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Reflecting on the accomplishments of African Women

As 2023 comes to a close we reflect on the accomplishments of African women, a demographic whose voices and contributions often receive too little coverage and insight. The increasing presence of African women as public leaders for example, in positions in the World Trade Organization, African Union and United Nations and as head of state in Tanzania, and foreign...

Congo and the UN sign a deal for peacekeepers to withdraw after more than two decades and frustration

KINSHASA, Congo—Congo’s foreign minister and the head of the United Nations stabilization mission in Congo signed agreements Nov. 21 to end the presence of UN peacekeepers after more than two decades in the Central African nation. Congolese Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula told national television that the ceremony marked the end of a collaboration “which has proved its limits in a context of permanent...

South Africa’s ruling party backs motion in parliament to close Israeli embassy

According to media reports, South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), “given the unfolding atrocities in occupied Palestine …” is backing the country’s opposition party’s motion to shut down its embassy. The ANC said in a statement it would support the motion “to close the Israel Embassy in South Africa and suspend all diplomatic relations with Israel...

Forced displacement of Palestinians concerns Arab and African countries

South Africa and Chad have recalled their ambassadors to Israel for consultations, joining a growing list of nations that have withdrawn diplomatic personnel in protest of Israel’s brutal military assault on the Gaza Strip and its 2.3 million civilian population. According to South Africa Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, South Africa is extremely concerned about the continued killing of children...

New military alliance emerging among West African countries

Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger recently declared a new defense pact, the coalition called the “Alliance of Sahel States.” The pact guarantees each country comes to the aid of each other in defense of their territorial integrity from internal and external aggression. The author of the article, “A New West African Security Pact Is Bound to Fail,” posted on...

Palestinian solidarity and U.S. foreign policy hypocrisy

According to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, the United States is “deeply concerned by reports that the Sudanese militia Rapid Support Force (RSF) intensified shelling in South Darfur and Omdurman.” But on the same day of Mr. Miller’s claim, President Joe Biden appeared to give the Zionist State of Israel the green light to continue with its incessant bombing...

African countries offer varying responses to the Israel-Hamas war

For 16 years, Palestinians in Gaza have been trapped in what is effectively an open-air prison in the most densely populated enclave in the world. During these years the Zionist State of Israel has limited Gaza’s 2.3 million population of Palestinians to less than the bare necessities. As a result of the Oct. 7 invasion of surrounding illegal settler-occupied land...

A Ugandan business turns banana fiber into sustainable handicrafts

MUKONO, Uganda—A decapitated banana plant is almost useless, an inconvenience to the farmer who must then uproot it and lay its dismembered parts as mulch. But can such stems somehow be returned to life? Yes, according to a Ugandan company that’s buying banana stems in a business that turns fiber into attractive handicrafts. The idea is innovative as well as sustainable...

Women represent strength and resilience of the African continent

Each year, Africa celebrates the strength and resilience of women and their contribution to society and country. This year the month-long tribute provided an opportunity to pay tribute to the generations of African women whose struggles laid the foundation for empowering women and achieving gender equality. South Africa’s recent National Women’s Day, which annually pays tribute to all African women,...

Is ‘real talk’ by African leaders a sign of the times?

Many world leaders mounted the speakers’ platform during the recent high-level general debate week of the 78th United Nations General Assembly. However, the tone of some African leaders was eye-opening and worth noting. The annual UNGA 78 gathering at UN headquarters in New York City is where the majority of member states give their input on pressing global issues....