In bathroom mirrors all over the world, countless little black girls have thrown a T-shirt over their heads to pretend they finally have the long…
“We are not China’s colony” says Botswana over a controversial Dalai Lama visit
Botswana president wants you to know that he is not intimidated by China. Ian Khama, president of the diamond-rich nation of less than two million…
DISTRACTION
Robert Mugabe’s wife is caught up in a tabloid scandal in South Africa after an assault charge
A Mugabe will once again hijack the SADC story, although this time it’s Zimbabwean first lady Grace Mugabe. The Southern African Development Community is holding…
ANIMATED CULTURE
Cartoons for African children are frozen by a lack of funding and imagination
For a century, animated films have shaped the childhood memories of children all over the world. Children in Europe and North America, though, have had…
THE POLITICS OF MEMORY
Marikana is the massacre South Africa doesn’t know how to mourn
South Africa has no trouble remembering its painful past, and yet at the fifth anniversary of the Marikana shooting the country still has no closure—or…
THE NAYS TAKE IT
South Africa’s president Jacob Zuma has survived yet another vote of no-confidence—but only just
South African president Jacob Zuma has survived his sixth vote of no-confidence with a narrow win of just 198 votes in his favor versus 177…
WAYDE'S WORLD
Usain Bolt is certain this sprinter is world athletics’ next big superstar
When Wayde van Niekerk returned home to South Africa with his first major gold medal from the 2015 World Championship in Beijing, only his mother…
POVERTY PAWN
Aid agencies may need to resort to “poverty porn” to sound the alarm on an ignored famine crisis
The close-up shot of Nyajime Guet’s cherubic cheeks are a victory for her family and the aid workers who brought her back from the brink.…
RACE AROUND THE WORLD
The same company that pushed Uber out of China is now backing its rival in Europe and Africa
The Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing announced a partnership with Uber’s rival Taxify on Aug. 1. Taxify plans to use the cash injection from Didi…
URBAN RENEWAL
Johannesburg wants to be a “world class African city”—just not for African foreigners
As Johannesburg’s mayor Herman Mashaba posed on the rooftop of a newly gentrified building this week, his accompanying social media posts made it clear that…
MAN VS MACHINE
Robots are set to take Africa’s manufacturing jobs even before it has enough
It was supposed to be Africa’s century, then the robots arrived. The dawning of the fourth industrial revolution offered African countries the opportunity to take…
TREE OF LIFE
An African architect’s profound message about climate change, built under a tree in London
For the first time, an African architect has designed London’s prestigious Serpentine Pavilion. This year, Francis Kéré will take center stage in what has become…
