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<p>Friday the 29th of March was the due date for the UK’s departure from the European Union, However the UK government failed to endorse the withdrawal agreement. Instead an EU summit was held where leaders decided to grant an extension of the Article 50 deadline. The tumultuous Brexit ordeal is set to enter into another week of a series of votes in order to work out a sufficient Brexit deal. Azad Zangana, Global Economist at Schroders joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


UK parliament to vote on potential third withdrawal agreement

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<p>Last night&#8217;s Brexit vote, resulting in Britain&#8217;s Prime Minister Theresa May suffering a second defeat in parliament was the most important since the 2016 referendum on the European Union. Scottish-South African investment analyst Chris Gilmour joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Theresa May’s Brexit deal defeated in UK parliament, where to next?

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<p>Members of Parliament of the United Kingdom will vote on Theresa May&#8217;s Brexit deal later today after she secured some legally binding changes to the deal following last-ditch talks with the European Union in Strasbourg. But will the deadlock finally be broken this week? And are there any implications of the deal for Nigeria? Adim Okwesa, Associate Analyst at FDC joins CNBC Africa for this discussion.</p>


British MPs to vote on May’s Brexit deal today

<p>STRASBOURG (Reuters) &#8211; The European Union should offer a free trade agreement to the whole of the African continent and a new investment alliance, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a keynote speech on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Among various proposals for EU action to bolster prosperity in the world’s poorest continent and Europe’s close neighbour, the Commission chief called for a more equal partnership and investment rather than aid, as Europeans look for ways to stem an economic divide driving Africans to try to migrate northward.</p>
<p>Juncker said he had talked with African leaders and was proposing an alliance to boost sustainable investment, which he said could create up to 10 million jobs in Africa in the next five years.</p>
<p>While it was clear that a free trade pact would be some way off, and well after Juncker steps down in a year’s time, the EU would look to take advantage of African efforts to forge a free trade area within the continent to work towards a comprehensive continent-to-continent trade agreement.</p>
<p>Trade between Africa and Europe, said Juncker, was not insignificant &#8211; 36 percent of Africa’s trade is with the European Union, compared to 16 percent with China and 6 percent with the United States.</p>
<p>“But this is not enough,” Juncker told the European Parliament.</p>
<p>“I believe we should develop the numerous European-African trade agreements into a continent-to-continent free trade agreement, as an economic partnership between equals.”</p>
<p>The European Union already has a series of deals with individual African countries, largely in North Africa, as well as additional economic partnerships with African blocs, such as the Southern African Development Community.</p>
<p>Other agreements with other African blocs and countries, designed to increase access to the EU market and promote development, are pending or partly in place.</p>
<p>Reporting by Alastair Macdonald; editing by Philip Blenkinsop</p>


EU could offer the African continent a free trade agreement, what you need to know…

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<p>East African countries will receive up to Ksh 3.6 billion from the European Union to fight poaching.</p>


EU commits Ksh3.6bn to fight poaching in East Africa

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<p>After a global outcry of the slave trade in Libya, the Federal Government and the organization for migration, funded by the European Union has begun the evacuation of Nigerian migrants from the North African country to Nigeria.</p>


Here’s what you probably did not know about Libya slave trade

<p><em><span class="fn author-name">Franzisca Zanker |</span> Freiburg University</em></p>
<p>Hardly a day goes by without a discussion on the migrants (including refugees) who have entered Europe in large numbers since 2015. Under the European Union Commission’s New Partnership Framework launched in 2016, one of the major short-term objectives is to ‘increase the rate of returns to countries of origin’, and last week, the president of the EU Commission announced a ‘more effective EU policy on return’. That said, return is tricky. It is unclear how effective it is in deterring future migration. And it may even have detrimental effects on the countries of origin. Take the Gambia for example.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-288182 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Refugees_on_a_boat_Wikimedia1.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1365" /></p>
<p>Gambians were among the top nationalities leaving West Africa for Italy in 2016. In total 11,929  Gambians arrived last year. But because they have a new democratically-elected government, European countries are now looking to increase the returns of Gambian migrants. A Working Party on Integration, Migration and Expulsion has already met at the European Council to discuss a draft agreement on returns between the EU and the Gambia.</p>
<p>A key element of return to the Gambia is the role that returnees can play once they are back and how well accepted they will be. Without a thriving labour market such reintegration will be challenging and at worst could lead to conflict among a group of frustrated young men.</p>
<h2>Difficulty of reintegrating economically</h2>
<p>The first challenge for returnees is that their chances of employment once they’re back in The Gambia remains slim. General unemploymentis at 29.8%, and for youth it is estimated to be 38.5%.</p>
<p>Efforts are being made to tackle the root causes of migration by creating jobs. For example, new development projects are being launched in the Gambia including a 13-million-dollar EU Emergency Trust Fund project. This is a good start, but the project has just been launched and will take time to implement. It has also been criticised for a lack of ownership, with the implementing agent, the International Trade Centre, based in Dakar.</p>
<p>A further EU-funded regional re-integration project is also in the pipeline. Initiatives like this are very much in line with the incentives policy contained in the European Partnership Framework.</p>
<p>But is the money being used wisely? Reintegrating also needs to be visible at a societal and political level.</p>
<p>Rumours that government ministers have signed repatriation agreements in return for development funds are rife. Even though the rumours have been consistently denied they point to the fact that economic redevelopment has been heavily politicised.</p>
<p>This doesn’t help individual migrants who still need viable opportunities to reestablish themselves. Otherwise there is little reason not to emigrate again. At worst the frustration of returnees could lead to conflict.</p>
<h2>The potential for conflict</h2>
<p>Large numbers of young men returning without prospects of employment could have security implications for the young democracy. Though voluntary returns will be prioritised, a considerable number of cases are likely to be involuntary.</p>
<p>The potentially explosive levels of frustration already hold true for returnees from Libya. Since March 2017, the International Organisation for Migration has sought to voluntarily return Gambians home from Libya. In August, it identified 1,979 Gambians living in Libya.</p>
<p>By September 2017, 1,119 Gambians had been returned. When a focus group of 15 were questioned in a recent study, they said that they returned because of the gravity of their situation in detention centres in Libya, and to a degree, by the hope that things would be different in the new Gambia.</p>
<p>But the returnees were increasingly frustrated. Firstly, they were angry at returning home empty-handed. When they agreed to return they were under the impression that they would get reintegration funds from the International Organisation for Migration. But only the most vulnerable returnees received any.</p>
<p>And returnees felt abandoned by the new government. Again, they were under the impression that government representatives would welcome them home in person and give them a chance to voice their concerns.</p>
<p>During the focus group, one discussant concluded:</p>
<blockquote><p><em>if this happens to continue, then we can do something crazy.</em></p></blockquote>
<h2>Slow and well-managed returns</h2>
<p>Despite the political pressure for returns, European countries need to make sure they allow for a slow and well-managed process. This includes skills-training prior to return &#8211; and not just for refugees. This would allow a country like Gambia to create more employment opportunities in order to successfully reintegrate those who come back.</p>
<p>Those who have already returned need to be given a constructive and peaceful outlet for their grievances. Ultimately, to ensure successful repatriation returnees need to be represented politically so that they can have a stake in the future development of their country. In that way, the shame in returning home empty-handed might be easier to deal with. Otherwise, there will only be further (re)migration at a great humanitarian cost.</p>


