Next Africa

Another Blocked Global Trade Route — In Africa

Heavy rains in northern Zambia wash away a bridge on a pivotal copper trade route.
Copper plates at the Mufulira refinery in Zambia in May 2022.Photographer: Zinyange Auntony/Bloomberg

Welcome to Next Africa, a daily newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it’s headed. Sign up here to have it delivered to your email. In today’s edition we look at how fragile global trade routes are, whether they be the Gulf straits channeling the world’s oil or a small bridge in central Africa that funnels key new-energy minerals.

A critical energy chokepoint got cut off at the weekend, exposing the fragility of global trade routes.