The Continent

All Protocol Observed Welcome to Issue 257 of The Continent Four months ago, tens of thousands of Malawians were repatriated as they fled xenophobic violence in South Africa. Now, the buses are heading back. bit.ly/TC_257

Five minutes on the water. Much longer in the queue. Ferry Tales is a new limited series in The Continent; starting at the Likoni Ferry in Mombasa. Story by Paul Kelemba (aka Maddo), curated by Gado, illustrated by Yemsrach Yetneberk. Issue 257 is out now. 🔗 in bio.

A Chinese navy hospital ship spent a week in Abidjan giving out free care — more than 4,000 consultations, according to local media. But what happens to the medical samples and personal data collected onboard? Côte d’Ivoire has laws protecting health records. The hard part is enforcing them.

“Good #journalism travels best through human hands. Forward this edition to one person who needs to read it today. 👇” from the superb @thecontinent.org wa.me/27738056068?...

Join us online on October 28 at 10AM PT - 1PM ET - 5PM GMT - 6PM CET - 7PM CAT for a first look at our next, unpublished issue 006. Meet the team behind the newspaper, see how the issue came together. Free to attend: atlaslaunch.eventbrite.com?aff=bluesky

The Atlas, Issue 5, Page 29. Editor's note: We didn’t mean to start the goulash wars. theatlasnewspaper.org

Flock and hard place Mokoto Masotsa watches over his sheep above a gorge near Semonkong, in Lesotho. About a third of the country’s school-age boys work as shepherds, often spending months away in isolated mountain pastures. Photo: Tommy Trenchard/Panos Pictures

All Protocol Observed Welcome to edition 256 of The Continent Nigeria bans exports of shea nuts – and creates a subsidy that profits everyone except its own farmers. bit.ly/256_TC

The Continent: Issue 255 (pages 21-24) When a lake loses its water, a community loses its way of life. “When Absence Takes Hold” by Fatma Fahmy follows the women of Lake Qarun, Egypt, who carry the grief and memory of a land that’s vanishing.

The worst Ebola outbreak in the world is ongoing in the DRC and you’re not being informed about it in part because the reason it is spiralling is US politics. At least one person who was suffering from the disease crossed into Uganda by road and then flew from Kampala to Nairobi where he died.

Contact tracing is underway but part of the reason why they believe he sought healthcare in Kenya is that the quality of care in the DRC is being compromised as exhausted workers navigate depleted supplies and lack of international support even as politics in the country heats up.

One of the first acts of the current US administration was leaving the World Health Organisation, the institution that coordinates multilateral public health responses. The dismantling of USAID has also compromised support for community health workers who are the frontline of disease responses.

The DRC and Kenya are also critical US allies in both the deportation racket that is underway, in critical mineral supply for the ongoing AI semiconductor boom, and in military cooperation. Basically these countries are getting away with lax oversight because they are Trump allies.

It’s worth pointing out that until 2016 the US ambassador to Kenya was always a career diplomat as the post was considered highly politically sensitive. Since 2016, there have been long stretches without an ambassador and a succession of political appointees with limited diplomatic knowledge.

The US does not currently have an ambassador to the DRC. The administration has stated its derision towards African countries. The “shithole countries” remark reflects the US governments current “Africa policy” it’s only interests being blocking China from accessing minerals, and warfare.

You can read more in this week’s edition of @thecontinent.org available free on WhatsApp or Signal when you subscribe.

✨ Nominate an African of the Year Who is doing important and impactful work on the Africa continent? A scientist, an organiser, a farmer, an artist, or a person in your community nobody has written about yet? Tell us who and why. This simple and painless form takes two minutes: tally.so/r/Me9qBX

This is the week in brief. Get your copy of The Continent here, for free: thecontinent.org

Kampala's Bahá’í Temple (which I mapped on Openstreetmap !) is indeed a most lovely oasis. It is also a reminder of how rare public parks (and public spaces beside sidewalks) are in African cities.

In this week's @thecontinent.org, on Donica Merhazion's wonderful Born at the End of the World, published by @catalystpress.bsky.social. The author's note at the end of the book is moving 🖤 Download the full issue at www.thecontinent.org/_files/ugd/2... #Eritrea #Ethiopia

The light in this photo reminds me of Caravaggio's painting! 😊 Great work from a photo essay on Egypt.

