Why Nairobi? A lot of ink has already been spilled to explain the choice of Kenya to host the upcoming Africa France summit, the first gathering of heads of state from the continent Emmanuel Macron is convening since his election in 2017. But a broader, more geopolitical explanation has largely been overlooked. The origin of…
The African Union Commission expresses deep concern over the renewed escalation in the Gulf region, including reported drone and missile attacks and disruptions to maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. These developments risk further destabilization and carry significant implications for global energy markets, with immediate economic repercussions for African countries. The African Union Commission…
The timing couldn’t be worse for a continent just beginning to recover from two recent global shocks. Africa is again staring down the barrel of an external shock. The Middle East crisis marks the third major supply disruption in less than a decade, following COVID-19 and the 2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict. In each case, an external…
NewsFeed Standing in front of a map of the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describes how six countries ‘wanted to strangle us’ but instead ‘we strangled them… and we have more to do’. Ambassadors from Israel and Lebanon are set to hold talks in Washington DC on Tuesday, but they’ve issued conflicting statements…
A maze of crude oil pipes and valves is pictured during a tour by the Department of Energy at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Freeport, Texas. Richard Carson | Reuters Oil prices slipped below the $100 threshold on Friday amid persistent tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, with the vital shipping lane still largely closed…
The global economic environment has become increasingly volatile with rising frequency of major shocks worldwide. Amid spikes in energy, food and fertilizer prices caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the African Development Bank (AfDB) (www.AfDB.org), the African Union Commission (AUC) the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the UN Economic Commission for…
Since the outbreak of war in the Middle East, disrupted trade routes have caused delays to the delivery of medicines and other humanitarian aid to crisis zones such as Sudan and Mali. The Strait of Hormuz, which links Dubai to Port Sudan on the eastern coast of Africa, is a vital transit point for the…
Global energy analysts have predicted that Nigeria, along with other oil-producing African countries, will become a major beneficiary of the ongoing Middle East conflict. According to industry observers, leading energy giants in Africa, including Nigeria, Libya, Angola, Gabon, Mozambique, Namibia, and Tanzania, are increasingly seen as lower-risk alternatives to Middle Eastern crude suppliers. The ongoing…
Hundreds of U.S. Special Operations Forces, including Navy SEALs and Army Rangers, are now in the Middle East, as well as thousands of Marines and Army paratroopers, according to sources familiar with the deployments. The sources said having the forces in the region gives President Trump military options in Iran, including operations that could target…
More than 3,500 U.S. troops, including the USS Tripoli with about 2,500 Marines, arrived in the Middle East, officials announced Saturday, as strikes in the Iran war intensified. The U.S. Central Command said in a social media post that the USS Tripoli, which serves as the flagship for the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group / 31st…
