The Manager-Monarch Who Saved Oman
January 13th, 2026
Courtesy of Foreign Policy, a report on Oman’s new(ish) sultan who doesn’t do spectacle. He does spreadsheets. And it’s working. Six years ago this month, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq inherited a [...]
Russia, France and the US: The High-Stakes Scramble for Madagascar
January 13th, 2026 Via The Africa Report, a look at how a recent visit to Madagascar by a Russian delegation led by the head of Africa Corps has sparked domestic controversy. But Moscow is far from the only power [...]
January 13th, 2026 Via The Africa Report, a look at how a recent visit to Madagascar by a Russian delegation led by the head of Africa Corps has sparked domestic controversy. But Moscow is far from the only power [...]
Trump Is Making a Power Play in Latin America. China Is Already There.
January 12th, 2026 Courtesy of the New York Times, a look at how China built a dominant strategic position in the region as the leading lender and trading partner, and it is watching President Trump’s next moves [...]
January 12th, 2026 Courtesy of the New York Times, a look at how China built a dominant strategic position in the region as the leading lender and trading partner, and it is watching President Trump’s next moves [...]
Exxon CEO Calls Venezuela ‘Uninvestable’ Without ‘Significant Changes’
January 10th, 2026 Courtesy of the Washington Post, a report on Venezuela and lack of oil investor interest: As President Donald Trump pushed U.S. oil companies to commit to invest $100 billion in Venezuela at a White [...]
January 10th, 2026 Courtesy of the Washington Post, a report on Venezuela and lack of oil investor interest: As President Donald Trump pushed U.S. oil companies to commit to invest $100 billion in Venezuela at a White [...]
Saudis In, UAE Out? Why Djibouti Has Become The Gulf’s Indispensable Outpost
January 8th, 2026 Via The Africa Report, commentary on how – in the high-stakes game of influence across the Red Sea – Djibouti is playing the Arabian Peninsula’s rival powers off one another to secure [...]
January 8th, 2026 Via The Africa Report, commentary on how – in the high-stakes game of influence across the Red Sea – Djibouti is playing the Arabian Peninsula’s rival powers off one another to secure [...]
China Focuses on Africa’s Strategic Trade Routes
January 7th, 2026 Via Reuters, a report on China’s renewed Africa focus on strategic trade routes: China’s FM to visit Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and Lesotho Trip extends 36-year-old tradition of making [...]
January 7th, 2026 Via Reuters, a report on China’s renewed Africa focus on strategic trade routes: China’s FM to visit Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and Lesotho Trip extends 36-year-old tradition of making [...]