Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
simon tisdalllatest news & developments
Third force: President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid to run for a third term in defiance of the country’s Constitution has provoked widespread anger and protests in Burundi and uncertainty in the region.

Burundi on the brink of a cataclysm

The president’s unrelenting bid for a third term is raising tensions that could inflame the region.

Thaw point: Finnish President Sauli Niinisto

Icy relations chill Finland

The country’s president is all too aware of the consequences of the meltdown in relations between Russia and the West.

Talks with Iran at UN headquarters in Vienna in April sought to unpick the international nuclear knot.

‘Spoiler alert’ for Iran nuclear pact

Negotiators say a deal over the country’s nuclear ambitions is at hand, but trust issues remain.

The United Nations will start using surveillance drones for the first time in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Drones will return to bite Obama in the US

Detailed investigations of possible war crimes arising from drone attacks in Pakistan and Yemen pose difficult questions for the US.

News readers often mix up actual news and opinion pieces.

New lease of life for Herald newspaper

Ernest Hemingway immortalised the Paris-based Herald newspaper in his writing, but future readers will know it as the International New York Times.

Mitt Romney proved a better man than his party deserved.

Republicans sank Romney

Democrats of all stripes and colours rallied behind Barack Obama. Hard-line Republicans betrayed Mitt Romney. And so he lost.

Sudan: Trapped in the ‘logic of war’

Sudan: Trapped in the ‘logic of war’

Neither Sudan nor South Sudan can afford another conflict. But in Thabo Mbeki’s words, they are trapped in the "logic of war".

No end to agony in eastern DRC

No end to agony in eastern DRC

Despite the biggest UN operation ever, large numbers of people are being killed and displaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Malnutrition kills millions a year

Malnutrition kills millions a year

Survey by Save the Children highlights the devastating effects of malnutrition and predicts a disaster if the situation isn’t remedied.

South Sudan’s poisoned inheritance

South Sudan’s poisoned inheritance

Its archenemy to the north remains hostile, but Africa’s newest state is not blameless either.

Report slams slow aid response

Report slams slow aid response

The delayed reaction to last year’s drought crisis in East Africa exacerbated the heavy loss of lives.

Report: Aid dithering doomed tens of thousands in E Africa

Report: Aid dithering doomed tens of thousands in E Africa

A damning report says the poor organisation of the aid response to the East African drought contributed to the deaths of tens of thousands of people.

Terrorist threat rising in Sahel

Former UN envoy warns of al-Qaeda’s commitment to create ‘new Somalia’ in region.

Tough Turkey shows Syrians the future

Tough Turkey shows Syrians the future

Ankara is a secular, moderate Islamist state, something its troubled neighbour could emulate.

Battle for Syria’s future enters a new, more dangerous phase

The peaceful campaign against President Bashar al-Assad has failed — and a violent winter of armed resistance seems set to start.

Gaddafi: A vicious despot driven from power

Gaddafi: A vicious despot driven from power

Despite his absurd, buffoonish persona, Muammar Gaddafi clung to power in Libya for four brutal decades.

Libyan paralysis a letdown for revolutionaries

The giddy prospect of a third revolution in the Arab world, with Libya following Tunisia and Egypt into a brave new democratic era, is fading.

Arab world discontent

The official response to unrest on Tunisia’s streets comes straight out of a tyrant’s playbook.

Angels and demons haunt Sudan

Fears are rising that Sudan’s 2005 comprehensive peace agreement that ended decades of north-south conflict is about to collapse.

Middle East race against time

US President Barack Obama has barely a week to save the Middle East peace process, only months after he relaunched it amid optimistic predictions.