#Ethiopia: I didn’t think I’d ever be covering war in Tigray after the 2022 Pretoria Agreement, but here we are. If you’re wondering why the peace deal unraveled and why Ethiopia is back in the headlines, read my latest for @thecontinent.org tinyurl.com/yp3hm44p Cover: @wynonamutisi.bsky.social

All Protocol Observed Welcome to Issue 255 of The Continent The warning signs in Tigray have been building for months. The Continent reconstructs how peace failed. bit.ly/255_TC

2/ The Atlas is a monthly publication from @codastory.com and @thecontinent.org. We live in the same world. Let's read from the same page. Get your copy delivered every month — for free. If this resonates with you, help it travel.

On @thecontinent.org's team for a profoundly inspirational and riveting conversation with Winnie Byanyima—who is, among many things, executive director of UNAIDS. Read this and more here: www.thecontinent.org/_files/ugd/2...

Who builds the systems through which reality is organised, distributed and trusted? Join @codastory.com + @thecontinent.org for an exclusive first look at the new, unpublished issue of The Atlas — and a conversation about journalism in an age of algorithms, propaganda, and AI noise.

In the Vatican, closed-door meetings have been dissecting the coexistence of our intelligence with the artificial one. Find out about it in The Atlas — Issue 005. Coming 24 September from @codastory.com and @thecontinent.org theatlasnewspaper.org

What I appreciate the most about @thecontinent.org is that it tells stories from Africa in a voice actually from there

Always read and share The Continent but especially when the cover story is about Mauritania's iron ore train.

All Protocol Observed Welcome to Issue 254 of The Continent. Social media made Mauritania’s iron ore train a daredevil adventure. Our photo essay captures the beauty of ordinary life. bit.ly/254_TC

All Protocol Observed Welcome to Issue 253 of The Continent Three years before 9/11, Al-Qaeda carried out its first major attack in Africa. Twenty-five years later, the continent is living with the consequences of a war on terror. bit.ly/253_TC

Ahead of African Union Day (9 September), we consider: How do Africans view the continental body? Majorities say the AU has a positive influence on their country (55%) and recognises their country's interests (56%). Our latest piece in @thecontinent.org has more details. #VoicesAfrica

This weekend in @thecontinent.org, a truly fascinating virtual coffee with Neo Muyanga, the multi-hyphenate musician who is also a co-founder of Chimurenga. Download this issue here (and subscribe!): https://www.thecontinent.org/_files/ugd/287178_6c39f3d06338407e8a2eaedc80d87699.pdf?index=true

All Protocol Observed Welcome to Issue 252 of The Continent Egyptians were using the characters of SpongeBob and his friends to talk about their real lives in a Facebook group. In 2 weeks it gained almost two million members. Then it was shut down. bit.ly/252_TC

A shocking one in three Nigerians (33%) say they know someone who was kidnapped in the past five years. No wonder citizens consider abduction the biggest safety threat in their community. Our latest piece in @thecontinent.org has more on Nigeria's kidnapping crisis. #VoicesAfrica #Nigeria

2/ We live in the same world. Let's read from the same page. Get your copy delivered every month - for free - via the link in our bio. If this resonates with you, help it travel.

All Protocol Observed Welcome to Issue 251 of The Continent Zambia’s recent election was supposed to be a vote on extending the president’s mandate for a second term. The post-election crackdown has been unprecedented. bit.ly/251_TC

2/ The Atlas is a monthly publication from @codastory.com and @thecontinent.org. We live in the same world. Let's read from the same page. Get your copy delivered every month — for free. If this resonates with you, help it travel.

Powerful issue of @thecontinent.org zooms in on 20 years of the Bill Gates-funded Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and how it has backfired. Across AGRA’s 13 focus countries, the number of undernourished people rose by 58%. www.thecontinent.org/_files/ugd/2... @timschwab.bsky.social

1/ Mathematics has never just been about answers — it's the steps to get there. What happens to that skill when we start asking AI to skip straight to the end? Find out in The Atlas — Issue 004. Coming 27 August from @codastory.com and @thecontinent.org.

Clap for me please!! I got all the answers in this week’s @thecontinent.org correct on the first try!

Greatly privileged to have been on the team for Coffee with Professor Felwine Sarr, whom I deeply admire. Published in the latest @thecontinent.org, which you can access here: https://www.thecontinent.org/_files/ugd/287178_496bb3407e954669b14fa51c25d8fa0f.pdf?index=true