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By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — The Church of England is joining a handful of museums, universities, and private owners exploring the repatriation to Nigeria of thousands of brass plaques, wooden and ivory sculptures known as the Benin Bronzes looted by British soldiers in the waning days of the colonial era.
By Philipp Jahn and Gerrit Kurtz*
This article was first published in the Journal of the International Politics and Society, issued by the German Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s Brussels office.
KHARTOUM (IDN) — April 11, 2019 was a day of great emotion in Khartoum. At noon, the then-Vice President Ibn Auf announced the arrest of President Omar al-Bashir. The residents of Khartoum celebrated the end of his 30-year rule by holding a sit-in in front of the military headquarters. In the evening, however, the mood shifted when the putschist military council announced two years of military rule.
By Busani Bafana
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (IDN) — The long-awaited African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)—set to be the world’s biggest free trade zone by size—which entered into force on January 1, 2021, promises a new era for African trade.
An Africa-wide free-trade pact could bolster the region’s income by $450 billion and lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty by 2035, if accompanied by significant policy reforms and trade-facilitation measures, according to the World Bank. When fully operational, the Free Trade area will create a market of 1.2 billion and drive a combined GDP of $2.5 trillion.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — Three noted Africa experts, at a Roundtable with the BBC, are warning of endless “forever wars” if Africa continues to rely on military solutions with weapons and training from the U.S. and the international community instead of addressing local grievances.
The group spotlighted the case of Mozambique where a small ragtag movement demanding religious freedom and a share in the region’s economic wealth morphed into a deadly armed movement of Islamist militants controlling the area called Cabo Delgado.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — Some two decades ago, Ngugi wa Thiong’o challenged African writers to break their colonial chains and write in African languages.
He then shocked the literary world and took on the challenge himself. Although he continued to write nonfiction in English, Ngugi wrote his novels and plays in Gikuyu and translated some of his works into other African languages.
By Kester Kenn Klomegah*
MOSCOW (IDN) — Over the past few years, Russia's sphere of influence in Africa has been strengthening and broadening with much focus on helping to maintain peace and security and making an investment in exploiting natural resources in Africa. The first historic Russia-Africa summit held in October 2019 has further and concretely laid out a comprehensive roadmap with which to forge a future relationship with the continent.
Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene
The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Interview magazine based in Abuja, Nigeria.
ABUJA (IDN) — Brazil has proved a disaster in the management of COVID-19, but there are other areas where we can use their examples.
Like what to do about failing refineries. This hot-button topic returned to the front burner after the Nigerian government recently announced plans to repair the Port Harcourt Refinery.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — A scorching blaze that turned a crowded neighbourhood of Sierra Leone’s capital city into rubble and ashes has left an estimated 4,500 residents homeless with many searching for missing family.
The inferno which broke out on March 24 between 7 and 10 p.m. in Susan's Bay, devastated a community of struggling families, mostly fishermen and petty traders, according to Save the Children in a report.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — “Multiple senseless attacks” on civilian populations by armed groups in the Tahoua and Tilabery regions of Niger were condemned by world leaders and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) which noted the recent killings of some 200 civilians including children in the violence.
In the last ten days alone, three attacks in Banibangou, Tahoua and Abala, near the West African nation of Mali, also destroyed productive infrastructure such as granaries, jeopardizing livelihoods in some of the most vulnerable regions of the country, the humanitarian group reported.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — Africa is experiencing a second coronavirus wave more severe than the first, according to a worrying new study published on March 24 by the medical journal The Lancet.
The Lancet said one reason for the rise was that some countries were implementing fewer public health measures such as mask-wearing and social distancing, probably from adherence fatigue and economic necessity.
IDN-InDepthNews offers news analyses, features, reports and viewpoints that impact the world and its peoples. It has been online since 2009. Its network spans countries around the world.