Nita Bhalla

A cloud of uncertainty hangs over an Africa-U.S. trade deal set to expire by the end of September with African unions warning that more than a million indirect jobs could be on the line if it is not renewed. 

But some trade experts and economists say the possible end of the 25-year-old African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) could allow African countries to seek potentially beneficial deals with other partners, or boost trade with each other. 

Internet shutdowns across Africa have doubled in less than a decade, plunging millions into digital darkness and limiting access to jobs, education and health services, according a new book launched on Thursday.

The number of digital blackouts across the continent surged to 28 in 2024 compared to 14 in 2016, according to "Internet Shutdowns in Africa: Technology, Rights and Power", co-authored by researchers from the African Digital Rights Network and supported by the Institute of Development Studies.

Ethiopia inaugurated Africa's largest hydroelectric dam this month - promising much-needed energy for millions of its people and deepening rifts with downstream neighbours in the region.

Where Addis sees economic growth and a giant leap forward in power generation, Egypt and Sudan fear drought, crop destruction and possible armed conflict over access to scarce water.

Since food rations were slashed at his refugee camp in Kenya three months ago, Abass Ahmed has struggled to settle his hungry children and quiet their rumbling stomachs. Life has never been so tough, he said, as swingeing U.S. aid cuts finally bite.

"I have lived in Dadaab for 30 years and this is the first time we have received no food assistance at all," said the 34-year-old Somali refugee.

People with HIV are rationing vital drugs as wage-starved health workers helplessly watch years of progress unravel in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania because of disruptions to a flagship U.S. programme to fight the disease, new research has found.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said in a new report that  funding disruptions to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has saved around 26 million lives over the last two decades, had closed clinics, disrupted drug supplies and increased stigma.

Since returning to office, U.S. President Donald Trump has cut vital aid to Africa and introduced tough new tariffs on many countries' exports - but another blow may be coming with the expiration of a flagship trade programme.

The Trump administration's protectionist trade policies have plunged the fate of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) into doubt when it expires in September.

At least 54 migrants died after a boat carrying about 150 people sank off Yemen's coast in bad weather this week in the latest disaster to cast a spotlight on a perilous and often overlooked migration route.

Reuters reported that 10 people were rescued - nine Ethiopians and one Yemeni - but dozens were still missing after the boat capsized on Sunday off Yemen's southern Abyan province in the Arabian Sea.

Banners and bandanas at the ready, young Kenyans faced one final job before taking to the streets last week to mark the death of more than 60 fellow protesters in anti-government demos a year ago.

Write their own eulogies - just in case.

One year after Kenya's Gen Z protests against a tax-heavy finance bill, digital rights activists say authorities are increasingly cracking down on online criticism, with one prominent blogger recently killed in police custody.

More than 60 people were killed in last year's protests, and President William Ruto subsequently abandoned plans to raise 346 billion Kenyan shillings ($2.68 billion) in new taxes.

Emily Ounyesiga, 38, beams with pride as she talks about the bakery she runs in Uganda's capital Kampala - a vibrant, bustling space filled with the sweet aromas of freshly baked bread and pastries.

In 2017, Ounyesiga was duped by a recruitment agent and trafficked to work as a live-in nanny in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).