China Aims to Take Lead on Artificial Intelligence in Global South

 CNBC published on 17 July 2026 an article titled "Xi Pitches China as AI Partner to Developing World, Warns Against Risks and Security Overreach" by Lim Hui Jie.

China is reaching out to various blocs of nations in the Global South to build partnerships concerning AI.  The blocs include ASEAN, African Union, League of Arab States, and the BRICS.

Aljazeera published on 17 July 2026 an article titled "China's Xi Jinping Launches New AI Alliance: What Is It?"

Beijing is casting itself as a leader of the global AI order, challenging the position of the United States.  China announced last week a coalition of 29 nations called the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) with a headquarters in Shanghai.  Founding members include South Africa and Senegal.

In the meantime, Washington is retreating from global cyber and AI norms-setting processes and withdrawing its financial backing for cyber diplomacy more broadly.

The Decline of Diplomacy in the United States

 USA Today published on 19 July 2026 an opinion piece titled "Reduction in US State Department Staff Was Purge in Diplomacy" by Elizabeth "Liz" Colton.

The Trump administration's dismissal of diplomacy and purge of the State Department have resulted in the predictable negative impact on US foreign policy.  

Youth and Social Media Challenge Authority in Ethiopia's Tigray Region

 Ethiopia Insight published on 17 July 2026 a commentary titled "Tigray's Youth Are Breaking the TPLF's Narrative Monopoly" by Asmelash Yohannes Teklu.

The rise of social media in Tigray region of Ethiopia is challenging the Tigray People's Liberation Front's control of information.  Young Tigrayans are rejecting attempts to drag Tigray into another destructive conflict.  They are confronting the TPLF in ways that would have been unimaginable a decade ago.

Fall of City in Central Sudan Could Result in Partition of Country

 World Politics Review published on 13 July 2026 an article titled "Sudan Could Be Headed for De Facto Partition" by Mohamed Wad Al-Sak.  

If the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces take control of El Obeid in central Sudan from the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), it could result in a de facto partition of the country.  El Obed is the SAF's last command center in central Sudan and the linchpin of its western supply corridor.

China Facing African Mineral Export Controls

 Semafor published on 17 July 2026 an article titled "Africa's Mineral Export Bans Are Only the Opening Bid" by Yinka Adegoke.

China controls about 72 percent of global critical minerals processing capacity, giving it more leverage than the countries that produce the ore.

This has propelled a wave of resource nationalism in Africa as governments try to move up the value chain.  The DRC, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Gabon are tightening controls on the export of raw minerals in order to force more value addition at home.  

Urgent Diplomacy Needed to Calm Down Horn of Africa

 The International Crisis Group published on 17 July 2026 a commentary titled "As the Horn of Africa Nears Boiling Point, Time for Urgent Diplomacy" by Alan Boswell. 

Given the uncertainty about Washington's level of commitment to bring peace to the Horn of Africa, additional Gulf States, the European Union, the United Nations, Norway, and the United Kingdom should step up their engagement.  

The US Role in Artificial Intelligence and African Mining

 The Atlantic Council published on 16 July 2026 a report titled "Artificial Intelligence and the Future of African Mining" by Anthony Carroll and Jef Karel Caers.

Colonial-era maps and infrastructure hinder access to the roughly 30 percent of global critical minerals in Africa.  AI-powered mining and mapping tools could help expedite discovery, reduce drilling time, and modernize operations.

The United States should develop "smart mining" partnerships with African countries that advance US security objectives while providing long-term dividends for African nations.  

Somalis Concerned about Future of Federalism in Ethiopia

 Ethiopia Insight published on 18 July 2026 a commentary titled "Ethiopia's National Dialogue Could Unravel the Federal Bargain" by Muktar Ismail.  

On 15 July, Ethiopia's long awaited National Dialogue Conference opened in Addis Ababa with over 4,000 participants from around the nation.  

The author argues that many Somalis in Ethiopia view the Conference not as an attempt to achieve national reconciliation but an attempt to revise Ethiopia's federalist form of government, which remains central to Somali preferences.  

Iran War Intensifies US-China Competition in Africa

 The Middle East Council on Global Affairs, a policy research institution based in Doha, Qatar, published on 16 July 2026 a commentary titled "Iran War Intensifies U.S.-China Rivalry in Africa" by Mustapha Boudoumi.