Returning migrants to The Gambia: the political, social and economic costs

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<p>CNBC Africa caught up Massimo De Luca, Head of Trade &#038; Economics at the EU for an update of trade relations and also asked him what he thought of the allegations that bird flu in SA comes from European chickens.</p>


Update on the EU-SA trade relations

<p>When G20 leaders meet in <a href="http://www.hamburg.com/g20-2017/">Hamburg in early July</a> they face a problem not on their formal agenda: how to work around Donald Trump. The US president disdains multilateral financial cooperation, is opposed to US participation in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/time-for-china-and-europe-to-lead-as-trump-dumps-the-paris-climate-deal-78709">Paris Agreement on climate change</a> , has shown little interest in, knowledge of, or desire to partner with African countries.</p>
<p>These core issues frame the 2017 <a href="http://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/EN/Standardartikel/Topics/Featured/G20/2017-03-30-g20-compact-with-africa.html">G20 agenda</a> with a proposed <a href="http://www.g20.utoronto.ca/2017/161130-agenda.html">“Compact with Africa”</a> slated as the summit’s big initiative. It’s aims will be to encourage private sector investment, support infrastructure development, and greater economic participation and employment in Africa.</p>
<p>In addition to South Africa, the G20’s only African member, the leaders of Guinea, Kenya and Senegal have been invited as guests.</p>
<p>The US convened the first <a href="http://www.g20.utoronto.ca/summits/2008washington.html">2008 G20 Summit</a> in Washington in response to the global financial crisis and has played a leading and constructive role ever since. Such experiments in informal global governance are an anathema to Trump, although he lacks <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/02/opinion/donald-trump-poisons-the-world.html?action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;clickSource=story-heading&amp;module=opinion-%E2%80%A6">any experience</a> in such matters.</p>
<p>If Africa is to gain the attention in Hamburg the agenda promises, this will have to be without the support and cooperation of the US, at least while Trump is president. But can anything be achieved while this is the case?</p>
<p>If the G20 is to remain relevant in the quest for more inclusive and fair global governance, Africa offers an historic opportunity for collective action, despite US absence. Most urgent is alleviating <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/no-one-is-paying-attention-to-the-worst-humanitarian-crisis-since-world-war-ii/2017/06/25/70d055f8-5767-11e7-ba90-f5875b7d1876_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-e%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&amp;utm_term=.44e26a3031b">the famine in East Africa</a> while China, India, and others among the G20 are showing fresh interest in Africa’s long-term peace and development.</p>
<h2>The Trump factor</h2>
<p>Trump’s first and <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/24/politics/trump-nato-brussels/index.html">only exposure to multilateral summit diplomacy</a> was at NATO’s Brussels headquarters on 25 May. Then immediately to a two-day <a href="http://www.g7italy.it/en/the-taormina-g7-summit">G-7 summit</a> in Sicily. Neither went well. More significant than all the negative media coverage of Trump’s performance, was German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/28/world/europe/angela-merkel-trump-alliances-g7-leaders.html?_r=0">veiled warning</a> that after 70 years, the US under Trump was no longer a credible ally and Europe</p>
<blockquote><p>must be ready to take our fate into our own hands.</p></blockquote>
<p>Merkel’s comments were probably intended for a global and American domestic audience as well. The US foreign policy elite and public continue to support close ties to Europe. Cooperation with Africa also has been generally popular in America. It is one area of foreign assistance that has enjoyed enduring bi-partisan support <a href="https://www.the-american-interest.com/2017/01/25/u-s-africa-policy-recommendations-for-president-trump/">since the early 1990s</a>.</p>
<p>Trump’s antics in Hamburg could detract from the summit and his recalcitrance may complicate setting and slow implementation of the G20 agenda. But, progress on the <a href="http://www.euronews.com/2017/03/13/view-germany-the-g20-protectionism-and-the-compact-with-africa">Africa Compact</a> is still possible with support from the US private and non-governmental sectors. The same goes for climate change and economic cooperation.</p>
<p>How G20 leaders interact with Trump, and comment publicly on the progress or lack of progress in Hamburg will resonate domestically in the US. In deciding what to say publicly, G20 leaders may want to consider recent and escalating US domestic constraints impinging Trump’s presidency.</p>
<h2>Trump’s domestic constraints</h2>
<p>Trump meets all the definitional criteria of a demagogue. His appeal to popular passions and prejudices rather than reason and facts, secured him a base of support that remains loyal.</p>
