Myanmar/Burma’s oppressive junta pulled off two feats this week: first they cooked the elections ensuring a front party win the elections with 80 percent (well, at least they did not say 98 percent like Paul Kagame) of the vote, and then announced a new flag for the country. Okay, so it looks suspiciously like Ghana’s “Black Star” flag. Same colors, but the star is white. Reuters, which has an Africa News Blog but not a Europe News Blog (that’s just news) tried to “analyze” the decision and fails to pass a slew of offensive, objectionable stereotypes off as clever:

Are Myanmar’s generals closet Rastafarians, or is their adoption of the pan-African colours associated with Ethiopian emperor Haile Salassie a tacit acknowledgement that half a century of army diktat has transformed the once-prosperous Asian state into an African-style basket-case?

For real.

Further Reading

Trump tariffs and US Imperialism

Trump’s April 2025 tariff blitz ignited market chaos and deepened rifts within his own coalition. Beneath the turmoil lies a battle between technocrats, ultranationalists, and anti-imperial populists, all vying to reshape—or destroy—American global power.

Kenya’s vibe shift

From aesthetic cool to political confusion, a new generation in Kenya is navigating broken promises, borrowed styles, and the blurred lines between irony and ideology.

Africa and the AI race

At summits and in speeches, African leaders promise to harness AI for development. But without investment in power, connectivity, and people, the continent risks replaying old failures in new code.