Eye on Africa

Somalia’s Deputy Foreign Minister meets Sen. Ted Cruz as North Western State of Somalia recognition debate intensifies On a quiet Saturday in Washington, a meeting that might have passed as routine diplomacy was anything but. Somalia’s deputy foreign minister, Ali Omar Ali—widely known by his nickname, Balcad—sat down with Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa and has emerged as one of the most vocal advocates in Washington for recognizing North Western State of…

Somali filmmaker Khadar Ayderus Ahmed readies ‘Thundering Smoke,’ a bold return to East Africa’s silver screen LONDON — One of the most intriguing new voices in African cinema is setting his sights on a daring second act. Khadar Ayderus Ahmed, the Somali director who charmed Cannes and gathered armfuls of festival prizes with his feature debut The Gravedigger’s Wife, is preparing his next film: a genre-bending thriller about a middle-aged Somali hitwoman who returns to the village that once expelled her. A hitwoman comes…

Ebola Outbreak in DRC: Challenges, Responses, and Global Implications The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) finds itself grappling with its first Ebola outbreak in three years. With 48 confirmed and probable cases and 31 reported deaths, the outbreak declared on September 4th in Kasai Province near the Angolan border has put the world on alert. The Ground Zero: Kasai Province In the remote corners of Kasai Province, the Ebola outbreak has sparked a race against time. The World Health Organization (WHO), aware of the…

Somalia’s Climate Fight Is Also a Battle for Peace — and for Fair Finance On a recent morning along Somalia’s Shabelle River, neighbors climbed onto rooftops clutching documents and schoolbooks as floodwaters surged through villages already battered by years of conflict. It was a scene that has become uncomfortably familiar across the country: people surviving one disaster only to be driven into another. The number of internally displaced people in Somalia has now surpassed 3.8 million — a figure that captures not just the…

U.S. Envoy and Special Operations Commander Praise Puntland State’s Anti-ISIS Push in Bosaso as Airstrike Controversy Lingers BOSASO, Somalia — In a high-profile show of support, the U.S. ambassador to Somalia and the head of U.S. Special Operations Command Africa met Puntland State’s president on Saturday in the bustling port city of Bosaso, commending local forces for pushing Islamic State militants from their mountain redoubts and helping keep some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes safe. U.S. Ambassador Richard H.…

Minnesota charges eight in alleged Medicaid housing fraud as state moves to reboot troubled program Federal prosecutors in Minnesota have charged eight people with orchestrating more than $8 million in alleged wire fraud tied to the state’s Housing Stabilization Services program, a Medicaid benefit intended to keep disabled and elderly residents housed. The indictments, announced Thursday in Minneapolis, mark what prosecutors called the “first wave” in a widening probe into a program that ballooned far beyond its original…

France-Mali Relations in Crisis: A Diplomatic Breakdown In a move that echoes the increasingly fraught ties between France and Mali, Paris has announced the suspension of counterterrorism cooperation with the West African nation. This decision follows the August arrest of a French diplomat in Mali's capital, Bamako, and marks a significant escalation in a diplomatic rift that has been deepening since military coups shook the country in 2020 and 2021. The Unraveling of Cooperation The French government has ordered its…

Responding to Ebola's Echo: An Ongoing Battle in the Heart of Africa The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is no stranger to the ominous specter of Ebola. Its history with the virus has been marked by terrifying outbreaks and miraculous recoveries, and the latest resurgence underscores a vital truth: public health is an ongoing battle, deeply woven into the fabric of DRC's communities. Just as the Congo River winds through the nation’s landscape, so too do the somber realities of infectious diseases intertwine with the…

Deportees' Legal Battle Shines a Light on Ghana's Immigration Policies In a poignant and complex clash of rights and national policy, eleven Ghanaians recently returned from the United States are taking unprecedented legal action against their own government. These individuals, who were deported under the controversial immigration stance of the Trump administration, claim their detention upon arrival violated their rights. The case encapsulates the delicate interplay between international agreements and domestic law,…

Ancient gold bracelet disappears from Cairo museum days before landmark opening What happened Egyptian authorities launched an urgent search this week after a 3,000-year-old gold bracelet vanished from a restoration laboratory at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The artifact — a delicate cuff studded with lapis lazuli beads dating to the reign of King Amenemope of the 21st Dynasty (circa 993–984 BC) — was reported missing while conservators were preparing items for an exhibition in Rome, the Ministry of Tourism and…