By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK, 12 June 2023 (IDN) — Declining profits from oil and gas production may no longer be sufficient to cover up weaknesses in African economies, including surging food prices, high rates of food insecurity particularly among the rural population, and corruption. With its once abundant oil fields, Equatorial […]
Another Rwandan Warlord to be Put on Trial
Liberia Fails to Try a Single One By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK, 3 June 2023 (IDN) — After WWII, international, domestic, and military courts conducted trials of tens of thousands of accused war criminals. Efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of Nazi-era crimes continued well into the 21st century.
Senegal: Arrest of Popular Opposition Leader Triggers Protests
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | DAKAR, 3 June 2023 (IDN) — Are Senegalese President Macky Sall’s moves against a credible opposition candidate sparking an uprising among Senegalese youth that has already cost more than a dozen lives and the deployment of Army soldiers and riot police?
Uganda Courts Condemnation After Signing World’s Toughest Anti-LGBTQ Laws
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK, 30 May 2023 (IDN) — In a move sure to invite condemnation and risking sanctions, Uganda has approved a new, stricter anti-LGBTQ law that includes the death penalty. President Yoweri Museveni signed the world’s toughest anti-LGBTQ legislation, first proposed back in March but sent back to lawmakers […]
The Murder of Chris Hani That Brought the Nation to the Brink of War
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK, 30 May 2023 (IDN) — On Easter weekend 1993 Nelson Mandela was engaged in slow-moving power-sharing talks with President F.W. de Klerk when a white supremacist shot Mandela’s heir-apparent, Chris Hani, in the hope of igniting an all-out civil war. The story of nine tumultuous days, as […]
Dangerous Growth of Violent Groups Confront New Nigerian President
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK, 30 May 2023 (IDN) — Bolu Ahmed Tinubu, who eked out a controversial win in the nation’s recent elections, now faces a near insurmountable challenge—to quell the violence gripping the country, wielded by various groups of assorted loyalties. “The degree of insecurity in Nigeria is unprecedented,” wrote […]
Nigeria: Chef Cooks Battle on Eve of Political Transition
By Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA, 26 May 2023 (IDN) — After weeks of being at daggers drawn over the results of the last general elections and with only days to the inauguration of a new government on May 29, one of Nigeria’s three […]
Humanitarian Aid to Africa Falls Far Short of Target
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, 25 May 2023 (IDN) — At a UN sponsored high-level meeting, donors collectively pledged about $2.4 billion in “life-saving and life-sustaining assistance” to nearly 32 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia plagued by five consecutive poor rainy seasons. But the pledges—from 28 donors out of the 193 UN member […]
Poor Countries Face Collapse Over Unsustainable Borrowing
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK, 22 May 2023 (IDN) — African countries that borrowed billions of dollars from international creditors and private lenders face painful repayment demands that threaten their budgets for schools, power, food and fuel. After nail-biting negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ghana’s Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta announced […]
Ex-Nigerian Leader Ordered To Explain Loan For Crime-Stopping Project
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK, 22 May 2023 (IDN) — Outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari has been ordered to account for a $460 million loan from a Chinese bank to pay for a closed circuit TV (CCTV) project that failed to materialize. Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed reportedly has been unable to explain […]