<p>He has not broadened his popular appeal, polling favourability ratings around 36%, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/06/20/the-other-number-that-might-inspire-some-panic-among-congressional-republicans/?utm_term=.6d7e2861fbe9&amp;wpisrc=nl_finance202&amp;wpmm%20=1">lowest ever recorded</a> this early in a first term.</p>
<p>Trump has shown <a href="https://theconversation.com/trumps-leadership-traits-are-bad-news-for-democrats-in-Aafrica-69745%20Among%20G-20">authoritarian traits</a>. And the leaders he appears he will get along with best are those G20 leaders heading authoritarian regimes in China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. The US still has the world’s biggest military and economy, but Trump has yet to earn the respect and deference of his G20 peers.</p>
<p>Politicians sometimes lie, but not all to the same degree. The Washington Post’s nonpartisan Fact Checkers <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims-database/?tid=a_inl&amp;utm_term=.c1081f9b2c96">recently documented</a> 623 false and misleading claims by Trump in just his first 137 days in office.</p>
<p>Many Americans may be inured to Trump’s off-hand lies, or view it as a cleaver strategy to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/of-course-trump-called-comey-a-liar-thats-his-strategy/2017/06/12/6ff4b4a8-4fa6-11e7-91eb-9611861a988f_story.html?utm_term=.026ff1a843bf">keep opponents off balance</a>.</p>
<p>Allegations that Trump may now be under investigation by an independent special counsel for obstructing justice in the FBI’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, possibly in collusion with the Trump campaign, have put his presidency <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-would-a-real-gop-break-from-trump-look-like/?ex_cid=newsletter-top-stories">in even greater peril</a>.</p>
<p>If his own head of intelligence, and other senior officials of his administration, cannot trust him to keep his word, how can foreign leaders? Whatever Trump says at the G20, has to be discounted in light of this, including concurrence with a final joint statement.</p>
<h2>Referees Matter</h2>
<p>Trump’s mendacity points to a much bigger problem. In an era of big data and contested statistical evidence <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jan/19/crisis-of-statistics-big-data-democracy">how can opinion be informed</a> by agreed facts to achieve consensus at any political level?</p>
<p>He has ridden rough-shod over decades of research findings regarding the human causes of climate change.</p>
<p>To inform and help frame democratic debate, about such scientifically complicated contested topics as climate, public health, national security, and a raft of other vital policy issues, the public used at least rely on professional journalists to arrive at the <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21706498-dishonesty-politics-nothing-new-manner-which-some-politicians-nw-lie-and">best obtainable version of the truth</a>.</p>
<p>This is no longer sufficient. Trump has advanced politically by questioning scientific evidence, those who produce it and dismisses as “fake news” any journalistic reporting he disagrees with. G20 leaders should not be diplomatic in calling attention to this.</p>
<p>And a positive counter-note to Trump’s cavalier claims would be for the G20 leaders to make clear that they believe in evidence based policymaking, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of recommendations.</p>
<h2>Cooperation without America</h2>
<p>The leaders, individually and together, need to show their commitment to unbiased, honest, and rigorously informed judgements on such issues as the design, priorities, and implementation of their new “Compact with Africa.”</p>
<p>Doing so without US backing adds to the challenge, but is also an opportunity for demonstrating cooperation <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/global-leadership-successor-to-america-by-richard-n--haass-2017-06">without America playing a central role</a>. So long as Trump is US president, this is likely to also be popular in most G20 countries.</p>
<p>A just released Pew global survey of public attitudes in 37 countries (including six in Africa &#8211; Senegal, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Ghana) toward the US under Trump shows a 15% drop in positive views of the US (64%-49%) <a href="http://www.pewglobal.org/2017/06/26/u-s-image-suffers-as-publics-around-world-question-trumps-leadership/">since Barack Obama left office</a>. Confidence in the US presidency under Trump, however, fell a stunning 41%. Only in Russia, and Israel is Trump regarded more favourably than Obama.</p>
<p>Far more important that thwarting Trump, however, will be gaining public support for the “Compact with Africa” and the rest of the Hamburg agenda. Justifying these costly and complex commitments in positive ways will be a tougher political challenge; but one perhaps rendered easier without Trump or his representative claiming a seat at the head of the table.</p>


