© Ihor Tkachov / AFP / Belga
News

Wagner acknowledges the death of a Zambian student recruited in Russian prison

A young man from Zambia died at the war front in Ukraine in September. His family is left with questions. Lemekhani Nyirenda was a student in Moscow serving a prison sentence in Russia. He was one of the detainees recruited by the Wagner Group.
Report

How Congo seeks prosperity that leaves its precious rainforest intact

Congo wants to show itself as a country coming up with solutions to climate change. If it wants to succeed in that mission, the country will have to listen to the grievances of its ailing population. Useful first steps are taken, but the road is still long. “It takes time to change human habits.”
Herve Bossy (Vétérinaires Sans Frontières)
Analysis

These livestock keepers are the canaries in the coal mine of a planet in crisis

Many of the pastoralist communities live in Africa, and their way of life is falling victim to the climate crisis. “We get much less milk from our cows than we used to. And that has everything to do with the unreliability of the rain.”
© Coll. Terrier
Report

The French colonial who fell in love with Morocco

He is buried next to his compatriot Napoleon, but his name still only rings a bell with few Europeans: Hubert Lyautey, France's first resident-general in Morocco. The French colonial left a special mark on Morocco a hundred years ago, which still lingers today.
© Reuters
Analysis

Algeria and Morocco's paradoxical support for independence movements

Are Morocco and Algeria using independence movements in a geopolitical joust for more power in the region? Polisario in Western Sahara has long enjoyed Algerian support, and now the Riffian movement is following suit. Conversely, Morocco supports the Kabylian cause in Algeria.
© Shalabeyya
Longread

On the other side of the bars: the broken families of el-Sisi's Egypt

Egypt is holding 60,000 political prisoners in inhumane detention conditions. MO* spoke to their relatives, in Europe and in Egypt.
Analysis

Can we mine our way out of the climate crisis?

The EU is heavily dependent on imports of fossil fuels. The European Commission wants to get rid of these, but does not want to depend on other countries or continents for new raw materials. The solution is to mine as many raw materials as possible ourselves.
UN Photo/Sylvain Liechti (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Editorial

‘Congo is sick and tired of UN peacekeeping mission’

MO* journalist and Congo expert Kris Berwouts worked six months for Monusco in 2015. He shares his experiences  and explains why he understands the Congolese frustration.
Gie Goris (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Report

The end of coal is not in sight. Neither is the end of injustice

The devastating impact of the climate crisis is increasingly clear. That is why the world needs to make a fundamental energy transition as soon as possible. But how can that be done in a country that is dependent on coal? Gie Goris travelled to Jharkhand in India for answers to that question.
© UNICEF Ethopia
Interview

‘Maybe Africa has answers that the whole world can learn from?’

Since brexit and the election of Trump, multulateralism has lost ground worldwide. Except in Africa where countries are increasingly aware that working together is their only way to count internationally. We spoke with UNDP Africa Director Ahunna Eziakonwa.
© Reuters
Analysis

Why African countries prefer not to get embroiled in Russia's war

Africa voted very divided on the UN resolution condemning the Russian invasion in the Ukraine. What is the political impact of the conflict on Africa’s cohesion?
© Comundos
Analysis

‘We want to digitally prepare the youth so they also can have a voice’

Digital storytelling as a tool for empowerment. This is the goal of the Belgian non-profit organisation Comundos. The organisation provides media literacy courses for young people worldwide. ‘By letting people from the Global South make their own story, you relinquish control.’

Pages