The pan-African magazine of choice since 2009
For the first time in Africa’s postcolonial history, a comprehensive factbook that seeks to bust the key myths that Western historians and writers have created about the continent has been published. The Africa Factbook, a 1,200-page tome, was produced by the Institute of African Knowledge in Harare, Zimbabwe, in partnership with the African Union Commission, …
After nearly 10 years of work, Ethiopia has almost finished building its massive Grand Renaissance Dam on the Nile River, and is beginning to fill its 74-billion-cubic-meter reservoir. But Sudan and especially Egypt, which have historically controlled the lion’s share of the Nile’s waters, have refused to come to an agreement with Ethiopia, the source …
The United States’ first Black president, Barack Obama, gave an emotional and inspiring speech at the funeral of Rep. John Lewis, an icon of the civil-rights movement, in Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church on July 30. Obama said he owed a great debt to Lewis, whom he described as a “man of unbreakable perseverance” and …
Oil drilling in Angola came to an unprecedented halt in April, as plummeting prices caused major foreign companies to suspend production. The loss of revenues in Africa’s second-largest oil producer could thwart President Joao Lourenço’s plans to reduce severe poverty among the country’s 32 million people. Noah Browning and Libby George report. The coronavirus pandemic …
Caught in the Trump-China feud, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the leader of the World Health Organization, is under siege. The U.S. offensive against the WHO has shaken its director-general at an already difficult time for the United Nations-affiliated health agency as it seeks to coordinate a global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO insiders and diplomats …
Nigeria was once a leader among African nations, using its size and oil wealth to end civil wars and restore democracy in several countries on the continent. But that status has been washed away by persistent poverty, corruption, and inept governments. Sheriff Folarin writes. The traditional leadership and redeemer posture of Nigeria in Africa has …
The COVID-19 pandemic has been catastrophic for Nigeria’s film industry, halting production and shuttering theaters. A quarter of the one million people it employs could lose their jobs, and making new films has been hindered by the requirement that actors stay six feet apart. Abraham Achirga and Alexi Akwagyiram report. Nigeria’s film industry is creeping …
In March 2018, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition-party leader Raila Odinga announced a pact to work together. The agreement, a surprise because Odinga had claimed the presidency after the disputed 2017 election, represents an alliance between the elites of two of the country’s largest ethnic groups. But like similar arrangements in the past, it …
In this wide-ranging interview in July, John Dramani Mahama, Ghana’s former president and leader of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), explains why he finds it necessary to run again for president. The “poor performance,” as Mahama puts it, of the government of President Nana Akufo-Addo and the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) necessitates its …
When FIFA took over the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after allegations of corruption and internal breakdown, it was expected they would hand it back as a cleaned house. But FIFA has announced many key changes and reforms regarding how the game is played, invested in and refereed, even proposing that the favored Africa Cup …