Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
Afua Hirsch

Creator

Afua Hirsch

Following the deaths of 92 people in the Sahara desert last month, the Niger authorities were this week able to rescue 72 illegal migrants who were stranded after their truck got a flat tyre in the desert. (AFP)

Niger: They will be forbidden from dying

Niger wants to ban women and children from crossing the Sahara after 92 died in the desert.

Mali: Recovery is hampered by poverty and food insecurity

The interlinked fortunes of the countries in the sparely populated Sahara region have played a complex role in the causes of Mali’s conflict.

A French-led African and Malian military intervention in January liberated the region. (AP)

Rape, rockets and unrelenting fear — Mali’s troubles are far from over

The ongoing volatility in the region has left citizens terrified after a year under jihadist rule.

Fractured Somalia held hostage by factions

The terror attack at Westgate mall is the latest manifestation of the tangled ties between Kenya and its anarchic Horn of Africa neighbour Somalia.

Morgues in Nairobi prepare for an influx of bodies

Scores more bodies are believed to be buried under rubble in Kenya’s Westgate shopping mall.

‘We should be doing a lot more to get Africa to develop itself.’ (AFP)

Transparency will help Africa help itself

Many say that the vast earnings of many African countries from oil, gas and mining show that the focus on aid to Africa is misguided.

Illegal mines tarnish gold from Ghana

Environmental destruction and social conflict are plaguing small-scale mining mining operations in Ghana, Afua Hirsch reports.

Côte d’Ivoire asks UN to replace peacekeepers with drones

Peacekeepers in Côte d’Ivoire could be substituted by drones in a further step towards greater use of the military aircraft in sub-Saharan Africa.

As Africa rises, Europe loses grip on Catholic power base

Catholicism’s European power base is under threat and the election of a new pope could be a historic moment for the church.

War reaches Malians on the run

With the front line rapidly shifting, refugees are finding it ever more difficult to escape the fighting.

Hollande vows to fight Mali rebels until they are ‘destroyed’

Air raids continue "day and night" in the battle with insurgents in Mali, but France’s president has dismissed suggestions of colonialism.

Nigeria’s Agbani Darego after being crowned Miss World in 2002. Being slender is not favoured in African societies.

Well-endowed and loving it

An ample bosom and booty is still desirable in Africa, but it seems like Western ideals are encroaching, writes Afua Hirsch.

Kanye West recently signed Nigerian rapper D’Banj.

Hip-hop skipping across continents.

African hip-hop rappers seem to be the setting standard of how the music should be made internationally.

The Rooti doll.

Rooting for realistic black dolls

Rooti dolls claim to be the first fashion dolls to speak languages from countries ranging from Ghana to Zimbabwe.

In Ghana

Ghana: Motherhood is celebrated here

In Ghana, the reaction I get when I tell other women about my job and baby is usually a knowing nod, writes the Guardian’s west Africa correspondent.

When former president Jerry Rawlings had to stand down and the ruling party ran John Atta Mills — a considerably less charismatic figure — as its presidential candidate, the Ghanaian opposition found a way through.

President’s death raises questions about Ghana poll

The death of Ghana’s President John Evans Atta Mills left the nation in shock. Mills was months away from completing his first term in office.

Members from the Ansar Dine Islamic group approach a vehicle in the desert of northeastern Mali.

Mali extremists ‘a threat to Europe’

Extremist groups – linked to al-Qaeda – have used their hold over key urban areas of Mali to recruit, arm and train a growing number of fighters.

Ghana has sworn in deceased President John Atta Mills’s vice-president shortly after his death.

Battle royal reaches boiling point in Ghana

As kings feud, ordinary people bear the brunt of Ghana’s power vacuum, writes Afua Hirsch.

Government steps in to save Miss Liberia from shame

It has ended its war and had two elections, but for Liberia to select a winner of its national beauty contest has proved one challenge too far.

Morocco grapples with women’s rights after raped bride’s suicide

Protests have erupted in Morocco over the case of teenager Amina Filali who killed herself after a court ordered her to marry her alleged rapist.