Africa is high on the G20 summit agenda. But will Trump thwart progress?

<p>During the independence struggle, leaders like Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah <a href="http://feintandmargin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Africa-Must-Unite.pdf">argued</a> that Africa could only rid itself of the scourges of slavery, colonialism, imperialism and racism as a single united entity. The dream was of a fully integrated <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foDlCCudcsE">United States of Africa</a>.</p>
<p>Instead, <a href="https://www.academia.edu/22297466/THE_CONCEPT_OF_STATE_SOVEREIGNTY_FROM_THE_1648_TREATY_OF_WESTPHALIA_TO_THE_PRESENT_DAY">Westphalian principles</a> which focus on state sovereignty and territorial integrity prevailed. Post-colonial Africa emerged as a community of independent, fully sovereign nation-states, loosely affiliated through the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) <a href="http://www.au2002.gov.za/docs/background/oau_to_au.htm">established in 1963</a>.</p>
<p>With colonialism and apartheid out of the way the OAU became largely dysfunctional and was <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/organisation-african-unity-oau">replaced</a> by the African Union (AU) in 2001.</p>
<p>More recently, the AU has promoted new dynamics in a bid to meet the challenges of globalisation. Accelerating regional integration is one of them. What this means is that African integration is back on the table.</p>
<p>The European Union (EU) is by far the most successful <a href="https://www.cfr.org/report/european-union-model-regional-integration">integration experiment</a> the modern world has seen. Despite the many differences between Europe and Africa, and the AU and EU, European integration is widely considered as a <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10220461.2015.1119718">model for regional integration</a> and a credible example for Africa to consider.</p>
<p>But the UK’s decision to leave the EU, and other problems faced by the bloc over the past decade, have shown the union to be less than perfect. Under the circumstances, is the EU the best legal blueprint for African integration?</p>
<h2>Giving up sovereign powers</h2>
<p>The EU was formed <a href="https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/history/1945-1959_en">in response</a> to the death and destruction of World War Two. Since then it has successfully brought Europe together, developing an internal single market aimed at the free movement of people, goods, services and capital. Equally important is the fact that EU institutions have the power to make laws. This means that members states have given EU institutions supranational powers to make binding decisions. Ceding these law making powers has played an important role in driving integration.</p>
<p>The EU project led to the bloc becoming a major world trading power and its <a>GDP per capita</a> is now ahead of the US.</p>
<p>Integration across Africa has been weak and ineffectual. Effective integration would bring an opportunity for Africans to collectively take charge of its daunting security, socio-economic and governance problems. And a unified approach would help countries achieve the goals of peace and prosperity <a href="http://www.achpr.org/instruments/au-constitutive-act/">for all African citizens</a>.</p>
<p>The AU says that it’s committed to integration. But so far there’s been very little content to this idea. What we find in Africa is cooperation without integration.</p>
<p>The AU mimics many of the EU institutions in terms of its formal structures. Like the EU, it has its own legislative, executive and judicial bodies in the form of the Pan African Parliament, an Assembly (heads of state), Executive Council (Ministers) and a Court of Justice. But, unlike the EU, institutions don’t have supranational powers enabling them to make binding decisions.</p>
<p>Instead, Africa pursues what it calls “<a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10220461.2015.1119718">cooperative multilateralism</a>” – a commitment to cooperation alongside keeping the principle of non-interference in the domestic affairs of member states and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is where the AU’s main problem lies.</p>
<p>Absolute sovereignty is the polar opposite of supranationalism. This gets in the way of binding AU decisions being passed, leaving a legal vacuum that will have to be filled if member states are to collectively develop the capacity and political will to take charge of Africa’s destiny.</p>
<p>But it won’t be easy. National sovereignty has remained a hot potato in the EU and lies at the heart of the UK’s decision to leave. Calls to “<a href="http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/681706/Boris-Johnson-vote-Brexit-take-back-control">take back control</a>” helped to mobilise the support of voters. Promises of restoring national sovereignty – increasing control over the fiscus and borders – managed to clinch it for the leave campaign.</p>
<p>At a superficial level, the British referendum could be seen as an endorsement of the traditional view taken by African governments that sovereign powers shouldn’t be compromised.</p>
<p>African states aren’t ready to shift loyalties to a new centre with political authority over national states. Most believe that a transfer of power will inevitably compromise political independence. This in turn would challenge impunity from accountability that protects many African politicians.</p>
<h2>Finding a balance</h2>
<p>Everything considered, the EU remains a prime example of the benefits regional integration can bring to a continent willing to cooperate.</p>
<p>But AU institutions should only be given supranational powers if it’s done in a way that meets African interests and reflects a balance between regional and national powers.</p>
<p>For that to happen, there needs for a deep trust of governments and ordinary people. And the case needs to be made that the centre can add more than it is taking away when it comes to well-being, security and prosperity.</p>
<p>Recent events in the EU have shown that finding the right balance between regional and national powers is crucial. This balance must be tailored to continental realities. African nations must be convinced that transferring powers would be more beneficial than clinging to absolute sovereignty.</p>
<p>A balance of power can only be achieved by limiting the jurisdiction of the AU to certain mutually agreed areas of cooperation. In these areas AU law would impose legally binding obligations and override national law.</p>
<p>At the same time, any new arrangement cannot allow national sovereignty to continue unlimited.</p>
<p>Striking this balance might entail taking hard decisions. Two big areas of contention would be accepting some interference in domestic affairs and, secondly, endowing the Pan African Parliament with law making powers.</p>
<p>African nations might be persuaded to adopt an EU-style model given the major benefits to trade between member states. Trade within African has far from reached its potential. Intracontinental trade could be enhanced and streamlined.</p>
<p>But the real question is whether the political elite will be willing to take these lessons on board.</p>


Despite Brexit, the EU still holds valuable lessons for African integration

<p>The European Union has offered 85 million euros ($94.89 million) to help fund relief operations for hundreds of thousands of refugees flowing into Uganda from neighboring South Sudan, it said in a statement on Thursday.</p>
<p>The announcement came ahead of meeting in Uganda&#8217;s capital Kampala on Friday aimed at raising some $2 billion to plug funding shortages for the east African country&#8217;s surging refugee population. The money would fund operations for 12 months from June.</p>
<p>Uganda is hosting about 1.3 million refugees, of which an estimated 950,000 have arrived from South Sudan, displaced by the country&#8217;s escalating civil war.</p>
<p>&#8220;Many refugees have fled conflict in South Sudan, seeking sanctuary from violence, hatred and hunger. Uganda&#8217;s example of helping vulnerable people cope with displacement is an example for the whole region and the world,&#8221; Christ Stylishness, the EU&#8217;s commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, said in a statement.</p>
<p>Fighting broke out in Africa&#8217;s youngest nation in December 2013 between forces allied to President Salvia Kirin and his then deputy, Riel Mach.</p>
<p>A peace deal in 2015 briefly halted the conflict, but lingering rivalry exploded into deadly warfare again in July last year.</p>
<p>The ensuing fighting and violence, which has often taken place along ethnic lines, has uprooted about a quarter of the country&#8217;s population, with both government troops and rebels accused of committing crimes including rape, killings and pillage.</p>
<p>Relief resources have become scarcer as Uganda has struggled to cope with the overwhelming numbers of South Sudanese refugees, forcing the U.N. food agency AFP to cut food rations.</p>
<p>Friday&#8217;s summit is jointly organized by the U.N. and Uganda and will be attended by U.N. Secretary General Antonio Gutters.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by George Obulutsa and Toby Davis)</p>


