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The article discusses Africa is set to play a much more important role in global affairs, the global economy and the global imagination. It mentions that several Africans enter the job market every year and many of them do not have the education or skills they need and most of African children do not finish secondary school. It also mentions about the challenges such as Climate change and Covid-19 faced by Africa.

The article discusses efforts of Great Britain's prime minister Boris Johnson to revive links with Africa, after Great Britain leaves the European Union. Topics include an investment summit in London, England in which Johnson, hosted the continent's leaders from countries like Egypt, Ethiopia and Ghana; a surge in the influence of the British Department for International Development, responsible for dispensing aid to poor countries; and the country's diplomatic footprint in Africa.

The article explores the rising influence of Russia in Africa in 2019. President Vladimir Putin has made efforts to improve Russia's relations with a number of African countries. The country's exports to Africa have increased during the period from 2007 to 2018, including arms exports to sub-Saharan Africa. Putin's cronies have gained access to minerals in the Central African Republic (CAR).

The article explores the surge of foreign interest in Africa since 2010. Governments and businesses from all around the world have boosted their diplomatic, strategic and commercial relations with African countries. Chinese companies are expected to catch up with firms from the U.S., Great Britain and France as the continent's sources of foreign direct investment. Africans are advised to increase their share of the benefits of foreign investment by insisting on transparency.

The article looks at French military involvement in Africa, as of December 2013. It reports on a planned international peacekeeping operation in the Central African Republic (CAR) in which France is to play a leading role. Topics include the history of France's military and economic relations with Africa and the January 2013 French intervention in Mali.

The article reports on concerns in Francophone Africa about the election of rightist French president Nicolas Sarkozy. France has many immigrants from French-speaking Africa, and Sarkozy favors immigration reform. Questions are also raised about France's small military presence in many of its former African colonies, and its friendly relations with brutal African dictators.

This articles discusses China's involvements in Africa in its search for resources and the human rights implications. In recent years, China has rapidly stepped up its involvement there, finding not only the resources it so urgently needs, but also willing business partners in places--Somalia, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Libya, among others--where many western nations have been reluctant to do business at all. Meanwhile, Chinese entrepreneurs are pouring investments worth billions of dollars into Africa. European governments are increasingly concerned at China's involvement, because it undermines their own efforts to tie trade and aid to human rights, and to help Africa overcome corruption. They fear that Chinese companies show scant regard for either consideration.

Reports on South African foreign policy under President Thabo Mbeki. In May, 2003 ex-President Nelson Mandela and two senior ministers presided over a change of president in Burundi. Although not much may come of any of this or other visits of state, Mbeki is on the hunt. Foreign policy is the president's main interest, at least in this, his first term. A Mbeki doctrine is emerging: South Africa cannot impose its will on others, but it can help to deal with instability in African countries by offering its resources and its leadership to bring rival groups together, and to keep things calm until an election is safely held. Mbeki argues that the model of peace, power-sharing and reconciliation that worked in South Africa between blacks and whites a decade ago can be applied elsewhere. Ending Congo's enormous problems is close to Mbeki's heart; peace here, he argues, would boost economic development in the region, and show the world that Africa can solve even its biggest wars. Zimbabwe will be a crucial test of Mbeki's doctrine.

Presents international news briefs as of March 30, 2002. Meeting of Arab leaders in Beirut, Lebanon to consider a plan for peace between Israelis and Palestinians; Summit meeting of African leaders in Abuja, Nigeria to promote a plan to ask rich countries for aid and freer trade in return for more competent government and less corruption in Africa; Opposition in Zimbabwe which called for a new vote after a report was released which detailed why the election of President Robert Mugabe was rigged; Others.

The article looks at delays to the international criminal trial of Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta as of October 2013. Topics include an October 2013 resolution passed by the African Union (AU) organization that offer immunity for African leaders while in office, a draft United Nations (UN) resolution that would call for a 12-month delay to Kenyatta's trial, and Western concerns about maintaining positive relations with African leaders to stem terrorism on the continent.

This article reports on China's growing clout in Africa. All over Africa a commodity-hungry China is winning friends by building roads, ports and railways. However, Hu Jintao, China's president, also shields Sudan from being held to account in the United Nations Security Council for one of the largest atrocities of recent times: the killing of some 300,000 people and the uprooting of more than 2m in Darfur.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Wrong model, right continent," in the October 28, 2006 issue.

This article reports on the emergence of trade agreements between the United States and countries in Africa. Though Africa accounts for barely 2% of world trade, Mr Zoellick (Robert Zoellick) is giving it some serious attention in his two-week world tour. Negotiations for a trade deal between America and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU, composed of South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland) began a year ago, but start in earnest on February 23rd. Tariff-free exports of some 6,000 goods from Africa to the United States are boosting trade and investment in southern Africa. American drugs firms want to be part of the fast expansion in South Africa of production of anti-retroviral drugs, used against AIDS. But Mr Zoellick's greater concern is for multilateral trade talks that stalled in Cancún, Mexico, in September. So Mr Zoellick is trying to charm his African partner by agreeing to drop support for most of a group of issues (known as "Singapore" issues) that jammed up the talks at Cancún, and were opposed by poor countries. Even though America has treated Africa very shabbily on trade in the past, Mr Erwin (Alec Erwin) hints it is easier doing business with America than with Europe or Japan.