Africa

Last month, China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang embarked on his first overseas trip since his appointment late last year with a five-nation tour of Africa. Qin’s visit to Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin and Egypt continued a decades-long tradition of Chinese foreign ministers starting the year with a trip to Africa. …

Morocco, Belgium and the Netherlands have become pivotal in the growing Latin America-Europe cocaine chain. Belgium and the Netherlands have overtaken Spain as Europe’s main entry points for cocaine coming from Latin America. The 65.6 tonnes of the drug intercepted at Antwerp port in 2020 nearly doubled in 2022. And …

Robert Gates, the former US Secretary of Defense, wrote in his memoirs that when the decision was made to launch a military attack against Afghanistan in 2001, that nobody in Washington had a real idea of how complex a nation it is. This included Afghanistan’s various ethnic groups and the …

South africa’s navy, like much of the country, is dilapidated. Its fleet spends less than half the time on the seas than it did a decade ago. It has few working ships, a result of budget cuts by the ruling African National Congress (anc). So it makes sense that the …

U.N. experts say the predominant view among member nations is that the leadership of al-Qaida has passed to Sayf al-’Adl, who was responsible for Osama bin Laden’s security and trained some of the hijackers involved in the 9/11 attack on the U.S. The panel of experts said in a report …

As President Paul Biya turns ninety this week, an escalating power struggle for his position leaves most Cameroonians with little to celebrate. Journalism has long been a dangerous profession in Cameroon, but 2023 has been especially deadly. Just days after the body of muckraking reporter Martinez Zogo was found with …

Now that Europe is desperate to find new energy suppliers, the resource-rich countries of the Middle East and North Africa are hoping to boost their economy and influence. Europe is unlikely to turn back to Russia for energy even after the warMENA countries have suddenly become much more valuable alliesWorld …

Speculation is growing about a crisis between Saudi Arabia and Egypt manifested in relations between senior figures in both countries. Tension has come to the surface during the serious economic crisis in Egypt since Russia invaded Ukraine almost a year ago. According to the Central Bank of Egypt in 2019, …

Tunisian President Kais Saied has decided to strengthen diplomatic ties with Syria, the presidency said on Thursday, the clearest sign yet of Tunisia’s intention to fully restore relations days after a deadly earthquake that has devastated large parts of Syria. Tunisia cut off diplomatic relations with Syria nearly a decade …

An Italian Coast Guard official said that 2022 witnessed the arrival of 53,000 illegal immigrants via the Mediterranean from Libya, which was an increase of 70%. The official said most of the immigrants set off from the western region of Libya.