EU offers 85 million euros to help fund Uganda’s refugee response

<p>The European Union imposed sanctions on nine more Congo nationals on Monday over &#8220;obstruction of the electoral process and related human rights violations&#8221; in the central African state, where President Joseph Kabila has overstayed his mandate.</p>
<p>The nine include Congo&#8217;s current and former interior ministers, the government spokesman and officers of the security forces. They join another seven people already on the EU blacklist which subjects them to asset freezes and travel bans.</p>
<p>One of those targeted, government spokesman Lambert Mende, said: &#8220;This will not be without consequences. There will be a reaction.&#8221;</p>
<p>Congo&#8217;s government has repeatedly denounced earlier sanctions imposed by the EU and United States as unjustified and illegal, and has threatened diplomatic retaliation.</p>
<p>Political tension in Democratic Republic of Congo is running high after security forces killed dozens during protests over election delays last year.</p>
<p>Kabila, in power since 2001, refused to step down and hold a national vote after his mandate expired in December. He has blamed election delays on budgetary constraints and the challenge of registering millions of voters.</p>
<p>The president struck a deal with the opposition at the end of last year to hold elections by the end of 2017, but talks to implement the agreement broke down in March.</p>
<p>Worsening militia violence has raised fears of a slide back toward the civil wars of the turn of the century that killed millions of people in Congo.</p>
<p>The EU said Congo should hold an election as soon as possible, and expressed concern about excessive use of force by state authorities in managing the security crisis, as well as restrictions on media and bans on demonstrations.</p>
<p>Among the new listings were Evariste Boshab, a close ally of Kabila as his former interior and security minister, and Emmanuel Ramazani Shadari, who holds the job currently and oversees the police.</p>
<p>Also blacklisted were Mende; Kalev Mutondo, the head of intelligence; and General Eric Ruhorimbere, a commander in central Congo&#8217;s Kasai region, where the army has been accused of using disproportionate force to put down an insurrection.</p>
<p>Reached by telephone, Mende said he could not immediately comment further because he was out of the country.</p>
<p>Congo mines significant amounts of cobalt, gold, diamonds, copper and tin but remains one of sub-Saharan Africa&#8217;s poorest countries.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska, additional reporting by Joe Bavier; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Alison Williams)</p>


EU blacklists nine more Congolese over rights, elections

<p>The European Union is poised to impose sanctions against more Congolese officials, sources in Brussels said, amid worsening violence in the resource-rich country since President Joseph Kabila overstayed his mandate and pushed back elections.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>One source said the EU will add nine names to its Congo blacklist of people subjected to asset freezes and travel bans. They join seven others, including members of the Congolese army and police, the bloc put on its list in December citing &#8220;serious violations of human rights&#8221;.</p>
<p>The bloc&#8217;s 28 member states are expected to approve the enlarged sanctions list at a meeting in Brussels later on Wednesday, the source said.</p>
<p>Kabila, in power since 2001, struck a deal in December with Congo&#8217;s main opposition bloc to stay on after his mandate expired provided he held elections by the end of 2017. But talks to implement the deal broke down in March when Kabila refused to commit to the bloc&#8217;s choice of prime minister.</p>
<p>Political tensions are high after security forces killed dozens during protests over election delays last year. Worsening militia violence in recent months has also raised fears of a backslide toward the civil wars of the turn of the century that killed millions.</p>
<p>The Congo government has repeatedly denounced earlier sanctions imposed by the EU and United States as unjustified and illegal, and has threatened diplomatic retaliation.</p>
<p>Congo mines significant amounts of cobalt, gold, diamonds, copper and tin but remains one of Sub-Saharan Africa&#8217;s poorest countries.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, the EU said separately it would help transport aid workers and medical supplies to a remote north-eastern region of Congo, which is fighting an Ebola outbreak.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska; editing by Richard Lough)</p>


