Beijing, China | AFP | The African Union’s chairman dismissed during a visit to Beijing on Thursday a French newspaper report alleging that China had spied on the continental body as “lies” intended to derail cooperation. The report published by Le Monde in January claimed technicians at the AU’s Chinese-built …
Read More »Africa could host Olympics as soon as 2032 – IOC boss
Pyeongchang, South Korea | AFP | International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said on Wednesday that Africa could host the Olympics for the first time as early as 2032. It came after the IOC approved plans to target Africa to host the fourth Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in …
Read More »African migrants in Israel opt for jail over deportation
Holot Detention Centre, Israel | AFP | At a detention centre in Israel’s Negev desert, African migrants facing deportation say they would rather be imprisoned than sent to a country they know nothing about. “I won’t go there,” Abda Ishmael, a 28-year-old Eritrean, said in excellent Hebrew outside Holot, an …
Read More »Salah the star African performer in Europe
Paris, France | AFP | Mohamed Salah was the star African performer in Europe at the weekend, netting twice to close within one goal of Harry Kane in the English Premier League leading scorer race. The Egypt sharpshooter and 2017 African Footballer of the Year twice gave Liverpool the lead in …
Read More »Israel begins telling African migrants to leave
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israel began warning thousands of African migrants Sunday that they must leave by the end of March, officials said, under a plan that could see them jailed if they refuse. On January 3, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced implementation of a plan to deport about …
Read More »Losing my innocence
THE LAST WORD: How my hubris to become president of Uganda pulled me from the trees of utopia to the hard rock of reality THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | I want to continue with a line of thought from this column last week i.e. that African countries cannot be governed …
Read More »‘Go home’ before March deadline, Israel tells African migrants
Go home before March deadline, Israel tells African migrants Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israel began warning thousands of African migrants Sunday that they must leave by the end of March, officials said, under a plan that could see them jailed if they refuse. On January 3, Prime Minister Benjamin …
Read More »GLOBAL COMMENT: Liberal democracy can wait
Food, shelter, health, and good sanitation should be more relevant for Africans than the vote COMMENT | SIMPLICE A. ASONGU | Africa’s policymakers understand that strong economic and political leadership is essential to growth and stability. For years, African economies have fared better than expected, owing to a commitment to improving …
Read More »Africa aims for cheaper air travel with free market launch
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Africans have for years paid sky-high airfares when travelling within the continent but a major aviation trade agreement launched Monday by the African Union aims to change that. Twenty-three African countries have signed on to the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), which is …
Read More »Reconsidering governance in Africa
Reconsidering governance in Africa: Why our obsession with copying and pasting western institutions causes more harm than good THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | If you follow debate on Africa anywhere in the world, everyone will tell you that the main problem with our countries is governance. Yet this claim is …
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