‘Greed, for a lack of better word, is good’
-Contributing Writer- Yes, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, everyone for his gain, from his quarter. –Isaiah 56:11 (FinalCall.com) - The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) president Sidumo Dlamini while addressing the 47th National African Federated Chamber of Commerce Conference...
Presidents of Iran, Venezuela attend African Union Summit
The African Union (Official Site)Birth of The African Union (FCN, 07-14-2002) Banjul, The Gambia (PANA) - Presidents Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela were among foreign observers attending the 7th AU Summit which opened in Banjul, the Gambia, Saturday. They joined leaders from most of the 53 AU Member States at the opening of the summit, which...
Uncertainty in Ivory Coast, optimism in Sudan
According to published reports, ECOWAS has threatened to remove Laurent Gbagdo, Ivory Coast's incumbent president, through the use of “legitimate force,” after being unable to “coax him into conceding defeat in elections. The West African Organization of States has called for a two-day meeting of its “defense chiefs (on) January 17 to plan future steps” if Gbagdo does...
African nations growing more sympathetic to crisis in Gaza
African countries began walking a diplomatic line after the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel that included strongly held principles, diplomatic expediency, and empathy in the wake of unfolding carnage in the region. Ghana’s foreign affairs minister stated that it “unequivocally condemns” attacks by Hamas and called for the group to withdraw its fighters from Israel. Rwanda issued a similar...
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...
Kenya: Kofi Annan to lead African Union’s mediation
Election violence rocks Kenya (FCN, 01-13-2008) Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will take over the mediation efforts in the Kenyan post-electoral crisis with his immediate mandate being to tackle constitutional and electoral reforms in the East African country, reports PANA Thursday. African Union (AU) chairman John Kufuor, who is also the Ghanaian President, jet ted...
Cash-strapped African countries face pain from foreign interest obligations
(GIN)—Foreign investors who plied African countries with huge loans despite obvious difficulties for repayment got some bad news recently. The government of Zambia announced it missed a Nov. 13 deadline to repay $42.5 million in interest to Eurobond holders after the investors rejected a six-month delay sought by Zambia to pay up. This could set a precedent, lenders fear. Zambia has...
AFRICA WATCH. Africa and its strategic balance in Russia-Ukraine conflict
Foreign Policy, a weekly digest of national security, defense, and cybersecurity news, recently reported that Africa is under pressure from European diplomats, to not allow Russia to use them to “evade U.S. and European sanctions.” One should ask, what one had to do with the other? According to Bloomberg, on the day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, that the foreign...
Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia battle for Nile River rights
During recent talks by phone between Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa—current chairperson of the African Union (AU)—El-Sisi reiterated concern about Ethiopia’s filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). El-Sisi said he seeks a fair and balanced agreement and rejects any unilateral filling of the dam’s reservoir. Ramaphosa said he hopes “intensive coordination” between...
Economies of former French colonies still under colonial control
In recent years, France has received an ever-growing barrage of negative news reports concerning its neocolonial ties to Africa. From 2018, when the French ambassador to the U.S. slammed “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah for saying Africa deserved credit for France’s World Cup soccer team victory due to the large number of Black players on the team; to the refusal to return...