Africa

A New Face for America’s Africa Policy After months of delay and partisan wrangling, the United States Senate confirmed Frank Garcia as the new United States ambassador to Africa in May 2026, filling a position that had remained vacant for a significant period. Garcia, a veteran naval officer with extensive experience in African waters and

A Papal Visit Marked by History and Healing When Pope Francis arrived in Ghana in May 2026, he entered a country that has for decades navigated the complex legacy of the transatlantic slave trade, which departed from these shores incalculable numbers of Africans across four centuries. Ghana’s position as one of the principal departure points

A Landmark Partnership That Connects Africa to the Global Digital Economy When Vodacom M-Pesa and PayPal announced their partnership in May 2026, the headlines focused on the technical mechanics of what was being offered: Tanzanian users of M-Pesa would now be able to link their accounts to PayPal, enabling them to send and receive international

Waves of Violence Force Ghanaian Nationals to Flee For several hundred Ghanaian nationals living and working in South Africa, the month of May 2026 brought an abrupt and terrifying end to their lives abroad. A surge of anti-immigrant violence swept through townships and urban areas of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, targeting residents and business owners of

A Democratic Exercise Built on Shaky Foundations When Ethiopia went to the polls in May 2026 for what authorities framed as a pivotal national election, the ambition was clear: to demonstrate that Africa’s second-most populous nation could stage a credible democratic exercise capable of restoring international confidence in its reform trajectory. The atmosphere in Addis