Surprised? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

South Africa's Zulu king has raised eyebrows by using a highly derogatory term for foreigners and saying they must all leave the country during a much-hyped speech that was supposed to have been aimed at calming anti-migrant feelings in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal x.com/bbcworld/sta...

One person was killed and another injured in drone strikes in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region on Saturday, a senior Tigrayan official and a humanitarian worker said, in another sign of renewed conflict between regional and national forces x.com/_hudsonc/sta...

When talking about the smuggling of minerals from Democratic Republic of Congo, people tend to think in terms of coltan, cobalt and diamonds. In fact, the key mineral at the moment is gold. This is an important, overdue report. globalinitiative.net/analysis/tra...

Springsteen’s homage x.com/springnuts_/...

Russia’s Africa Corps is entrenched in CAR, Sudan, and Mali, trading regime protection for gold, diamonds, timber, and other assets, frequently routed through the UAE. This pays for Putin’s war in Ukraine x.com/philipobaji/...

Conflicts across Africa, such as in Sudan, the Horn of Africa or the Sahel, remain unresolved as international attention and mediation efforts are stretched or focused elsewhere. https://bit.ly/4bwFXVi

Since Congress passed a law requiring Trump to release the Epstein Files, Trump has: - Tried to start a war with NATO over Greenland - Threatened to use the military to suppress free speech in Minnesota - Illegally withheld 99% of the files and heavily redacted the ones that were released

The map that cost 1 million lives martinplaut.com/2026/01/17/t...

"An extraordinary and uncomfortable book": Baroness Hayter reviews 'Unbroken Chains' www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

Why Trump is keen to crack down on American Somalis martinplaut.com/2026/01/12/h...

Another Blow to Media Freedom in Ethiopia. Attacks on Deutsche Welle Underscore Broader Threat to the Independent Press www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

In Unbroken Chains: A 5,000-Year History of African Enslavement by @martinplaut.bsky.social, ’the former BBC World Service Africa editor places the now well-documented horrors of the transatlantic slave trade in a wider historical context.’ — Michela Wrong

Poor Wales!

US calls for international action to cut weapons supply to Sudan paramilitaries

I contributed a few suggestions to the Spectator's yearly roundup of recommended reading: www.spectator.co.uk/article/book...

Sudan capital hit by drone attacks a day after RSF agrees to truce - reports

Oh dear. Falling apart before it even gets going! The far-left disunited www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Scarborough beach

The Economist poll

Trump’s growing unpopularity

According to The Economist, 100,000 Russian troops have been killed in combat in 2025 alone — a roughly five to one ratio of Ukraine’s deaths. That is at least six times the Soviet Union’s 1980s death toll in Afghanistan

Trump at it again. He holds a summit with Putin. No decision…Then thinks about supplying long range missiles to Ukraine… then speaks to Putin…decides to have another meeting with the Russian president…thinks about supplying the missiles…no decision…again…etc. etc. etc.

www.thenational.scot/news/2554418... More troubles in the fruit and nut party

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he may tell Russian President Vladimir Putin that he could supply Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles if the war is not settled. www.reuters.com/world/europe...

Ethiopia’s Federal Future Tested in Western Tigray open.substack.com/pub/ethiopia...

Live Updates: Israel and Hamas Reach Deal on Hostage Release and Troop Pullback www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...

The Farage effect

Very strange

Trump’s Middle East Adviser Pick Is a Small-Time Truck Salesman. There is no indication in corporate documents that Mr. Boulos, a Lebanese-American whose son is married to Mr. Trump’s daughter Tiffany, is a man of significant wealth as a result of his businesses www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/w...

Chris Mason: Starmer unflinching as he seeks to take on Reform First week by week, and now day by day, the prime minister is stepping up the way he describes the political battle between Labour and Reform UK.

Ethiopia: Surge in Arrests of Journalists, Media Workers Clampdown Stifles Independent Voices Ahead of Anticipated National Elections www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front has splintered, with one faction seeking sanctuary from Eritrea’s President Isaias and another turning to Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy. Relying on these authoritarian leaders to resolve Tigray’s crisis is misguided martinplaut.com/2025/09/21/w...

How Eritrean churches fund the Eritrean dictatorship www.facebook.com/share/p/17CL...

The real fear of the British right: that Keir Starmer might succeed martinplaut.com/2025/09/20/t...

President Trump just said in a press conference with Keir Starmer that “zero” illegal migration took place in last 3 months. His own press release discredits the claim www.whitehouse.gov/articles/202...

I’m delighted! My book on slavery now on sale in South Africa! “Unbroken chains: A 5,000 year history of African enslavement”