Mauritania
The hole in Africa’s heart

The hole in Africa’s heart

Africa’s ‘lawless third’: duty of care Swathes of the continent are home to people whose efforts at self-rule or traditional ways of life have challenged state attempts to deal with COVID-19 The lack of access to...

The struggle to keep pace

The struggle to keep pace

Africa's collective electricity supply is bedevilled by weak legal frameworks and regional rivalry An estimated 580 million Africans lack access to electricity, three quarters of the global total. The International...

Africa’s technological arms race

Africa’s technological arms race

Digital surveillance: real and present danger Telecommunications snooping has emerged as a fundamental threat to African journalists Many journalists and researchers will remember the mid-2000s as halcyon days, when a...

Silencing the guns

Silencing the guns

Africa: fragile gains There’s been some progress towards ending wars on the continent, but 2020 was never a realistic goal for ending all conflicts Seven years ago, in 2013, African leaders solemnly vowed “not to...

A brotherhood of man

A brotherhood of man

Senegal: Mouridism and identity The Mourides, who represent a black Senegalese version of Islam, have helped to inform nationalism in the country Earlier this year I was sitting on the TGV high-speed train travelling...

Sub-Saharan Africa: Islamic investment

Sub-Saharan Africa: Islamic investment

  The Islamic world is increasingly seeing Africa as a destination for foreign investment, both on the institutional and corporate fronts. One sign of such interest was the recent forum on investments in Africa,...