The Africa Week

This week: Will Museveni make it 41 years in power in Uganda? With friends like these - Somalia battles through another bad week. Samuel E'to's behaviour in Morocco under the spotlight. And Pretoria gets a telling off from Washington. 

References/further reading:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/15/polls-open-in-uganda-amid-crackdown-fears-of-violence-internet-blackout

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/somali-regions-reject-mogadishus-move-cut-ties-with-uae-2026-01-13/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c3r14pgr2neo

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/14/full-list-75-countries-visa-processing-suspended

https://allafrica.com/stories/202601160215.html

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This week: No love lost between Washington and Mogadishu as Israel gives Somaliland the nod. A boost for Russia as Touadéra returns to the presidency in the Central African Republic. Fresh fighting in the eastern DRC - Burundi braces for  more refugees. And shoot that poison arrow - it seems it first happened in South Africa, and not Egypt. 

References/further reading: 

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/8/top-somaliland-official-defends-israel-ties-amid-arab-backlash

https://www.semafor.com/article/01/07/2026/tensions-grow-over-somaliland-after-israeli-fm-visit

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgn1lpq52ko

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0q40xg3j0jo

https://www.dw.com/en/dr-congo-blames-rwanda-backed-rebels-for-1500-deaths/a-75368368

https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/1/7/thousands-of-refugees-fleeing-dr-congo-arrive-at-burundi-camps

https://theconversation.com/arrow-tips-found-in-south-africa-are-the-oldest-evidence-of-poison-use-in-hunting-271444

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adz3281

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This week: Washington reads the riot act to the M23 rebel group - is peace in the eastern DRC still possible? The African Development Bank fills its coffers with a record amount. More horrors emerge in Sudan. And the British museum scratching its head over the origin of its African displays.

References/further reading:

 https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20251216-m23-says-it-will-withdraw-from-key-drc-city-of-uvira

https://www.semafor.com/article/12/17/2025/us-limits-entry-for-nigerians-in-new-travel-restrictions

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gkvxlpn55o

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/afdb-raises-105-billion-low-cost-lending-window-no-word-us-funding-2025-12-16/

https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20251218-over-1-000-civilians-killed-when-sudan-paramilitary-group-seized-zamzam-camp-un-says

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg7v3n33ndpo

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This week: Benin braces for a coup - but it's not to be. Trump adds just a few paragraphs on Africa in his new security plan. Kenya holds up Washington's new health plan - for now. And back to the future for Africa in the next World Cup.

References/further reading:

https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20251209-france-backs-benin-after-foiled-coup-as-ecowas-warns-of-rising-instability

https://www.dw.com/en/trumps-new-security-strategy-a-chance-for-africa/a-75102272

https://apnews.com/article/kenya-health-agreements-rubio-trump-usaid-cb80e0dafa3f458cf9e7416481f67edf

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce91degnelko

https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexicousa2026/articles/mexico-south-africa-opening-game-2010

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This week: Will peace stick between the DRC and Rwanda? Trump thinks there's a lot of money to be made. The Somali community in the US under fire. A new defence minister for Nigeria as insecurity grows in the north. And an alarming new report on how deforestation in central Africa and what it means for CO2 emissions. 

References/further reading: 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjrjn88jqn4o

https://www.semafor.com/article/12/03/2025/an-uncertain-peace-deal

https://www.theafricareport.com/400590/qatar-enters-congos-m23-conflict-with-a-21bn-bet-can-it-buy-peace/

https://apnews.com/article/trump-garbage-somalia-minneapolis-immigrant-omar-03e31bba53519d8a39b419679a3b75d9

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62lg9047e0o

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2506287-africas-forests-are-now-emitting-more-co2-than-they-absorb/#:~:text=The%20lion's%20share%20of%20this,destroyed%20by%20logging%20and%20mining.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1m8nm22785o

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This week: Bandits on the rampage in Nigeria as kidnapping becomes big business. Ramaphosa wraps up the G20, as new rifts one up with Trumps America. Coup-time in Guinea-Bissau. And Apple under fire in the DRC and Rwanda.

References/further reading:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq5qen5gnzqo

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/trump-says-south-africa-wont-receive-invitation-g20-2026-2025-11-26/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg164nvj77o

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2025/11/26/us-group-sues-apple-over-dr-congo-conflict-minerals

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This week: South Africa says the US will be at the G20 afterall, Washington scoffs in response. Why did a charter plane full of Palestinians land in Johannesburg? Are there really that many Namibians in the UK illegally? Nigerian separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu sentenced to life in jail. And Amnesty calls out the Kenyan government. 

References/further reading:

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/south-africa-is-discussing-possible-g20-participation-with-us-president-says-2025-11-20/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn979g302l9o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU10SP3snek

https://www.africanews.com/2025/11/17/uk-home-secretary-threatens-to-blocks-visas-for-angola-namibia-and-drc//

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj3z38e6v45o

https://www.amnestykenya.org/

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This week: Africa faces the worst cholera outbreak in 25 years. Justice in Gabon? First it was Tanzania, now Uganda - are there worrying signs ahead of an election there? Senegal says no to IMF debt restructuring. And it's back to English for young Nigerians. 

References/further reading:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/13/medical-experts-say-africa-faces-worst-cholera-outbreak-in-25-years

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c797yg3pw7wo

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn8v9vkkjm0o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycrEgBlGrq8

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/10/jacob-zuma-daughter-duduzile-trial-south-african-riots

https://www.semafor.com/article/11/12/2025/senegals-bonds-fall-after-pm-resists-imf-calls-to-restructure-debt

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd7rlrzq88wo

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This week: Turmoil in Tanzania as Samia gets another term. Sudan's RSF calls time-out for now. Why is Trump annoyed with Nigeria? And a new mega-museum in Egypt could mean more pressure for treasures to be returned to the country. 

References/further reading:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/5/tanzania-election-failed-to-comply-with-democratic-standards-african-union

https://www.dw.com/en/tanzanias-instability-could-harm-trade-in-southern-africa/a-74612170

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/sudans-rsf-agrees-us-proposal-humanitarian-ceasefire-2025-11-06/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgqlzkdeeqjo

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/06/south-africa-investigation-citizens-fighting-ukraine-russia-war-mercenaries

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg4q403rpzo

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This week: Ivory Coast's big weekend - what does the run-up to the poll tell us? Dire warnings about a resurgence of polio on the continent. Why the reopening of Sudan's airport is so important. And praise for DRC's health workers as Ebola seems to be on its way out. 

References/further reading:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2de6wkd4qo

https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20251017-how-cote-d-ivoire-mobilises-to-fight-false-news-and-foreign-influence

https://www.africanews.com/2025/10/23/why-khartoums-airport-reopening-matters-beyond-sudan/

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/21/who-warns-1-7bn-funding-shortfall-threatens-polio-eradication-efforts

https://www.channelstv.com/2025/10/24/nnamdi-kanus-trial-stalls-over-claim-of-inability-to-access-case-file/

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/19/last-ebola-patient-discharged-from-dr-congo-who

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