First Independent Mena Newspaper
The Trump administration is considering a dramatic expansion of its travel ban, potentially targeting 36 additional countries — 25 of them in Africa — with full or partial visa restrictions, according to a leaked State Department cable. Signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the memo cites a 60-day deadline for affected nations to meet […]
Talks over the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) are set to begin by July, but African nations face growing uncertainty as U.S. tariffs threaten to undermine the landmark trade pact. AGOA, which since 2000 has granted duty-free access to the United States for eligible sub-Saharan African exports, is scheduled to expire […]
The Trump administration has reaffirmed its commitment to the $4 billion Lobito Corridor rail project in Africa, aiming to strengthen United States-Africa economic ties while countering China’s growing influence in the region. The initiative, which connects Angola, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is seen as a vital trade route for transporting minerals […]
Africa may be facing uncertainty following the re-election of Donald Trump as US president who signed a flurry of executive orders on his first day in the White House, sparking concerns especially about their potential impact on African countries that heavily rely on US humanitarian aid. The barrage of executive orders signed by president Trump […]
China’s top diplomat has embarked on his traditional New Year tour of Africa that will take him to Namibia, the Republic of Congo, Chad, and Nigeria, aiming to further advance Beijing’s already sizable influence across the resource-rich continent amid dwindling Western influence. The week-long tour by China’s foreign minister Wang Yi marks 35 consecutive years […]
US president Joe Biden, on his visit to Angola to promote the $550 million US-backed Lobito Corridor railway project, has pledged another $600 million for a cross-continent rail corridor, telling regional leaders that “Africa has been left behind for much too long. But not anymore. Africa is the future.” Biden used the third and final […]
Outgoing US president Joe Biden arrived in Angola on Monday (2 December) for his long-awaited inaugural presidential visit to the continent and also the first-ever visit by a sitting US head of state to the oil-rich southern African country. On his way to the African continent, Biden stopped in the Atlantic Ocean island nation of […]
Only weeks before stepping down from the political stage, US president Joe Biden will visit Angola from 2-4 December in what will be his first trip to the African continent during his presidency. It’s not by chance that Angola was chosen to be among the US leader’s final international engagements before leaving office — “this […]
As the US top diplomat wrapped up his visit to Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Angola (21-26 January), experts have hailed what they call the United States finally “making serious efforts to strengthen its relations with Africa”. The four-nation tour of the continent by the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was also officially […]
The US top diplomat’s tour of four African countries began on Monday (22 January) with a visit to Cape Verde, as the Biden administration seeks to prove the United States is a key partner on a continent where China and Russia have sought to expand their influence. In Cape Verde, US Secretary of State Antony […]