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Second Lieutenant Josephine Baker in Algiers, 1944, with Commander Dumesnil, her superior.

Singing spy

Algeria – France: Joséphine Baker, the spy of the show

The music-hall singer who was reburied at the Pantheon spent time in Algeria between the 1930s and 1950s as an artist. But Baker was also a spy ... for French intelligence during the Second World War. She later adopted two orphans of Algerian origin: a Kabyle boy and a 'pied-noirs' girl.

A food vendor prepares "jollof rice", a traditional meal often made using chicken, in the northern city of Kano

inflationary pressures

Nigeria: Climate change is driving the cost of jollof rice

“I do not think anyone in Nigeria needs persuading of the need for urgent action on the environment. Desertification in the north, floods in ... the centre, pollution and erosion on the coast are enough evidence. For Nigeria, climate change is not about the perils of tomorrow, but what is happening today,” President Muhammadu Buhari said during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in October. And today means Nigerians are finding it increasingly hard to afford basic food items.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his deputy Constantino Chiwenga greet supporters of his ZANU PF party at a rally in Murombedzi

behind the scenes

Zimbabwe: Is Zanu PF imploding ahead of the 2023 elections?

Even though Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his deputy, Constantino Chiwenga, appear to be in good books while in public, insiders ... say, the latter’s allies are against the former's endorsement by some Zanu PF members to run for the 2023 elections. Hence, there has been an ongoing cold war between Mnangagwa and Chiwenga allies as Zimbabwe heads towards the harmonised polls.

budget battles

Ghana: Budget impasse in parliament sparks governance crisis

Ghana’s parliament has voted to reject the 2022 budget, the first time since the West African country returned to multi-party politics in 1992. ... The political impasse has created doubts about the future of a country that's seen as a rare bright spot for democratic governance in the region and could scare away investors, experts argue.

Workers walk between photovoltaic panels at the Benban plant in Aswan

Distributed Renewable Energy

Africa: ‘Clean energy solutions are woefully underfunded today’

When the power goes out in South Africa’s platinum mines—as it frequently does—emergency-response plans are activated to evacuate miners ... from the depths. And for every dark day in the mines, people above ground also suffer: businesses shutter their doors, refrigerators stop humming, health clinics go dark, access to financing gets tighter—all as the country’s power system struggles with ageing coal-fired power stations and rapidly rising energy demand.

Claiming his spot

Nigeria: Is Buju ready for the biggest stage as Afrobeats takes off?

Partly as a consequence of its rapid pace and dizzying mix of hustle and bustle, Lagos has long been a hub for rich African music. A cultural ... melting pot, the city has consistently birthed diverse, hybrid artists over the years. With all that life in Lagos comes with, its artists are bursting with stories to tell and experiences to share.

A Blessing or a Curse?

South Africa: What it’s really like to be a Mandela

Eight years after former South African president Nelson Mandela’s death, some of his family are cashing in on his freedom hero status, while ... others are keeping his memory alive – or fighting over his estate.

Algeria – France: Joséphine Baker, the spy of the show

inflationary pressures

Nigeria: Climate change is driving the cost of jollof rice

behind the scenes

Zimbabwe: Is Zanu PF imploding ahead of the 2023 elections?

Singing spy

Algeria – France: Joséphine Baker, the spy of the show

inflationary pressures

Nigeria: Climate change is driving the cost of jollof rice

behind the scenes

Zimbabwe: Is Zanu PF imploding ahead of the 2023 elections?

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Challenge Overturned

South Africa: Shell defeats challenge to Wild Coast exploration plans

Royal Dutch Shell has seen off an attempt by environmental groups in South Africa to block planned seismic exploration for oil and gas off the ... Wild Coast.

Democratic challenges

Libya’s electoral process is threatening to implode

Between Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dabaiba’s manoeuvres, the rejection of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi’s appeal in Sebha and the resignation of the ... head of the UN mission, political tensions are rising and seriously compromising Libya’s electoral process.

Shared Interest

Egypt/Sudan: Could a military government in Khartoum be good news for Cairo?

While the international community criticised the military coup led by Sudan’s General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in October, its neighbour Egypt ... kept a neutral position, leading many to wonder if Khartoum’s military government is an asset to Cairo.

Protestors denounce US stance on the Ethiopia conflict outside the White House in Washington, U.S.

UNDER FIRE

US policies on Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Covid in Africa come under fire in Congress

The State Department’s top Africa official, Molly Phee, faced bipartisan criticism of US policies on an array of fronts this week in her first ... appearance before Congress since taking office.

Systems change

Post-Covid: Time to address deep-rooted systemic barriers to gender equality

In March 2021, the World Economic Forum released the Global Gender Gap 2021 report which showed that closing the global gender gap would take ... an additional 36 years due to the impact of the pandemic.

Internal fighting

DRC: A discreet palace war is taking place within Tshisekedi’s inner circle

Several people close to the DRC’s President Felix Tshisekedi, including advisors, ministers and even securocrats, have been trying to unpick ... a mining dispute for several weeks now.

Round 2

Côte d’Ivoire: Laurent Gbagbo’s return to the political arena

Four months after returning home, Côte d'Ivoire’s former president, Laurent Gbagbo, has created a new party. What are the 76-year-old’s ... real aspirations?

Special forces commander Mamady Doumbouya, who ousted President Conde, walks out after meeting the envoys from ECOWAS about the Guinea crisis to discuss ways steer the country back toward a constitutional

COUP IN GUINEA

US launches talks with Guinea amid fears of Sahel militancy spillover

The State Department is dispatching its top West Africa official to Guinea to discuss a post-coup transition amid fears of rising instability ... in the region.

Joining forces

DRC allows Uganda’s army to enter Congolese territory to fight the ADF

One week after a double explosion in Kampala, the DRC’s President Félix Tshisekedi has reportedly authorised the Ugandan army to enter Congolese ... territory to fight the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). This strategy is not without risk.

Passing the buck

Guinea: Condé transferred to wife’s residence in Conakry suburbs

On 28 November, Guinea’s deposed president Alpha Condé was transferred to the former first lady’s residence. He had been held at the Mohammed ... V Place, which houses the presidency, ever since the Mamadi Doumbouya-led coup took place.

civil war

Ethiopia: ‘Tigrayan youth are falling like leaves,’ says PM Abiy

On 30 November, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed urged rebels in Tigray to surrender, saying government forces were closing in on victory. ... It comes just a week after the PM pledged to lead military operations on the frontline.

A woman looks at Nigerian banks apps on a smart phone in Abuja

A Two-sided Ecosystem

Nigeria – TeamApt eyes unicorn status, looks to become Africa’s largest digital bank

A Nigerian fintech startup, TeamApt, which provides financial services to the underserved mass market in Africa, is eyeing the unicorn status ... on the back of nearly $50bn in yearly transactions, as it seeks to raise a Series C funding round ‘at well over $1bn in valuation from some of the world's biggest investors’. TeamApt could be the fifth unicorn from the Nigerian fintech ecosystem, following Interswich, Opay, Flutterwave and most recently, Andela.

Allies and Confidants

South Africa: Who’s who in President Ramaphosa’s network?

South Africa's ruling party, ANC was dealt a hard blow after November's local elections, but according to President Cyril Ramaphosa, this was ... democracy at play. Since the fall of apartheid in 1994, he has been a major player in the ANC and South African politics in general. Who keeps him going? We have this look at his network, from the family to the financiers, the political allies and the core staff.

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