EU to impose sanctions on more Congo officials: diplomats

<p>Set against the backdrop of low growth, dire unemployment figures, and a huge infrastructure deficit – the theme of this year’s African <a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-on-africa-2017">World Economic Forum</a> (WEF) is “inclusive and sustainable growth”.</p>
<p>This is a familiar subject for policymakers. On both the regional and global stage it’s natural to speak in terms of market integration among groupings of nations to stimulate economic growth. Reducing bottlenecks to trade often serves as the focal point, with Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) typically the formal means of implementing these initiatives.</p>
<p>The idea behind all of this is that connected markets provide a larger base of customers into which companies can sell their products and services. And that, for their part, customers benefit from greater product diversity and value. This in turn creates a virtuous cycle in which a growing economy makes investment in the region more bankable. With greater access to funding, investment in needed capital projects can be accelerated, in turn reducing Africa’s sizeable infrastructure gap and stimulating inclusive growth.</p>
<p>Admittedly, this orthodox take on markets and growth is not firmly embraced across Africa. Rather, what remains prevalent is an emphasises on government intervention and the role of the ‘developmental state’ as seen in South Africa’s <a href="http://www.poa.gov.za/news/Documents/NPC%20National%20Development%20Plan%20Vision%202030%20-lo-res.pdf">National Development Plan </a>.</p>
<p>What’s not in dispute is the continent’s <a href="http://ftp01.economist.com.hk/ECN_papers/Infrastructure-Africa">infrastructure gap</a>. Road and rail transport costs in Africa are estimated to be about 50% greater than comparable regions in other parts of the world. And over 600 million people across the continent lack access to electricity while even greater numbers make do with sub-standard levels of drinking water and sanitation.</p>
<p>Estimates suggest that the continent needs as much as <a href="http://ftp01.economist.com.hk/ECN_papers/Infrastructure-Africa">$1 trillion</a> in invested capital over the next ten years to close the infrastructure gap.</p>
<p>The question is whether the WEF gathering can make a dent in this problem. In reading background studies to this year’s meeting, the forum seems more attuned to the world it would like to see, rather than the one at hand. To move beyond the “spin” the forum should address impediments to inclusive growth.</p>
<h2>New solutions to old problems?</h2>
<p>The WEF is not the first to have focused on market integration as a way to promote economic growth. The African Union Summit has recently taken steps to establish a continental <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-africa-is-serious-about-a-free-trade-area-it-needs-to-act-quickly-and-differently-70234">Free-Trade Area (FTA)</a> that would include all 54 African countries. This is on top of an alphabet soup of long established sub-regional groupings such as the East African Community, West African Community, Southern African Development Community (SADC). A grouping of these three FTAs stands as a Tripartite Free Trade Area covering a combined population of almost 600 million people.</p>
<p>Yet <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/speech/2015/12/14/deepening-african-integration-intra-africa-trade-for-development-and-poverty-reduction">trade between African nations</a> still represents only 12% of the continent’s total trade. This is far below levels seen in North America (40%), Asia (50%) and Western Europe (70%), and is often cited as an impediment to Africa’s economic development.</p>
<p>SADC’s recent history provides a useful perspective to the successes and failures of African FTAs. SADC was established in its modern form in 1992, having a mandate to promote integration of economic development programmes among member states. At its 2003 <a href="http://www.sarpn.org/documents/d0000492/P462_SADC_Communique_082003.pdf">Dar es Salaam Summit</a> it adopted an ambitious 15 year programme in which a free trade arrangement, customs union, common market and ultimately a regional monetary union were to be established.</p>
<p>While piecemeal progress has been made since then, the plan’s more ambitious aspects have been largely set aside. <a href="http://www.kas.de/upload/auslandshomepages/namibia/MRI2010/MRI2010_chapter8.pdf">Post mortems</a> cite a range of protectionist measures that are defeating its objectives. These include the reluctance of member states to wind back tariffs on goods and services, provisions promoting local content, subsidised industry assistance and visa restrictions.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-inclusive-growth-and-development-report-2017">WEF</a> has replaced the language of FTA’s and customs unions with the call for “connecting markets, revitalising manufacturing, and integrating innovation”. The practical side of this focuses on industrial corridors in transport, energy markets and financial services and e-commerce.</p>
<p>Here too the SADC was ahead of the curve in terms of planning and adopting a regional infrastructure master <a href="http://www.sadc.int/files/7513/5293/3530/Regional_Infrastructure_Development_Master_Plan_Executive_Summary.pdf">plan</a> in 2012. This sector based “corridor” approach to development is meant to be rolled out across energy, transport, water and telecommunications.</p>
<p>But where the SADC has been quick to plan – it has fallen down in implementation.</p>
<h2>Old problems stand in the way of new solutions</h2>
<p>A report by the <a href="http://www.tips.org.za/files/report_on_regional_infrastructure_development_in_africa_tips_-_ellen_hagerman.pdf">Development Bank of Southern Africa </a> concludes that few measures to facilitate trade have yielded measurable results. National interests have tended to override regional objectives. Local and global protectionist trends have only made this more pervasive.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.sadc.int/files/5413/5293/3528/Regional_Infrastructure_Development_Master_Plan_Energy_Sector_Plan.pdf">SADC Energy Plan</a> may become the next non-starter in infrastructure development. So far, it has identified power generation and transmission projects costing between US$ 90 billion to over US$ 200 billion. No doubt some development finance will be allocated to these projects, but the bulk of the required investment is unlikely to move beyond countless feasibility plans.</p>
<p>Obtaining the hundreds of billions needed in power markets alone will require improved standards of governance and regulation. But member states often struggle in these areas, and comprehensive reform across the region seems an unlikely outcome until these fundamental issues are addressed.</p>
<h2>Is rhetoric better than reality?</h2>
<p>It seems incongruous that the WEF talks about the region as the least competitive globally, but follows with the observation that “fortunately, there are <a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-on-africa-2017">regional clusters</a> of global manufacturing excellence”.</p>
<p>This is not to discount clusters of excellence. But the WEF’s reference to an African Outer Space Programme within the context of growing a manufacturing base, and pointing to drones as a solution to the continent’s transport woes, is, at best, naive.</p>
<p>Hopefully the meeting will rise above the spin, and make a meaningful attempt at addressing the dire economic conditions affecting the lives of hundreds of millions of people across Africa.</p>


