Plus: the continuation of our Gaza diary series
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Editor's note
Our correspondent in Nairobi, Caroline Kimeu, wrote a story this week from Kenya that brought a real sense of positive news coming from the east African country.

President William Ruto’s decision to do away with the need for visas for African nationals visiting the nation is a hugely welcome move that signals a strengthening commitment to a more united continent. Removing such barriers to trade and travel is a key aspiration of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which envisions “an integrated continent, politically united and based on the ideals of Pan-Africanism and the vision of Africa’s Renaissance”.

An Africa united, with a strong cultural identity and shared values, is a continent on its way to achieving its full potential after a fragmentation exploited and expanded by slavers and colonialists. Trade within the continent will be a true step out of poverty for many Africans, whose entrepreneurship needs more than luck to help it succeed.

Breaking down the barriers between neighbours is key to African nations reclaiming the continent's rich natural resources and developing sustainable manufacturing to realise their value – instead of seeing raw materials whisked away overseas. The west desire’s for Africa’s resources at cheap price is a reason, perhaps the key reason, that much of the continent languishes in poverty. In the most basic financial terms, it is in western nations’ interest to keep African poor and it will take a pan-African collective movement to change that.

So such a seemingly simple announcement on visas – Kenya is the fourth African country to scrap them – is good news.

We need as much of that as we can get right now.

Tracy McVeigh
Editor, Global Development
Spotlight
Gaza diary part 13  
'Just like a candle, I am fading. My body is losing strength’
'Just like a candle, I am fading. My body is losing strength’
Read more from the Gaza diary
 

Jamie Wilson

Head of International News, The Guardian

Person Image

In its first weeks, the Israel-Hamas war has already seen significant bloodshed on both sides, as well as a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The ripple effects have been felt globally, with foreign leaders flying to the region to try and prevent escalation, and spikes in antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crime reported in the US and Europe.

As the Guardian’s Head of International News, making sense of this rapidly developing conflict is a round-the-clock job for me and my colleagues on the international desks in London, New York and Sydney. Over recent years, we have continued to invest in correspondents able to tell this story from the ground and in experienced, expert journalists and commentators who can analyse and make sense of the situation.

We are committed to covering every aspect of this war, from the ordinary people caught up in it to the regional and global ramifications. We are committed, too, to combatting the vast amount of misinformation, rumour and hate swirling online.

We can’t do any of this without reader funding. It’s your support which keeps us fiercely independent and enables us to maintain the highest standards. If you are able to help fund our journalism, it will make a huge difference.

 
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