Angola’s Ruling Party, MPLA, Retains Power in Tightest Election Yet

The Pop­u­lar Move­ment for the Lib­er­a­tion of Ango­la won in the gen­er­al elec­tion with the low­est mar­gin since com­ing to pow­er in 1975. LUANDA, Ango­la — Angola’s rul­ing par­ty on Mon­day was declared the win­ner of the gen­er­al elec­tion, but it was its weak­est show­ing in the five elec­tions that have tak­en place since the country…

Angola Braces for Tight General Election

Nairo­bi, Kenya —  Ango­la holds pres­i­den­tial and par­lia­men­tary elec­tions Wednes­day in what is expect­ed to be the biggest chal­lenge to the country’s long­stand­ing one-par­­ty rule. The rul­ing MPLA par­ty, in pow­er for near­ly half a cen­tu­ry, has been los­ing young sup­port­ers to the lead­ing oppo­si­tion par­ty, UNITA. The pres­i­den­tial can­di­dates have focused main­ly on eco­nom­ic issues, but observers are…

Dead but Not Buried, Angola’s Ex-President’s Body Sparks a Continental Fight

José Eduar­do dos San­tos ruled Ango­la for 38 years. But he died in Spain. A dis­pute over where to lay him to rest has divid­ed his fam­i­ly and could decide the fate of his polit­i­cal par­ty. LUANDA, Ango­la — Even in death, Angola’s long­time ruler, José Eduar­do dos San­tos, is at the cen­ter of polit­i­cal infighting.…

Mike Pompeo’s Trip to Africa Leads the Headlines

Unit­ed States Sec­re­tary of State, Mike Pom­peo con­clud­ed a trip to Dakar, Sene­gal on Sun­day, Feb­ru­ary 15. While there he held talks with the country’s lead­ers, includ­ing Pres­i­dent, Macky Sall, and For­eign Min­is­ter, Amadou Ba, accord­ing to this release from the State Depart­ment. While the dis­cus­sions in Sene­gal focused on secu­ri­ty mat­ters, espe­cial­ly as the…

In Case You Missed It: 4/11/16 – 4/18/16

In this week’s news, African lead­ers gath­er in Ethiopia for a high-lev­­el secu­ri­ty sum­mit, and investors in Africa cau­tioned not to leave too soon. The Econ­o­mist Cau­tions Not To Pull Out of Africa Too Soon It’s true there are plen­ty of con­cerns among the mil­lions of investors who have put their mon­ey and hopes in the economies…

In Case You Missed It: 2/29/16 — 3/06/16

The most impor­tant in this week’s head­lines out of and con­cern­ing Africa, for those who need help catch­ing up. In this week’s news, old guns pro­vide a new eco­nom­ic prospect, and Africa’s mil­lion­aires are on the rise. Ango­la Recy­cles Old Guns To Cre­ate Steel Mill Four­teen years after the end of Ango­la’s decades-long civ­il war, the coun­try has…

Global financial crisis may slow growth in poor nations

U.S. Pres­i­dent Barack Oba­ma has called it “the worst finan­cial cri­sis in our life time.” You can call any­thing you like; the cri­sis of a gen­er­a­tion, the trick­­le-down effects of the sub-prime mort­gage lend­ing mess, or what­ev­er, but the glob­al finan­cial cri­sis is hit­ting not only the Unit­ed States but all coun­tries around the world. It may…