Africa

In Africa, as across the world, water is a hot topic. The hottest current debate is about whether its supply should be organised by private companies or, as...

The next six weeks are crucial in Africa for the much-feared spread of avian influenza, which may be carried by birds migrating from affected countries in central Asia...

The mood of 'hopeful realism' about Africa at the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on 24-25 September reflected a growing view that the...

Britain will soon have defence attachés (DAs) in Algeria and Sudan but will lose its DA in Angola and probably other African countries to pay for them. A...

Sudanese Vice-President John Garang's death in a helicopter crash on 30 July (see Feature) highlights the danger of African travel, especially in vast roadless countries such as Congo-Kinshasa...

As British ministers congratulate themselves on hoisting Africa fleetingly to the top of the international agenda at the Group of Eight summit on 6-8 July, the British foreign...

Opposition is mounting to the British government's plans to close its embassy in Madagascar - just as the country is on the brink of securing major new mining...

Reform of France's Africa policy has been set back with the sacking of Foreign Minister Michel Barnier and his replacement by a diplomatic novice, Philippe Douste-Blazy. The new...

Two months ahead of the Group of Eight (G8) summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, Britain is making little headway in winning support for its agenda for Africa - the...

Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and International Development Secretary Hilary Benn stay in their posts after the Labour Party's victory in Britain's elections on 5 May but will...

White Nile, an oil company set up in London late last year and with a single, disputed, Sudanese asset to its name, tempted eager London Stock Exchange (LSE)...

Leadership in Africa is an old Egyptian dream. It looks a lot less solid since President Hosni Mubarak's government expelled Jean-Louis Ekra, the new Ivorian president of Afreximbank,...

Washington's newish, enthusiastic Ambassador to South Africa, Jendayi E. Frazer, is heading back to base to take over as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, we hear....

The late Pope John Paul II won many admirers in Africa and visited 42 of 53 states. The choice of his successor interests Africa in two special ways....

Africa's mining houses expect their fortunes to dip over the next three years, as new production increases supply. In 2005, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit in London,...

Efforts by South Africa's Harmony to create the world's biggest gold mining group by taking over another SA mining house, Gold Fields, hit new problems this week with...

At the launch of the Commission for Africa report on 11 March, a week after Africa Confidential published an exclusive report on its main findings, British Prime Minister...

Ethically-inclined capitalists faced a tough choice in London on 17 March. Is it to be the Corporate Social Responsibility event at Chatham House backed by the Foreign and...

Africa Confidential has obtained a copy of a final draft of the Commission for Africa report, due to be launched amid fanfare in London on 11 March 2005...

The Africa Commission comprises 17 Commissioners including Prime Minister Tony Blair; Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown; International Development Minister Hilary Benn; South Africa's Finance Minister Trevor Manuel;...

Off to a strong start, 2005 is set to be both eventful and decisive for Africa's economies. Firstly, the International Monetary Fund is forecasting gross domestic product (GDP)...

The International Monetary Fund's forecast of average growth of 5.8 per cent for sub-Saharan Africa this year is the region's best out-turn for 30 years. The bigger question...