North Africa

CAF Awards 2025: Somalia’s Omar Abdulkadir Artan named Best Male Referee Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan was named CAF Best Male Referee for 2025 on Wednesday in Rabat, Morocco, underscoring a landmark year for officiating in the Horn of Africa. The honor was announced at the CAF Awards ceremony hosted at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University. Uganda’s Nabadda was also recognized, taking the CAF Best Female Referee award. The awards spotlight the continent’s top football officiating talent. Artan’s win highlights…

Sovereign debt crisis imperils developing economies as G20 gathers in Johannesburg Global economic experts are raising the alarm: sovereign debt in many developing countries, especially across Africa, has reached a critical stage and risks triggering wider instability if left unaddressed. With G20 leaders preparing to meet in Johannesburg this month, analysts say the summit is an urgent opportunity for coordinated action on debt sustainability and finance for development. The warning follows reporting that many low- and…

Libya’s New Agreement to Align Financial Policies Libya's central bank announced an important agreement between the country's two legislative bodies, aimed at creating a unified development program. This move seeks to align the financial strategies of the rival administrations in a framework they both accept. Libya is a major oil producer with divided governance between west and east. The country has lacked a unified budget for over a decade. The new agreement focuses on unifying spending channels for development…

Intensifying Conflict in Sudan's Kordofan Region: Territorial Struggles and Humanitarian Impact The Kordofan region in Sudan has witnessed escalated fighting recently, as the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) vie for control of strategic areas. The renewed clashes underscore the fragile stability in the region, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis with thousands displaced. Strategic Battlefields With its strategic significance, North Kordofan has become a focal point. The army maintains a firm hold on…

Sudan’s Conflict: A Nation on the Brink of Partition After 19 months of intense conflict, Sudan stands at the crossroads of transformation and potential dissolution. The battle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has evolved from a power struggle into a complex conflict threatening to redraw the nation’s borders. As global attention wavers, the possibility of a protracted partition looms large. Shifting Battle Lines and the Asymmetric War Recent developments have…

Suffering in Sudan: A Humanitarian Crisis Worsens The ongoing conflict in Sudan, raging since April 2023 between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has plunged the nation into a deep humanitarian crisis. More than half of Sudan's population now requires urgent humanitarian assistance, according to the Danish Refugee Council's chief. A Nation Under Siege With tens of thousands of lives lost and nearly 12 million people displaced, Sudan finds itself amidst one of the world’s gravest humanitarian…

Super Eagles Aim for Glory in World Cup Playoff Final As the sun sets over Morocco, a palpable excitement fills the air, accompanying the bustling streets leading up to the grand showdown. The Super Eagles of Nigeria stand on the brink of history as they prepare to battle the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the 2026 World Cup Africa Playoff Final this Sunday. The stakes couldn’t be higher; the victor will secure a place in the FIFA Intercontinental Play-off Tournament, a gateway to the prestigious 2026 World Cup. A…

A Humanitarian Crisis in Sudan: Calls for Urgent Action Amidst Escalating Conflict In a landscape scarred by conflict and despair, the United Nations’ top humanitarian official, Tom Fletcher, condemned the ongoing civil war in Sudan as “brutal and inhumane” during a recent visit to the embattled region of Darfur. His mission, steeped in urgency, sought to highlight the dire need for unimpeded humanitarian aid in a country teetering on the brink of collapse. The Heart of a Crisis Fletcher's arrival in eastern Sudan on…

Conflict, poverty and collapsing services: why cholera is surging again "Peace is health," World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus repeats in briefings, a blunt reminder that infectious disease is not merely a biological problem but a political and social one. In late August 2025, WHO warned the world that cholera is resurging — and that the drivers are familiar: armed conflict, broken water and sanitation systems, deepening poverty and strained vaccine supplies. The warning is not abstract.…

Somalia’s New Opposition Bloc Warns of ‘Red Lines’ as Federalism Wobbles NAIROBI — In a city that often hosts Somali politics in exile, a newly formed alliance of regional leaders and opposition figures gathered Wednesday and issued the sort of warning that lands with a thud in Mogadishu: Do not bend the country’s fragile constitutional order. Do not change the rules without consensus. Do not extend your mandate. And do not squeeze Somalia’s federal system until it breaks. Calling itself the Somali Future Council, the bloc…