World Economic Forum needs to move beyond spin if it’s going to help Africa

<p>It’s official: Britain is done with Europe.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Theresa May has <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-brexit-divorce-bill-explained-74466">formally triggered</a> the process for withdrawing from the European Union, ensuring that the United Kingdom, one of the largest and most prosperous countries in the EU, will soon leave the 28-member bloc.</p>
<p>While the process could drag on for two years or more, the Brexit decision serves as a historic and stinging rebuke to proponents of a unified Europe. Perhaps more importantly, it calls into question the very future of the EU.</p>
<p>Pro-Europe commentators, on both sides of the Atlantic, have argued that Brexit is a historical blip, a rash decision made by an uninformed electorate after a vicious and one-sided campaign. But to dismiss Britain’s decision as an anomaly is to ignore the facts. We may be witnessing the twilight of the multilateral era.</p>
<h2>A not-so-perpetual peace</h2>
<p>The history of civilization has been one of peoples coming together in larger and larger collectives – from villages to city-states, from city-states to nations and from nations to international organizations. Today, we live in an era typified by the proliferation of global bodies like the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and the European Union.</p>
<p>People have created these greater communities for a number of reasons, but the overriding one has always been the most basic: security. As German philosopher Immanuel Kant wrote in 1795 <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=AFRgKZySxi8C&amp;pg=PA530&amp;lpg=PA530&amp;dq=%22establish+a+nation+of+peoples%22&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=3ASHMzwJsG&amp;sig=4eUvcjDneWbsxWCY36EvUxuziVY&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwidt8q-kvzSAhUPHGMKHeRXCMEQ6AEIHzAB#v=onepage&amp;q=%22establish%20a%20nation%20of%20peoples%22&amp;f=false">in his essay “Perpetual Peace,”</a> the only means for nations to emerge from a state of constant war was to “give up their savage, lawless freedom… and, by accommodating themselves to the constraints of common law, establish a nation of peoples that (continually growing) will finally include all the people of the earth.”</p>
<p>The European Union is arguably the greatest example of this ideal. An organization <a href="https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/history_en">forged</a> from the desolation of two world wars, the EU brought the states of Europe together in a continent-wide commitment to cooperation and integration. Its ultimate aim was to draw nations together so closely that war would become unimaginable.</p>
<p>An impeccable aspiration, to be sure. But Britain’s vote last year to leave the EU illustrates the costs associated with that aspiration, and with multilateralism more generally. Governments have become increasingly <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/754118/MEP-European-Parliament-lazy-detached-Martin-Schulz?video=">detached</a> from the people they govern. Local communities have <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/05/AR2005060501026.html">surrendered</a> control over an ever-growing array of matters to distant bureaucrats. And people increasingly perceive that their own groups and beliefs are under siege by outsiders.</p>
<p>This sentiment is not isolated to the United Kingdom. Disillusionment with multilateral agreements is widespread today. Just look at President Donald Trump.</p>
<p>During and after the presidential campaign, Trump has repeatedly denounced America’s international agreements. The targets of his ire have ranged from free trade deals (think <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/28/nafta-and-trump-president-plans-two-new-executive-orders.html">NAFTA</a> and the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/23/us/politics/tpp-trump-trade-nafta.html">Trans-Pacific Partnership</a>) to defense pacts (e.g., <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/27/trump-handed-merkel-374b-nato-bill-during-talks.html">NATO</a>) to environmental accords (see the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-36401174">Paris climate deal</a>). In January, The New York Times even <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/us/politics/united-nations-trump-administration.html">reported</a> that the Trump administration was preparing an executive order entitled “Auditing and Reducing U.S. Funding of International Organizations.” This rhetoric has struck a chord with many Americans who fear that international agreements have destroyed American industry and cost Americans jobs.</p>
<p>But to say that we are disillusioned with multilateralism does not provide an answer to the more difficult question: If not multilateralism, then what?</p>
<h2>Going it alone</h2>
<p>The answer, it appears, is aggressive unilateralism. Instead of working through multilateral institutions to solve their problems, countries are increasingly <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2826708">going it alone</a>.</p>
<p>The United States, for example, has responded to the failure of international negotiations on a range of topics by imposing its domestic laws abroad. The U.S. forces foreign banks to abide by its <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-law-that-makes-u-s-expats-toxic-1444330827">financial regulations</a>, foreign businesses to comply with its <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2636921">corruption laws</a> and foreign producers to adopt its climate change-related emissions <a href="https://www.epa.gov/importing-vehicles-and-engines">standards</a>. All of these laws were made and enforced without international agreement.</p>
<p>In many ways, the rise of unilateralism may be a great boon for societies. The outpouring of activism and political engagement in the U.K. both before and after the Brexit vote signals a certain optimism about the ability of Britons to govern themselves. With any luck, this optimism will lead to a rejuvenation of democracy in the country, a welcome contrast to the deep cynicism more typical of politics today. Similarly, U.S. action to regulate foreign companies may help provide solutions to problems that have been stubbornly resistant to global agreement and treaty-making.</p>
<p>But the disillusionment with multilateralism also comes with a dark side. It is one thing when countries like the U.S. and Britain decide to start taking action in the face of stalled negotiations over climate change and corruption. It is another when countries with very different concepts of the rule of law and democratic processes start imposing their own rules, unilaterally, on American companies.</p>
<p>Just look at Russia’s recent prosecution of Google for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/12/business/international/google-fine-russia-antitrust-android.html">anti-trust violations</a> or China’s <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/beijing-regulator-orders-apple-to-stop-sales-of-two-iphone-models-1466166711">injunction against the sale of iPhones</a> as examples.</p>
<p>Multilateralism has been a great engine of peace over the course of human civilization, and we should tread carefully in rejecting it. As Kant warned, the alternative is for us to “find perpetual peace in the vast grave that swallows both atrocities and their perpetrators.”</p>


Is Brexit the beginning of the end for international cooperation?

