Rejected ammunition request may have jettisoned Guinea president out of power
In 2016, Mamady Doumbouya, a commander in the Guinean army, asked his superiors if he could have ammunition to train his troops in marksmanship. He never received it, he said, because they feared he would use the rounds to launch a coup. Five years on, Doumbouya did just that. On...
White supremacism: Taliban success in Afghanistan is a model for Americans who believe in civil war in the US
As the United States-backed government in Afghanistan fell to the Taliban and US troops raced to leave the country, White supremacist and anti-government extremists have expressed admiration for what the Taliban accomplished, a worrying development for US officials who have been grappling with the threat of domestic violent extremism. That...
Fighting between community militias in South Sudan creates high levels of food insecurity
South Sudan is also one of the most dangerous countries in the world for those trying to help – 17 aid workers have been killed since January, according to the Aid Worker Security Database. “Life this year is worse ,” Abuk Kat, a mother of six from the conflict-affected...
Terrorism: Taliban power grab in Afghanistan raises Islamist insurgency worries and fears in Africa
The return of the Taliban in Afghanistan has taken the world by surprise. In Africa, it compounds the worry and fear in countries struggling to crush Islamist insurgencies. For over a decade now, there’s been a surge in the activities of extremist groups in East and West Africa, the Sahel...
Abdul Ghani Baradar: Taliban poised to become president of Afghanistan after ouster of US-backed Ashraf regime
With Taliban seizing control of Kabul and all top provincial capitals of Afghanistan, its top leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is most likely to become the next president of the war-ravaged nation. On Sunday, speculation was rife that Abdul Ghani Baradar would transform into the brand-new president of Afghanistan by...
Fall of Kabul: No reason to believe a new Taliban regime in Afghanistan won’t be another humanitarian eyesore
Afghanistan’s US-trained forces appeared to readily collapse in the face of a concerted push by Taliban forces. Names and places that became familiar to Americans during their country’s long involvement there – including Kunduz and Kandahar – fell like dominoes in recent days as the Taliban swept toward the capital....
Hopes for quick return to normalcy in US dashed by new Covid variants, low vaccine uptake
It didn’t need to be this way. This spring, as people lined up for newly available, miraculously effective Covid-19 vaccines, it was easy to imagine a direct and speedy path to a protected society. The curve of administered doses appeared limited only by the supply, and the curve was looking...
How G7 helped Museveni and others to stifle democracy through money laundering laws
In late 2020, when Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni faced a fresh challenge to his 35-year rule, a new tool helped to silence his critics: anti-money laundering legislation promoted by the G7. The Financial Action Task Force, established by the G7 group of advanced economies to protect the global financial system,...
Autocracy: The more things seem to change in Tanzania, the more they remain same
When Samia Suluhu Hassan took up the reins of power in Tanzania four months ago, there was hope at home and abroad she would turn the page on the increasingly autocratic rule of her late predecessor. But with the arrest of a high-profile opposition leader on terrorism charges, critics are...
Manager Arteta sought winger Saka’s opinion on Ben White as he tries to seal Arsenal’s leaky defence
Bukayo Saka played pivotal role in Ben White’s £50 million ($69 million) Arsenal transfer by giving manager Mikel Arteta ‘overwhelmingly’ positive feedback on the defender Arsenal wonderkid Bukayo Saka proved pivotal in the club signing Brighton centre-back Ben White for £50 million ($69 million). Prior to the transfer, plenty of...