Disruptions to maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz have highlighted the strategic importance of African choke points such as the Suez Canal and Bab el-Mandeb.  The situation in Iran has put increasing focus on China-US competition for critical minerals in Africa.  

China-South Africa Supply Chain Issues

 The Foreign Policy Research Institute published on 16 July 2026 an article titled "Beyond the Supply Chain: South Africa's China Dilemma" by Raghvendra Kumar.

The question facing South Africa is whether China's evolving supply chain diplomacy is designed to support Pretoria's fair and equitable participation or to reinforce Beijing's own geoeconomic priorities.  South Africa is China's largest trading partner in Africa, but it runs a large trade deficit with Beijing.  

The author concludes that South Africa's relationship with China will be successful only if Pretoria retains control over its critical infrastructure, strategic industries, and foreign policy choices.  

Drones Are Becoming Weapon of Choice in African Conflicts

 Foreign Affairs published on 26 June 2026 an article titled "Who Is Winning Africa's Drone Wars?" by Nate Allen and Rida Lyammouri.

Inexpensive drones are fast becoming the weapon of choice in African conflicts.  They are being deployed by both governments and insurgent groups.  China is now Africa's largest supplier of drones, accounting for a quarter of those procured.

Foreign drones have turned African conflicts such as the civil war in Sudan into destabilizing proxy wars.  At least eleven African countries now produce drones including Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Morocco.

Picking Up the Pieces at the US State Department

 The Federal News Network published on 16 July 2026 an article titled "Laid-off Federal Employees Spotlight Impacts of State Dept. RIF" by Drew Friedman.

The State Department laid off nearly 1,350, mostly civil service, staff and DOGE fired almost all USAID personnel and abolished the organization, moving a small number of USAID employees to the State Department.  The State Department is now scrambling to figure out how to cope with issues such as Ebola in Africa.  

Somali States Align Against Mogadishu

 AEI's Critical Threats Africa File posted on 16 July 2026 an article titled "Puntland Standoff with the Federal Government of Somalia" by Michael DeAngelo and Aaryaman Shah.

Ties between the Somali government in Mogadishu and Puntland state continue to deteriorate as Mogadishu implements its constitutional and electoral agenda.  The national Somali Future Council (SFC) opposition coalition, which includes Puntland and Jubaland states and leading Somali opposition figures, has threatened to hold parallel elections and establish new government structures if Mogadishu continues to implement its agenda.  

Zimbabwe Shuts Down Chinese Lithium Company for Fraud

 Discovery Alert published on 16 July 2026 an article titled "San Ding Lithium Shutdown: Zimbabwe's $3.65M Mining Fraud Exposed" by Muflih Hidayat.  

Zimbabwe holds Africa's largest lithium reserves and Chinese companies have invested more than $2 billion in the lithium sector.  China's San Ding Lithium operated through the fabrication of receipts and invoices to disguise fund diversions.  Zimbabwe charged two San Ding Lithium officials with two charges of fraud and shut down the company.

Nigeria-China Security Partnership

 The Nigerian government posted on 14 July 2026 a press release titled "Nigeria-China Defence Partnership: Minister of Defence in Beijing to Drive Tech Transfer and Boost DICON's Local Manufacturing" by Samuel Anyanwu.

Nigeria's minister of defense is in China for high-level discussions on defense, security cooperation, and a strategic partnership.  The purpose of the visit is to deepen bilateral defense cooperation, fast-track the modernization of Nigeria's armed forces, and radically boost Nigeria's local military production capabilities.

Discussions have centered on concrete technology transfer, technical capacity building, and establishing joint production lines in Nigeria in direct partnership with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON).  

UN Report on Hallmarks of Genocide in Sudan

 The UN Human Rights Council published on 8 July 2026 a 26-page report titled "Information Supplementing the Report 'Sudan: Hallmarks of Genocide in El Fasher'."

This report provides detailed references not included in the initial 19 February 2026 report and additional information that the UN Human Rights Council gathered following continued investigations since the publication of the original report.  

It also helps develop the legal basis for the conclusions that were drawn in the original report, that the mass killings and related atrocities committed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in and around El Fasher were indicators of a genocidal path.

Additional Sanctions on Sudanese Companies and Individuals

 Foreign Policy posted on 15 July 2026 an article titled "Sudan Faces New Sanctions as Evidence of Atrocities Mounts" by Nosmot Gbadamosi.