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<p>By Gemma Action</p>
<p>The formal two-year process governing <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/brexit/" target="_self">Britain&#8217;s departure from the European Union (EU)</a> began when Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, which became law in 2009, <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/29/brexit-article-50-trigger-letter-negotiations.html" target="_self">was triggered on Wednesday.</a></p>
<p>Here, CNBC breaks down all the issues as the Brexit negotiations begin.</p>
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<h4 class="subtitle">What happens when Article 50 has been triggered?</h4>
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<p>A handwritten letter notifying the EU of the U.K.&#8217;s intention to leave was delivered to Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, by Tim Barrow, the U.K.&#8217;s ambassador to the EU, at 1:30 p.m. Brussels time.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/29/heres-the-brexit-letter-britain-sent-to-the-eu.html" target="_self"><strong><em>Click here to read the full letter that Theresa May sent to the EU</em></strong></a></p>
<p>The multi-page letter traveled to Brussels overnight, accompanied by a civil servant and a guard. Specifics surrounding exactly how and where Barrow met Tusk, as well as his planned route for getting to the preordained meeting point, were reportedly kept quiet for fear of impassioned Remain campaigners possibly attempting to intercept the letter and disrupt the timing of the agreed plan for this historic event.</p>
<p>Tusk has previously said the EU is ready to respond within 48 hours of obtaining the notification.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Article 50 letter. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Brexit?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Brexit</a> <a href="https://t.co/SO5R5BTvhw">pic.twitter.com/SO5R5BTvhw</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Charles Michel (@eucopresident) <a href="https://twitter.com/eucopresident/status/847048551792291840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2017</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The two-year time limit can be extended with the unanimous consent of both the U.K. government and the European Council, which consists of the leader of each of the 27 member states remaining within the EU post-Brexit.</p>
<p>The deal will also be put forth for approval in each member state&#8217;s respective national parliament, which could potentially slow down the process should certain lawmakers object to particular conditions. Any deal must be approved by a &#8220;qualified majority&#8221; of EU member states and the European Parliament retains the right to a veto.</p>
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<h4 class="subtitle">What will the Article 50 achieve once completed?</h4>
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<p>Article 50 simply provides a path for the process by which the U.K. will exit the EU. Once the withdrawal agreement – enacted within the U.K. by the Great Repeal Bill which will end the primacy of EU law within the country &#8211; comes into force, the EU treaties will no longer apply to the U.K. Following that, all of the permanent new terms governing the relationship going forward between the two sides will have to be negotiated and agreed. During this time, the government will decide which parts to retain, modify or cut. Some estimate this could take several more years.</p>
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<div class="group-container ">
<h4 class="subtitle">What if there is &#8216;no deal&#8217; agreed with the EU within the two-year exit process?</h4>
<div class="group">
<p>The &#8220;deal&#8221; refers to the terms governing the new post-<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/brexit/" target="_self">Brexit</a> relationship between the EU and U.K. of which a trade agreement is the critical centerpiece. If no new deal is agreed before the U.K. leaves the EU, trading terms will default to the World Trade Organization (WTO) standards which are significantly less beneficial for both sides.</p>
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<h4 class="subtitle">What powers does the UK Parliament have during the Brexit process?</h4>
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<p>The U.K. Parliament will have the right to veto the final deal but not to suggest amendments to it, effectively leaving politicians with a &#8220;take-it-or-leave-it&#8221; option.</p>
<div class="group-container ">
<h4 class="subtitle">When are official talks between the UK and EU expected to begin?</h4>
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<p>Some believe that official Brexit talks could begin on April 29 at the next planned summit bringing together the leaders of the 27 remaining EU member states in Brussels.</p>
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<h4 class="subtitle">What are the biggest issues on the table?</h4>
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<p>The key topics are set to be the exit bill the U.K. is required to pay to the EU for the price of leaving, rights for EU citizens to remain within the U.K. following Brexit and vice-versa, the future freedom of movement for, above all, people and goods and the complicated political situation between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.</p>
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<h4 class="subtitle">How does the timeline fit into the UK general election cycle?</h4>
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<p>The next general election in the U.K. is scheduled for May 7, 2020. Should the U.K. successfully exit the EU within the designated two years from the triggering of Article 50, the process should be completed by April 2019, leaving around a year for campaigning ahead of the next election.</p>
<h4 class="subtitle">How did markets react ahead of the trigger?</h4>
<div class="group">
<p>Strong chatter anticipating that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May would trigger Article 50 on March 29 emerged on the weekend of March 11/12. When markets opened on Monday March 13, both sterling and the U.K.&#8217;s FTSE 100 equity index rallied, with commentators suggesting that there was relief among investors that the process – now largely viewed as inevitable despite continued calls from certain high profile figures for the decision to be reversed – was finally getting underway. The FTSE 100 and the mid-cap FTSE 250 index both closed higher on Tuesday March 28, prior to the trigger being pulled on Wednesday while the British currency finished lower against the U.S. dollar.</p>
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All you need to know about Article 50 and the Brexit process

<p>Tanzania said on Wednesday it would not sign a regional trade deal with the European Union due to come into effect by Oct. 1, and urged neighbouring countries to back a delay pending discussions on its effect on the region&#8217;s manufacturing sector.</p>
<p>Kenya and Rwanda signed the deal earlier this month, but it needs approval from all members of the East African Community bloc &#8211; which also includes Burundi and Uganda &#8211; to take effect.</p>
<p>The trade deal with the European Union gives EAC member states duty- and quota-free access for their goods to the EU as long as they meet the set health and safety standards.</p>
<p>But Tanzania&#8217;s Minister of Foreign Affairs Augustine Mahiga, describing the EU as an &#8220;industrial giant&#8221;, said fledgling industries in his country would not be able to cope with zero-rated imports of European goods.</p>
<p>&#8220;Tanzania will not sign the economic partnership agreement (EPA) until several issues are addressed,&#8221; Mahiga told journalists in Dar es Salaam.</p>
<p>EAC member states initialled an interim EPA deal in 2007 and another in 2014. Governments were given two years from the October 2014 agreement to ratify the deal in national parliaments.</p>
<p>South Sudan, which joined the bloc this year, was not part of initial negotiations of the deal, which started in 2002.</p>
<p>Kenya stands to lose the most without the deal signed, as other member states &#8211; including Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda &#8211; would still continue getting duty- and quota-free access under EU&#8217;s Everything But Arms initiative since they are classified as Least Developed Countries.</p>
<p>&#8220;If the EPA is not signed and ratified by all EAC partner states by Sept. 30, 2016, Kenya stands to lose its market to the EU, having significant impact on her economy,&#8221; Kenya&#8217;s Trade and Industrialisation Ministry said in a statement late last week.</p>
<p>Governments in the region are also anxious to ensure that exports such as tea and fresh flowers, which are major sources of foreign exchange, are not hampered by any tariffs on trade with Britain after it leaves the European Union.</p>
<p>Mahiga said Tanzania would urge regional leaders on Thursday to delay the signing of the deal at an EAC heads of state summit in Dar es Salaam to give more time for the bloc to renegotiate the agreement with the EU.</p>
<p>The summit will be chaired by Tanzanian president John Magufuli and Rwandan president Paul Kagame and Uganda&#8217;s Yoweri Museveni will attend, Tanzania&#8217;s foreign affairs ministry said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>The presidents of Kenya and Burundi will send representatives to the meeting, Tanzanian officials said.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


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European Union

UK parliament to vote on potential third withdrawal agreement

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EU offers 85 million euros to help fund Uganda’s refugee response

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World Economic Forum needs to move beyond spin if it’s going to help Africa

Is Brexit the beginning of the end for international cooperation?

All you need to know about Article 50 and the Brexit process

Tanzania urges delay to regional trade deal with EU, says won't sign

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