of Senegalese civic and religious leaders proposed holding elections in early June, the first new date offered since the president attempted to push elections back to the end of the year. President Macky Sall who faces term limits at the end of his second terms, said in early February he was postponing an election for 10 months, just...
Trillions of dollars in mineral resources but still poor
Despite being rich because of $24 trillion in mineral resources that are ready to be turned into consumer electronics and batteries in electric cars for Western industrialized democracies, the population of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the poorest in the world. In fact, according to the World Bank, the DRC is among the five poorest nations...
U.S. cuts African trade benefits, hurting poor
A trade preference program that lets African countries export products to the U.S. tariff-free has been suspended for Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea. President Joe Biden ended the benefit over alleged violations of human rights violations. “The Biden-Harris Administration is deeply concerned by the unconstitutional change in governments in both Guinea and Mali, and by the gross violations of internationally recognized...
Is there an election crisis brewing in Senegal?
“A leap into the void,” is what human rights expert Alioune Tine said in response to Senegalese President Macky Sall’s “unconstitutional delay” of the upcoming February 25 election. Tine added that postponing the election until December 15 plunges the West African country into “uncertainty and (possible) violence,” reported Foreign Policy’s World Brief columnist Alexandria Sharp. Kicking out or null and...
Youth-led ‘emergency rooms’ shine rays of hope in war-torn Sudan
With the war in Sudan triggering widespread violence and instability, youth-driven emergency response rooms (ERRs) are among a growing number of community-led initiatives reaching vulnerable civilians with myriad assistance, from repairing damaged power lines to carving out safe evacuation routes for millions fleeing the conflict. Teams of volunteer medical staff, engineers and other emergency experts across the country are addressing...
The 120-member state Non-Aligned Movement calls for a ceasefire in Gaza
The 19th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit kicked off recently in Kampala, Uganda, amid global challenges, including climate and environmental challenges and atrocities occurring in Sudan and occupied Palestine. The five-day summit is the largest grouping of states worldwide after the United Nations, with 120 member states, 18 observer nations, and 10 organizations. The 19th NAM Summit was held in Kampala...
South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ gains momentum, support
South Africa’s legal team in the genocide case against the Zionist state of Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague arrived to a hero’s welcome where they were met with loud cheers of “Free Palestine” from throngs of pro-Palestine supporters at OR Tambo International Airport. What a difference a court case makes. The birthplace of Nelson...
Mediation toward cessation of Sudan war is a long way off
“If this war (in Sudan) lasts for several years … the country that we knew as Sudan, a sort of regional linchpin, between the Red Sea, the Horn of Africa, the Sahel and Central Africa will no longer exist,” said Sudan policy and political analyst Kholood Khair, the founder and director of the UK-based Confluence Advisory think tank. As Israel’s...
Colonial-era currency limits economic freedom of African countries
“Playing neocolonial games with African money” is how the African Executive, a weekly Nairobi-based opinion and business magazine, framed a 2020 article on the CFA franc penned by this writer. CFA is short for Communauté Financière Africaine or African Financial Community. The article chronicled French President Emmanuel Macron’s 2019 joint press conference with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara announcing the “end” of...
Russia reopens Burkina Faso embassy after three decades
Russia has reopened its diplomatic mission in Burkina Faso after a gap of nearly 32 years. The West African country has been distancing itself from its historical partner France over the past year. The Russian Embassy in Ouagadougou was reopened on December 28. It was closed in 1992. This was all announced by the government of Burkina Faso and separately confirmed by...