Africa
Nigeria’s Rice Bandits
After Nigeria banned rice imports in 2015, thousands of farmers in the country’s impoverished northwest took out government loans to start cultivating it locally and made great gains. Yet poor law enforcement has allowed bandits to target these communities’ profits through extortion and kidnapping.
Gambia at a Crossroads Over FGM
A controversial bill seeking to overturn the ban on female genital mutilation has been introduced in the Gambian Parliament. Political and religious leaders are pushing for decriminalization, citing traditional beliefs and stating that it is one of the virtues of Islam.
Filling the Vacuum: Russia’s Forays Into Africa — With Amie Ferris-Rotman
On this week’s episode, Global News Editor Amie Ferris-Rotman and Global Insights host Kwangu Liwewe discuss Russia’s past in Africa and its more recent neocolonialist enterprises on the continent, as well as the private military companies acting as Russia’s enforcers and how Russian influence compares to the “long, slow game” played by China.
The Rise of a Distinctly African Speculative Fiction
For all its acclaim, Afrofuturism has been perceived among many native Africans as primarily catering to the diasporic concerns of African Americans. Now, distinctly African forms of science fiction and fantasy are emerging across the continent and beyond.
In South Sudan, Political Rivalries Fuel Conflict
When it gained independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan emerged as the world’s newest nation. However, two years later the country descended into a civil war sparked by a political difference between President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar, which escalated into a protracted ethnic conflict. The internal…
The UN’s Mission in Mali Was Deadly. It Also Improved the Lives of African Troops
In 2003, thousands of peacekeepers helped stabilize Liberia after its civil war. Two decades on, almost half the nation’s standing force has served on a U.N. mission in Mali. The mission was dangerous and difficult, but it brought economic prosperity most could only dream of. Now it is over.
The Enchantment of African Soccer
Witchcraft has been a constant theme in African soccer over the years. As the Africa Cup of Nations tournament kicks off in Ivory Coast, magic practices will likely still be present, if more discreet and less visible, shaping how players and teams perceive the game.