The Continent Newspaper

All Protocol Observed Welcome to the two-hundred-and-forty-nineth edition of The Continent The islands of São Tomé and Príncipe were one of the earliest places where Europeans assembled the defining elements of the tropical plantation complex: enslaved African labour, monoculture of a single cash crop, industrial processing, racial hierarchy and export of those agricultural commodities abroad. That model was expanded and reshaped in the Americas on a far larger scale.  Now, six former agricultural estates in São Tomé and Príncipe – known as roças – have been recognised as World Heritage sites. The Santomean government hopes that this new status will bring tourism revenue, jobs and opportunities to the islands, as the country grapples with high unemployment, youth emigration and widespread poverty. However, the granting of Unesco status leaves critical questions unanswered: who owns these refurbished structures, governs the stories they tell, or reaps the rewards of their new economic life?  The challenge facing the islands is how to safeguard this cultural heritage without romanticising or sanitising the brutal history behind it in a quest to avoid offending tourists. Inside: 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone: New electoral law has the opposition screaming murder 🇱🇾 Libya: Top army chief assassinated in car bombing in Benghazi  🇪🇬 Egypt: Sudanese refugees decry racial profiling and deportation  ⚽ Wafcon: We told you that the Scorchers were aflame!  Enjoying The Continent? Share it with a friend (or three). Missed an issue? Visit our archive. Until next week,  The Team at The Continent

All Protocol Observed Welcome to Issue 248 of The Continent The images of tens of thousands of people getting into Ceuta flashed around the world. They gave ammunition to anti-immigrant voices, notably the leaders of the US and Italy. The Spanish state quickly forced almost all the people back home, saying its track record keeping migrants out of Fortress Europe was, in fact, stellar. But broad narratives don’t need anchoring in reality. So, last weekend, Ceuta provided a canvas for geopolitics, local politics and algorithms to smash together. Absent from those narratives were the voices of the people, nearly 70 of whom died, crossing into the Spanish enclave.  The Moroccans The Continent spoke to talked about misleading messages, and the legitimate reasons for them to leave home – like a government spending big on an upcoming football world cup but not its people. Various factions seized on that, in a region where Spain, Morocco and Algeria have had a complicated relationship for a long time. And each of those has complicated relationships with the EU, US and Israel.       Inside: 🦟 Malaria: It’s about to be your biggest problem – or a faint memory 🇿🇲 Zambia: A verdict on President Hichilema as polls approach  🩰 Photos: South Africa hosts premiere ballet event 🐯 Review: Tyla wants to reintroduce herself The Continent is built to be shared. Share it with a friend (or three). Missed one? Visit our archive. Until next week,  The Team at The Continent

All Protocol Observed Welcome to the two-hundred-and-forty-seventh edition of The Continent Scroll through social media and Rwanda looks like a success story. The capital, Kigali, hosts major sporting events and is even courting Formula One. But those polished images often overshadow the country's role in the war in eastern DRC, where sanctions remain in place. That's no accident. Rwanda invests heavily in soft power. This week, The Continent has the receipts for an $85,000 influence campaign. We also examine how a crackdown on journalists has helped create space for these campaigns inside Rwanda, and how they target decision-makers in Brussels and New York. In the Great Lakes, the battle is as much over the narrative as the war itself. Inside: ⚖️ The Hague: Another African country leaves the ICC 🗑️ Uganda: Cleaning day leaves a foul stench  🇹🇳 Tunisia: President Saied under fire as heatwave intensifies 🇿🇦 South Africa: Anti-migrant raids go door to door Give someone the gift of The Continent. Subscription is free! Missed an issue? Visit our archive. Until next week,  The Team at The Continent

All Protocol Observed Welcome to the third edition of The Atlas, our new international publication rooted in the south.  In the newspaper this week: When Cecil John Rhodes looked at the night sky, he was not awestruck. He was covetous. “I would annex the planets if I could; I often think of that. It makes me sad to see them so clear and yet so far,” he said. Well, his ideological descendants have even grander ambitions. One American company wants to conquer darkness itself, by packaging sunlight and selling it back to us. Their first satellite has just been approved to launch. Astronomers are panicking – maybe the rest of us should be too. The Atlas is still a pilot publication. If you like it, please encourage your friends, family and colleagues – or the people you usually share The Continent with – to sign up for free delivery here. We live in the same world, let’s read from the same page.

All Protocol Observed Welcome to Issue 246 of The Continent We’ve been around for a while. But nowhere near as long as the family ruling Togo.  Faure Gnassingbé has been in charge for 21 years. His father, who died in office, was in charge for the 38 years before that. Last year the Constitution was changed to do away with the formality of winning rigged elections, setting Gnassingbé up to rule indefinitely. As keeps happening, people objected and protested. A brutal crackdown followed. Survivors describe torture in military detention, lasting trauma and ongoing intimidation. The Continent’s investigation found that what was covered as a constitutional power-grab came at a devastating human cost. Inside: 🇸🇳 Senegal: A former president hits the job market 🇿🇦 Art: South African art installation on display after all 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone: Freetown’s heat officer is betting on trees  🌧️ Photos: The hunt for an ordained animal to bring the rains  We live in the same world, let’s read from the same page The third issue of The Atlas, our new international newspaper – published in partnership with Coda Story – is due out on Thursday 30 July. The cover story is locked in – you’ll never look at the night sky in quite the same way again. The Continent subscribers get it automatically. Anyone else can sign up here.  Give someone the gift of The Continent. Subscription is free! Missed an issue? Visit our archive. Until next week,  The Team at The Continent

All Protocol Observed Welcome to Issue 245 of The Continent For years, Muhoozi Kainerugaba was treated as a curiosity: an impulsive general whose social media outbursts often seemed too theatrical to take seriously. That’s no longer enough to explain his antics. After nearly 40 years in power, his father, President Yoweri Museveni, has outlived many of the constitutional guardrails that were meant to regulate the transfer of power. What remains is a system organised around personalities rather than institutions. Something is clearly underway, but Muhoozi is neither a shoo-in nor merely an eccentric heir apparent.  Inside: 🇨🇩 Ebola: Health workers on strike in the DRC 💊 Interview: We need a taste of our own medicine 🤖 Tech: Capetonians fight giant data centre 🇨🇻 Photos: The Blue Sharks were no fluke  We’re back: It’s been three weeks of broken hearts as our teams were knocked out of the World Cup. Two remain. And we hate to break it to you, but our oracle has determined there’s no team for an African to ethically support in the final. Yes, we said it. We will spend the next 10 editions making bold declarations like this. The Continent is free to read and free to share. Get someone who deserves great journalism to subscribe here. Missed an issue? Visit our archive. Until next week,  The Team at The Continent

All Protocol Observed The Continent is still on a publication break. To keep you going until we get back, here’s the second edition of The Atlas, our new international publication rooted in the south. On the cover: how Russia is breaking the internet, and what it means for the future of the open web. Plus: on-the-ground reporting from Tuesday’s anti-migrant marches in South Africa, and a photo essay on night life in Havana – not quite the same since the US imposed the oil blockade. This is still a pilot publication (although the initial response has been fantastic). Please do sign up to the dedicated The Atlas mailing list, either on Signal or email). Please share it with your friends, family or colleagues – or the people you usually share The Continent with.  We live in the same world, so let’s read from the same page. The Team at The Continent and The Atlas