The news headlines following the passing of Tanzanian leader John Magufuli paint him in a negative light. This is not fair. Magufuli became president in 2015 and won reelection to a second term following the October 2020 general elections. Tanzania is often hailed as one of the African continent’s most democratic, politically stable, and prosperous African nations.…
It’s been more than a year since the coronavirus pandemic began circulating around the world. From its difficult to trace origins in Wuhan, a Chinese province, the pandemic has seen more than 117 million cases worldwide, with an estimated 2.6 million recorded deaths. One of the mysteries of the Covid-19 saga is that not…
With Africa and U.S. Cities, a document published by the Washington D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies(CSIS), news about the African continent — its peoples, governments, institutions, and activities — never stops. Coverage of the continent by American-run, as well as African-run organizations, and a mix of others, is what informs us about what…
Tensions in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region have gone from talking about the potential for conflict into what is now the aftermath of a war between the country’s federal government in Addis Ababa and the regional government in Tigray. An estimated six million people live in the Tigray region. Since fighting began on November 4,…
In journalism, there is such a thing as agenda-setting – how the mass media — newspapers, radio, and TV, and the plurality of online channels — prioritize the news for publication. The idea that some news stories would take precedence over others gained credence with thought leaders, Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw, during the 1968…
Joe Biden was proclaimed the winner of the 2020 American presidential race on Saturday, Nov. 7. Biden crossed the 270 Electoral College votes threshold needed to secure the presidency. The rest of the votes are still being counted. They are yet to be certified by each of America’s 50 states. In electoral parlance, Biden is now…
The governing record of Paul Biya, Cameroon’s current leader, is making the news rounds, again. Biya assumed office as president of the centrally located African nation on Nov. 6, 1982. He’s been president now for 38 long years. Biya, now 87-years-old, became president after serving as prime minister under the late President Ahmadou Ahidjo. That…
Americans are casting their votes in the November 3 election for those who would represent them at national and local levels. The stakes are especially high for the offices of the President, Senators, and the House of Representatives. While this is taking place, I’ve been reflecting on the importance of the relations between the United…
As America crawls toward the November 3 General Election, there is plenty of speculation, including prognostication, about who former vice-president and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden will pick as his running mate. First, some context. Perhaps you are not a political junkie, you are just a layperson or an average Joe and may be wondering why…
The United States is less than four months away from the election that would determine control of not just the Senate and the House which make up the legislative branch of the American government, but also control of the executive branch, the White House. As the coronavirus rages, and as protests over the mistreatment…