Intersect: Africa
H I G H L I G H T S • COUPS AND THE KREMLIN• FOURTH COVID WAVE COUPS AND THE KREMLIN While the world’s attention is on the Ukraine, Russia is extending its influence into Francophone regions of the Sahel in countries like Mali and Burkina Faso. The latter two countries recently had coup d’etats against […]
Intersect: Africa
H I G H L I G H T S • ETHIOPIA UNDER SIEGE• SUDAN’S COUPSTERS• BLINKEN’S TOUR• MOZAMBIQUE ARMS UP• ISLAMIC STATE FACTIONS• DROUGHT AND BRIBES ETHIOPIA UNDER SIEGE Embattled Ethiopian president, Abiy Ahmad, signalled an interest in mediation efforts led by the African Union and the United States as his country’s present civil war completed its first year. Abiy […]
Intersect: Africa
H I G H L I G H T S • NEW CHINA DEBT STORY• GUINEA GAMBIT• COBALT IN THE CONGO• KENYA’S TRAIN OF DEBT• GHANA AND OTHERS• LESSONS FROM INDIA NEW CHINA DEBT STORY China is changing how it provides finance to African governments with a shift to smaller, more targeted loans and grants. State-backed financial institutions like the Export […]
Intersect: Africa
H I G H L I G H T S • CHINA’S AFRICA STRATEGY CHINA’S AFRICA STRATEGY Based on the writings of Chinese stategists, Nadege Rolland of the Washington-based National Bureau of Asian Research concludes in the report “A New Great Game? Situating Africa in China’s Strategic Thinking” that Beijing has an emerging, but seemingly informal, […]
Intersect: Africa
H I G H L I G H T S • NIGERIA ON THE BRINK• COVID THIRD WAVE• POLITICAL UPDATE• DARK SIDE OF INDIA IN AFRICA NIGERIA ON THE BRINK Embattled Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari asked the United States for assistance to tackle a spreading wave of insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and secessionist violence that is threatening to undermine Africa’s […]
Intersect: Africa
MOZAMBIQUE LNG PLAN ON HOLD Mozambique’s $24.1 billion Afungi liquefied natural gas (LNG) project received a major setback after French energy firm Total put construction activities on hold following renewed attacks by insurgents. Indian firms Oil India and ONGC Videsh together own a 30% stake in the terminal, the largest Indian investment on the continent. […]
Intersect: Africa
100,000 COVID DEATHS Africa passed 100,000 confirmed Covid-19 deaths this month with signs the continent’s healthcare systems are struggling to contain the virus. “We are more vulnerable than we thought,” the director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong. Lack of oxygen, ventilators and other medical equipment is proving to be […]
Intersect: Africa
ETHIOPIA’S POWER SHIFT The Ethiopian Federal Army has retaken control of most of the rebellious province of Tigray following fighting that began in November. Pockets of resistance continue in the mountainous region, leading to new waves of refugees crossing the border into Sudan. Ethiopia has deployed more troops and built fences along its Sudanese border […]
Intersect: Africa
Ethiopian Province Rebels A spreading military confrontation between the Ethiopian regime of President Abiy Ahmed and the Tigrayan provincial government could become a larger regional struggle, drawing in neighbouring Eritrea and Sudan. Tigrayans, a small ethnic group in northern Ethiopia, wield disproportionate political influence thanks to their lead role in overthrowing the military regime in […]
Intersect: Africa
COVID May Force Zambian Default Zambia may be the first African government to default on its sovereign debt because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Zambian President Edgar Lungu’s government is seeking “the suspension of debt service payments for a period of six months” from private creditors holding around $3 billion in international bonds. Zambia blamed “a […]