#Niger🇳🇪’s Conseil National pour la Sauvegarde de la Patrie decrees the establishment of a national list of persons, groups & entities (“FPGE”) implicated in terrorism or other acts “against the strategic and/or fundamental interests” of the #Sahel country or “seriously disturbing its peace and public security.”

Getting Real about Critical Minerals: The Case of Antimony by Dr. J. Peter Pham 🇺🇲 nationalinterest.org/feature/gettin…

As the rump #Somalia🇸🇴 regime attempts to exploit wider geopolitics for its own short-term ends amidst #Shabaab gains, #Ethiopia🇪🇹 warns that it “cannot stand idle” while Mogadishu “is colluding with external actors aiming to destabilize the region” — no doubt including #Egypt🇪🇬.

#DRC🇨🇩 civil society groups marched in front of U.S.Embassy Kinshasa demanding the Biden-Harris admin halt plans to lift sanctions on #Israel🇮🇱 billionaire Dan Gertler until corrupt deals are annulled & royalties returned. Didn’t President Biden promise to “listen to [Africans’] priorities”?

Kudos to John McDermott & The Economist team for this much-needed focus on the humanitarian crisis & geopolitical challenge of the ongoing conflict in #Sudan🇸🇩. It is unconscionable that we face a famine “as bad as or worse than, the one that afflicted #Ethiopia🇪🇹 in the 1980s.”

Pleased to join Amb. Amb. Robie Kakonge & The Africa Report’s Julian Pecquet for a “fireside chat” today about shaping the future of #Uganda🇺🇬-#USA🇺🇲 relations, esp. in trade & investment, at the 36th annual UNAA convention. Encouraging to see the diaspora building these bridges.

Pictures are worth a thousand words in rump #Somalia🇸🇴’s South-West State where crowds of local officials & citizens peacefully protested the Mogadishu regime’s plan to bring in troops from #Egypt🇪🇬. While one sign welcomes #Ethiopia🇪🇹, another proclaims, “We don't want Egypt.”

My #WeekendRead: Yale University Prof. Eckart Frahm’s recent history of #Assyria, the “first ‘global’ state” that “combined imperial expropriation with shrewd commercial pursuits” as well as “brought about a new ‘information age’” with infrastructure to facilitate communication. Familiar?

Perhaps #Somaliland should require ships sailing in its waters or entering #Berbera — rated by World Bank & S&P Global Market Intelligence as the best port in Sub-Saharan #Africa — to fly its ensign. Owners can decide which flag & the port they to prefer, Berbera or #Shabaab-infested Mogadishu.

The The Wall Street Journal argues that #Israel🇮🇱 “is offering unprecedented strategic concessions and risking its soldiers’ lives to free hostages” & #USA🇺🇲 should focus pressure on #Hamas which killed them. I’d add: Americans should reject pols who lack this moral clarity. wsj.com/opinion/hamas-…

Thanks to Catherine Byaruhanga & the BBC News (World) team for having me on “Newsday” today to discuss the withdrawal of #Germany🇩🇪’s military personnel from #Niger🇳🇪 as well as the strategic position of the #USA🇺🇲 & the #EU🇪🇺 in the #Sahel. Audio segment begins at 18:45: bbc.co.uk/programmes/w17…

Wasn’t the Foreign Minister who made the offer of the port to #Ethiopia🇪🇹 the same clown who just a few months ago defended attacks by #Houthi terrorists on Red Sea commercial shipping as a “brotherly duty”? That ought to inspire confidence in #Djibouti🇩🇯 for secure sea access.😂

Unfortunate burying the lede in an otherwise informative Semafor Africa preview of #China🇨🇳-#Africa #FOCAC summit: “The $4.6 billion in 13 new commitments to eight African countries was below the average annual run of $10 billion between 2013 and 2018.” semafor.com/article/09/03/…

The DBSA Bank has approved $200 million for the #Angola🇦🇴 rail portion of #USA🇺🇲-backed #LobitoCorridor that will bring #CriticalMinerals from the #DRC🇨🇩 (and, eventually, #Zambia🇿🇲) to market via the Angolan port on the Atlantic. Another step forward! bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

On the front page of today’s The Washington Post: global climate correspondent Chico Harlan’s report from #Mozambique🇲🇿 about how C-Quest Capital LLC’s scheme to distribute “clean” cooking stoves & sell #carboncredits went awry for it & certifier Verra - Standards for a Sustainable Future. wapo.st/3ZaexhI

Thanks to James Butty for having me on Voice of America “Daybreak Africa” today to discuss the #China🇨🇳-#Africa Summit (#FOCAC) & why the #USA🇺🇲 should be concerned, even if Beijing’s financing for Africa is down significantly. The segment begins at 05:00: voaafrica.com/a/7751896.html

Excellent deep-dive by neiL Munshi & Peter Martin into #China🇨🇳’s shifting terms of financial & commercial engagement with #Africa as #FOCAC convenes in Beijing amidst increasing debt burdens for African countries in Beijing’s #BeltandRoad Initiative. bloomberg.com/news/features/…

As the classical juridical dictum puts it, “res ipsa loquitur” (“the thing speaks for itself”) — this is the barbarism that #Israel🇮🇱 and the rest of the civilized world confronts in #HamasTerrorists & their ilk.

Good counsel from The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune publisher Ahmed Charai re hostages: “It is essential for #USA🇺🇲 leaders to hold fast to principles...The focus must remain on the core issue: dismantling the threat posed by #Hamas & preventing their continued rule over #Gaza.” jstribune.com/charai-the-hos…