Within hours of the publication of a New York Post article on October 14th, Twitter users began receiving strange messages. If they tried to share the story—a dubious “exposé” of emails supposedly from the laptop of Hunter Biden, son of
Somali presidential elections are scheduled in just a few months, war is erupting in neighboring Ethiopia, and Shebab militants are still strong. The timing, Somalis say, could not be worse.
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…
If you are an avid consumer of international news you may have seen the story which Cable News Network aka CNN ran recently about Russian trolls in Ghana and Nigeria. This story is especially relevant for the United States government as it relates to the issue of meddling in its elections by foreign entities. But…
The Confederation of African Football (CAF), responsible for organizing the African Cup of Nations, elected a new president on March 16 at the Africa Union headquarters in Ethiopia. He is Madagascar’s Vice-President of the Senate, Ahmad Ahmad. Ahmad, 57, was also the leader of the Madagascar Football Federation. He defeated longtime CAF President, Issa Hayatou…
The sad thing about the 2016 U.S. Election is not that Donald Trump was elected president of the United States; it is that the new administration may be abandoning the African continent. And the damages caused by the new U.S. administration continue. The other news is that China and other big powers have stepped in…
This week we learned the U.S. administration under President Donald Trump has proposed a budget that would cut foreign aid drastically. The issues, facts, and implications of decisions made under the administration are inescapable. The State Department, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) would be greatly impacted by these cuts. If you are…
Since November 2016, the African nation of Cameroon has been embroiled in civil unrest marked by demonstrations and boycotts against the Francophone-dominated government of President Paul Biya. Recent news reports point to many civilian deaths through police action, while others, including journalists, lawyers, and civil society leaders, have been arrested and placed on trial. The…
Beyond academic and diplomatic circles, many have not heard of the International Crisis Group or Crisis Group. The Brussels-based non-governmental organization, tracks and warns of the potentials of conflict in nations around the world. The group is highly respected and often quoted in news reports due to their thorough research. Just before the Arab Spring…
As Barack Obama wraps up his time as president of the United States, we are looking back at the relations he forged with the African continent and what was achieved during the last eight years. A few months ago, we looked at what U.S. official trips to Africa can tell us about U.S.-Africa relations, especially…