Global oil market thrown into uncertainty as US, Israel strikes in Iran create biggest crisis in years
Tanker freight rates, which had already been climbing as tensions escalated, are set to rise further. Benchmark rates for very large crude carriers from the Middle East to China have more than tripled since the start of the year, reflecting both heightened risk and the shrinking pool of willing vessels.
Uganda as a unit of imagined communities: Without the barrel of the gun, it’s difficult to think of the ‘Pearl of Africa’ as a state
The principle of nationality that buried the Soviet Union and destroyed its empire in Eastern Europe continues to shape conflicts among the new independent countries of that vast region. Such peace, security and unity are unstable by nature. They may endure in the short to medium term, but they cannot stand the test of time
Ethiopian versus Tigrayan, Eritrean tensions are a powder keg that could inflame Horn of Africa
The current domestic friction reflects a dramatic re-jigging of the political and military alliances of the 2020-22 Tigray war, when federal forces and Eritrean troops – backed by Amhara paramilitaries – marched against the TPLF-led regional administration.
US rules out ‘sunset provision’ in nuclear talks with Iran as latter warns Washington against military build in Middle East
US Special Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff, a billionaire real estate developer and friend of US President Donald Trump, arrived for the talks. However, tensions between the United States and Iran date back decades, and a single round of talks cannot address all the concerns.
Questions linger over Africa-US trade future as punitive Trump tariffs clip possible benefits of AGOA extension
According to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the extension applies retroactively from September 30, 2025, when the programme expired. Implemented in 2000, AGOA provides duty-free treatment for selected products such as textiles, agricultural goods and vehicles from designated sub-Saharan African countries.
Man City, Aston Villa to ‘invade’ Arsenal’s space at the summit after Gunners turned Premier League race into dog-fight
Aston Villa goes into the weekend third in the Premier League and is another side that will have appreciated a midweek rest ahead of what is likely to be a tough game at home to Leeds United.
Searchlight turns to deep-seated dog-fight ravaging spy agency after reports ‘Burundian refugees demand’ arrest of Kenya opposition leaders
Early last year, a security expert George Musamali warned that the health minister – then charge for defence – was clandestinely ‘importing’ foreign national, who are then ferried Kakuma Refugee Camps through Uganda. Once in the camp, they learn basic Kiswahili and secretly given Kenyan identity cards.
‘Mimi Ndio Sifuna’: How abortive ouster of ODM secretary general fuelled a situation that’s galvanised Kenyan youth against power wielders
You cannot discuss Sifuna without mentioning Raila Odinga. Love him or critique him, you cannot deny one thing: Baba has shaped a generation of political fighters. And he did not mentor cowards.
Romanticising fallacy that Luhyia and Luo of western Kenya are ‘genetically’ predestined to resist power
The argument that Luhyias and Luos are genetically predestined to resist power and is intellectually provocative, but it rests on a few assumptions that deserve serious interrogation. First, the framing that Molima (central Kenya) and Rift Valley or Kikuyus and Kalenjins are “trained to access power” while Luhyas and Luos...
Analysis: Epstein Files provide sobering evaluation of Western justice, reveals structure that grants impunity to the rich and powerful
Despite a massive document dump related to the Epstein case, the DOJ has said that it does not currently expect more arrests based on the disclosures. “There’s a lot of correspondence. There’s a lot of emails. There’s a lot of photographs. There’s a lot of horrible photographs that appear to be taken by Mr Epstein or people around him,” Deputy US Attorney General Todd Blanche told CNN.
