Category: Politics

“African economies are staring at an abyss,” said Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed earlier this week in a desperate appeal to the international community for aid and debt relief to offset the ruinous effects of the COVID-19 outbreak.

18-hours before the story broke on The Daily Maverick website, we heard rumors that China's outspoken, high-profile ambassador to South Africa, Lin Songtian, had been recalled. "Holy ^%#*$! That's huge!" I said to myself when I first heard about the news.

Chinese Ambassador to South Africa Lin Songtian is reportedly being recalled to Beijing according to a report in the Daily Maverick newspaper. The article quotes unnamed sources within South Africa's Department of International Relations and Co-operation (DIRCO) suggesting that Ambassador Lin will leave as soon as Monday.

There's growing anger among U.S. conservatives over the World Health Organization's handling of the burgeoning COVID-19 and the international body's close ties with the Chinese government. Additionally, these U.S. critics contend that the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has the backing of Beijing in part because of his ...

Just as every African government is now contending with the terrifying prospect of a deadly viral outbreak while scrambling to deal with deteriorating economic conditions at home, policymakers also have to confront the possibility of being dragged into a rapidly escalating dispute between the United States and ...

After weeks of delays and uncertainty, details of the operation to evacuate 122 South African nationals from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the COVID-19 epidemic, were suddenly revealed on Tuesday. President Cyril Ramaphosa paid a visit to the military crew who ...

China's relationship with South Africa operates on two distinct levels: one governmental and the other between the two countries' ruling parties. Although not historical allies, the CCP's ties with the ANC ...

Two of East Africa's largest newspapers, The East African and Daily Nation (both incidentally owned by the same Nation Media Group) issued blistering critiques of how the region's governments are handling the worsening COVID-19 crisis. Kenya is a particular flashpoint, where ...

One of Washington's leading Africa analysts, Judd Devermont at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, published a short Q&A that reflected on U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's recent three-nation African tour that wrapped up last week. Devermont's key ...

China's crude imports from Saudi Arabia surged last year by 47% highlighting the Kingdom's growing importance to Beijing as a key oil supplier. This should also be concerning for Africa because the Chinese no longer feel as dependent on the ...

U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo will make his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa on Saturday. On his first-ever trip to Africa after nearly two years in office, Mr. Pompeo will visit Senegal, Angola, and Ethiopia. Against the backdrop of the ...

This month's report by journalist Carien Du Plessis in South Africa' Daily Maverick newspaper about heightened Chinese pressure on eSwatini, the last remaining country in Africa to recognize Taiwan, is ...