The Brief No 58 05 Sept 2024 ...

The Brief, No 56 31 August 2024 ...

The Brief, No 45 15 December 2023 ...

The Brief, No. 43 24 June, 2023 *Background*  The mutiny by the Wagner Group against the Kremlin’s top brass will impact the war in Ukraine and geopolitics in Sub Saharan Africa.  The Wa...

The Brief, No. 42 23 February, 2023 Tomorrow will be a year since Russia invaded Ukraine.  Much has happened in Ukraine since; there has been widespread destruction of critical infrastructure, ...

The Brief No. 40 23 January 2023 Last week the new Foreign Minister of China, Qin Gang made his first international tour as the foreign minister to Africa.  The visit was significant, it was sy...

The Brief, No. 39 05 January 2022 It is certainly going to be a hectic year for President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.  South Africa takes over the rotational presidency of BRICS in 2023. &...

The Brief, No. 38 16 December 2022 The G20 was suppose to replace the G7.  However, G7 continues to exist, operates independently, meets annually and pushes its own agenda outside and within th...

The Brief, No. 37 08 December 2022 Important summits will take place in Riyadh between the President of China Xi Jinping, Saudi Arabia and leaders of the Arab World.  According to the Saudi Pr...

The Brief, No. 36  01 December 2022 According to an independent panel that probed the Phala Phala matter, the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, "may have committed serious violat...

The Brief, No. 35  21 November 2022 President Cyril Ramaphosa will be in the United Kingdom (UK) on a state visit from 22 to 23 November 2022.  This visit is significant for South Africa a...

The Brief, No. 34 22 September 2022 The death of Mahsa Amini has triggered widespread protests in Iran.  Yesterday, many young women took off their scarves and burn them as a sign of protest. ...

The Brief No. 33 13 September 2022 In a rather bizarre move, the communication team of Kenya's President-elect William Ruto offered exclusive broadcast rights to Multichoice Kenya Ltd, an affiliate ...

The Brief No. 32 20 August 2022 The swearing in of Hakainde Hichilema, a successful businessman and the leader of the United Party for National Development (UPND) on 24 August 2021 brought an elemen...

The Brief No. 31 01 August 2022 China has threatened "strong and resolute measures" should the Speaker of the US House of Representative Nancy Pelosi visit Taiwan.  China’s reaction to Pelosi i...

The Brief No. 30 23 July 2022 The grain shipments from Ukraine to start in the Black Sea following a deal brokered by Turkey and the UN Ukraine and Russia have agreed to work together to facilitate...

The Brief No 29 22 July 2022 The elements that led to the Arab Spring are largely not present in SA’s socioeconomic and political reality, at least not yet.  Whilst there is an agreement that ...

The Brief No. 28 12 July 2022 President Joe Biden will be visiting Israel, Palestine and Saudi Arabia this week.  His first stop will be Israel and the West Bank. He will then travel to Saudi ...

The Brief No. 27 10 July 2022 The assassination of the former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe has shocked the nation and the world.  Shinzo Abe the longest serving Prime Minister in Japan wa...

The Brief No. 26 01 July 2022 Israeli Prime Minister Naftali  Bennett resigns triggering another political fiasco in Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has resigned a year into his 4 years ...

The Brief No. 24 15 May 2022 Today the parliament of Somalia will elect the next president.  The initial plan was to have one man one vote however due to security concerns members of parliament...

The Brief No. 23 15 April 2022 Britain to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda to prevent illegal sea crossings.  There has been mixed reactions to the news that illegal immigrants and asylum seekers ...

The Brief No. 22 10 May 2022 The election of President Rodrigo Duterte in June 2016 caught many, particularly outside Philippines, by surprise.  The question most asked at the time was why him...

The Brief, No 21 10 April 2022 The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan has suffered a vote of no confidence. The passing of the motion on Saturday came after the country's Supreme Court ruled th...

The Brief, No 20 06 April 2022 Finally, Justice for Thomas Sankara. 35 years later; the family of the former president of Bukina Faso, Thomas Sankara, gets justice. Former President of Bukina Faso,...

The Brief, No 19 28 February 2022 President Putin puts Russia’s military on a nuclear high alert.  This means that Mr. Putin is putting Russia’s nuclear forces, those trained to execute nuclear...

The Brief, No 18 20 February 2022 Any country that ignores the current standoff between Russia and Ukraine will be doing so at its own peril. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK), Boris Jo...

The Brief, No 17 17 February 2022 President Macron has order French troops to pull out of Mali. What are the consequences? The announcement follows the expulsion of the French ambassador in Mali, J...

The Brief, No 16 02 Feb 2022 The Africa Union (AU) will host the 35th ordinary Session of the AU Assembly (Heads of State and Government Session) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 5-6 February 2022.  ...

The Brief, No. 15 22 January 2022 When Saudi Arabia led a coalition to fight the insurgency in Yemen following the ousting of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2015, it promised a swift operation.&nbs...

The Brief, No 14 07 January 2022 The President of Kazakhstan, Kassym Jomart Tokay has called security forces to open fire with “lethal force” on protestors, what he calls  “bandits and terroris...

The Brief, No 13 03 January 2022 The Prime Minister of Sudan, Abdullah Hamdok, has resigned. Hamdok faced a tumultuous period as the Prime Minister of Sudan (2018-2022). Hamdok, is the former depu...

The Brief, No 12 26 December 2021 Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu has passed away.  He was one of the last South African Nobel Peace Prize Laureates.  His death follows closely that of another ...

Issue No. 11 14 December 2021 The number of journalists jailed around the world set another record in 2021.  According to Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) 2021 prison census, “China rema...

Issue No. 10   04 November 2021 Ethiopia has imposed a six months national state of emergency.  The Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front’s  (TPLF’s) militia group Tigray Defense Force (...

Issue no 9 25 October 2021 Sudan Military has arrested the country’s Prime Minister, Abdullah Hamdok and some high ranking members of his government. Hereunder are some points worth noting as we t...

Issue no. 8 14 October 2021 On 22 July 2021 the African Union (AU) granted Israel an observer status. The decision attracted objections from a number of Member States. Those that objected argue th...

Issue no 7 21 September 2021 Today we woke up to news of an “attempted coup” in Khartoum, Sudan last night.  Here is what we know: 1. The details are still scanty of what exactly happened. &n...

Issue no. 6 08 October 2021 The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently announced that a Malaria Vaccine for children is ready for a rollout.  There have been excitement and apprehension on t...

Issue no. 5 29 July 2021 African Union (AU) has granted Israel an observer status. South Africa and Algeria were amongst the first member states to object to the decision by the AU Commission to gr...

Issue  no. 4 10 August 2021 Although talks continue in Doha between the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan; the Taliban has moved on to take more cities in Afghanistan.  Whether th...

Issue no. 3 19 July 2021 Ethiopia went ahead with the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) amidst resistance by Egypt and Sudan. What are the Implications: 1. The filling of...

Issue no. 2 02 July 2021 The intersection of China and Ethiopia’s political interests in the Horn of Africa - Zooming in on the conflict in Tigray 1. President Xi Jinping is committed “to addressin...

Issue 1 24 June 2021 1. The situation in Ethiopia is likely to deteriorate after elections.  2. The support of Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) by the US, amongst others and the resumptio...