The EU and the US have expanded sanctions on individuals and companies that have aided the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and/or the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF).  In the meantime, global efforts to end the war have largely stalled.

Comment:  Numerous sanctions in recent years on the RSF and the SAF have had no impact on bringing this civil war to an end.  

African Views of the US vis-a-vis China Fall Since Beginning of Trump Administration

 The Pew Research Center published on 15 July 2026 research results titled "People in Many Countries Now View China More Positively than the U.S." by Jonathan Schulman, Laura Silver, Laura Clancy, and William Miner.

Pew surveyed public opinion of the United States and China in 36 countries, including 4--South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana--in Africa.  Since the beginning of the Trump administration, positive perceptions of the United States in the 4 African countries vis-a-vis China have fallen, although the US still maintains a slight lead in Ghana. 

Positive views of the United States and China today are: 

South Africa: 35 percent for the US and 52 percent for China

Nigeria: 63 percent for the US and 78 percent for China

Kenya: 63 percent for the US and 76 percent for China

Ghana: 68 percent for the US and 64 percent for China

When asked if they are confident Donald Trump or Xi Jinping will do the right thing, the results were:

South Africa: 26 percent for Trump and 46 percent for Xi

Kenya: 63 percent for Trump and 73 percent for Xi

Ghana: 54 percent for Trump and 56 percent for Xi

Nigeria: 65 percent for Trump and 62 percent for Xi

  

Marco Rubio Dismantles Human Rights at State Department

 Foreign Policy published on 8 July 2026 an article titled "Marco Rubio Burned Down the House to Fix a Sink" by Amanda Klasing, Amnesty International.  

Secretary of State Rubio has led an assault on human rights in American statecraft by slashing humanitarian aid, decimating human rights programs, gutting human rights offices and bureaus, disengaging from global human rights systems at the United Nations and elsewhere, and threatening international justice mechanisms.  

He has also changed the guidelines for the State Department's annual, global human rights reports by prioritizing political agendas over consistent accounting of human rights violations around the world.

The Kremlin's Long Game in Africa

 The Hudson Institute published on 4 July 2026 an analysis titled "The Kremlin's Long Game in Africa" by Joshua Meservey.

The analysis concludes that the Kremlin seeks to extract outsized benefits from Africa with the limited means it can deploy.  The nature of this engagement will change only when there is meaningful political transformation in Russia.

US Connection to Sudan's Rapid Support Forces

 Reuters published on 15 July 2026 an in-depth article titled "The US Army Veteran and the Mystery Boeings Flying Sudan's War Routes" by Alexander Dziadosz, Reade Levinson, and David Lewis.  

Companies registered in Singapore and the UAE owned by a US government, and military contractor and US Army Special Forces veteran have been operating several Boeing aircraft linking regional supply routes of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan.  The United Nations has accused the RSF of genocide.  The United States has not sanctioned the companies.  

Crisis at the U.S. Department of State

 The Daily Beast published on 14 July 2026 an article titled "Insiders Expose Trump 'Crisis' at the State Department" by Ewan Palmer.

This is a devastating account of the current situation in the U.S. Department of State.  It draws heavily on a longer article in the UK's Financial Times.

Will the Houthis Shut Down the Red Sea/Suez Canal Waterway?

 Reuters published on 14 July 2026 an article titled "After Hormuz, Iran Turns to Red Sea Gateway as New Pressure Point" by Samia Nakhoul.

Depending on US and Saudi actions related to the Strait of Hormuz, Iran may ask its Houthi allies in Yemen to shut down the Bab el-Mandeb choke point, which controls international shipping through the Red Sea and Suez Canal.

The West Should Take No Comfort from Russia's Failure in Mali

 The National Interest published on 9 July 2026 an article titled "The Lessons of Mali" by Brendon Sanders.

Both Western and, more recently, Russian counter terrorism efforts in Mali have failed.  But the West should take no comfort from Russia's inability to deliver stability in the Sahel region.  

New York Times Editorial on Sudan

 The New York Times published on 13 July 2026 an editorial titled "The World Must Wake Up to the Horror in Sudan."

Repeating the concerns of so many others, the editorial argues that the world needs to do more to halt the killing and mass displacement in Sudan.