The New Rush for Africa: Superpowers are vying for influence in Africa once more

Opinion analysis by Johnny Achkar, Staff Writer

When 19th-century European colonizers split up the continent and took Africans' land, the first big rise of foreign interest in Africa was known as the "scramble." The second was during the Cold War, when the East and West competed for newly independent African governments' loyalty. The third surge, which is currently underway, is gentler.