Published in The Independent (January 14th, 2013) For centuries, Mopti has been one of the most important cities in the Sahel, the trading post where the Saharan desert […]
Africa / Aid / General
Aid groups have blinded Britain to the realities of Africa
Published in The Independent (January 9th, 2013) Recep Erdogan, the astute prime minister of Turkey, is on a tour of Africa. His entourage includes 300 business leaders from […]
Africa / Congo / Rwanda
Gaza grabs the headlines as Congo once more descends into chaos
Published in The Observer (November 25th, 2012) Once again, the apparently insoluble struggle between Israel and Palestine has flared up before flickering into uneasy standoff. As usual, world […]
Africa / Equatorial Guinea / Politics
When naive good intentions meet corrupt kleptocracy
Published in The Independent (November 24th, 2012) Having been flown over on the luxurious presidential jet, we sat for a while in a hotel bar, watching a local […]
Africa / Mali
Africa’s Afghanistan
Published in The Spectator (July 13th, 2012) For centuries, the people of Timbuktu have sought guidance from their Sufi saints. They took pride in the mausoleums of these […]
Aid / Ghana
African village where every household is getting £7,500 from British taxpayers spent on them
Published in The Daily Mail (June 30th, 2012) As I drew up in the bustling village after a long journey, the last 21 miles bouncing along a red […]
Africa / Aid / General
Bob Geldof’s obsession with aid hurt Africa. But now trade is healing the scars
Published in The Independent (May 28th, 2012) I first became aware of Bob Geldof in 1977 when I bought the debut single by The Boomtown Rats. In those […]
Africa / Mali
Like Afghanistan, Mali is a victim of our ‘war on terror’
Published in The Independent (May 23rd, 2012) So now we know that Nato will bring its misguided campaign in Afghanistan to a close by the end of 2014, […]