It was wonderful to meet in Paris with the artist and performer Grada Kilomba after the unveiling of the monument she designed to commemorate the genocide in Rwanda…
Even deeper than our two previous interviews.
More about our discussion soon.
05/06/2026
26/05/2026
Spotlight on Africa: On Mali and jihadism's growing grip on Africa
PODCAST'S NEW EPISODE - Spotlight on Africa:
Global jihadism's growing grip on Africa
As attacks from jihadist groups allied to Tuaregs continue in Mali, global jihadism threatens Africa like no other region on earth, according to ACLED’s latest report.
With the organisation's expert on West Africa, Spotlight on Africa explores how jihadist groups are expanding across the continent, controlling territory, targeting civilians and disrupting infrastructure
Coordinated attacks by Tuareg separatists and jihadists dealt a major new blow to the junta in power in the capital, Bamako, in the last days of April, securing the capture of Kidal, a northern rebel stronghold.
Several strategic towns and areas around the capital Bamako were also targeted in the offensive by Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition and the jihadist Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), which was launched at dawn on Saturday 25 April.
Two days of intense fighting followed between Malian soldiers and the armed groups around Bamako and Kati, a garrison town and junta stronghold about 15 kilometres north of the capital. Mali's junta has now lost control of key northern areas and still faces a growing insurgent campaign that is tightening pressure around Bamako rather than directly attempting to seize the capital.
Analysts say this could be a turning point for the military in power since a 2020 coup.
Mali has been beset by violence from radical Islamists affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group since 2012, as well as local criminal gangs and pro-independence fighters. For more than a decade, around 300,000 refugees have fled to eastern Mauritania's desert Hodh Chargui region to escape the violence that has plagued Mali.
Héni Nsaibia is the senior analyst for West Africa at ACLED, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data group. He co-wrote the organisation's latest report, released in mid-May, showing that global jihadism threatens Africa like no other region on earth. It also explores how jihadist groups are expanding across the continent, controlling territory, targeting civilians and disrupting infrastructure. Héni Nsaibia is Spotlight on Africa's guest this week.
-
Listen from this link:
19/05/2026
KNEECAP - Irish Goodbye - FENIAN
KNEECAP has a new album – FENIAN (2026)
KNEECAP - Irish Goodbye (Short Film) ft. Kae Tempest
-
Tricky's new song: 'Because I Don’t Know'
- feat. Mitch Sanders
The latest single from Tricky's new album 'Different When It's Silent' is out now. The record is due for release on 17 July 2026.
'Because I Don't Know' is featuring Mitch Sanders, a Singer/Songwriter from South Bristol, UK, like Tricky. His latest EP, “Saloon”, came out in 2025.
Tricky will also return to the stage for live dates across the UK and European this May and June, including with UK festivals this summer including Green Man and Forwards Festival, and a date in Paris soon.
-
Mitch Sanders and Tricky already collaborated on the track 'Mum', released last November on Mitch's new EP 'Saloon':
Mitch is featured on many of the 14 tracks of this album:
Still See Me There (feat. Mitch Sanders)
I'm Yours (feat. Mitch Sanders)
Be Still In The Pain (feat. Mitch Sanders & Run Red Rambo)
I Tried (feat. Mitch Sanders)
So Cold (feat. Mitch Sanders)
Paris Maybe (feat. Mitch Sanders)
Cannon Fodder (feat. Mitch Sanders)
Because I Don't Know (feat. Mitch Sanders)
Marinade (feat. Mitch Sanders)
Radana (feat. Mitch Sanders & Radana)
Piano (feat. Mitch Sanders)
Frontier Town
Hengrove Blues (feat. Mitch Sanders)
Out Of Place (feat. Marta)
18/05/2026
on Zineb Sedira
Zineb Sedira’s exhibition opens at Tate Britain, "intended as a manifesto as much as an aesthetically pleasing arrangement of films and sculptures," the Guardian says.
Zineb Sedira: Dreams Have No Titles - 2024 (my visual insight):
17/05/2026
Newsletter - May 2026: Out of Africa?
Out of Africa?
After this Nairobi summit, doubts seem only more profound than ever on the state of relations between European powers - especially France - and a continent of 54 states and 1 billion people...
https://melissa.substack.com/p/out-of-africa
13/05/2026
Podcasting from Nairobi
Spotlight on Africa - podcast: Does the Africa Forward summit signal a fresh start for France on the continent?
This week, Spotlight on Africa takes you to the Africa Forward summit hosted by France and Kenya in Nairobi on 11 and 12 May. It marks the first time France has staged such an event in an English-speaking African country, and comes at a moment of change and challenges.
11/05/2026
Africa Forward - the summit in pictures
Presidents Emmanuel Macron and William Ruto opened the summit with a special session with African young people from all over the continent.
10/05/2026
French Tech Nairobi
Kenya's technology sector is booming, driven by digital innovation and artificial intelligence.
To tap into that growth, the French Embassy has launched French Tech Nairobi - a dedicated hub supporting local start-ups and new businesses, with ambitions to extend that backing across the wider continent:
The 'Africa Forward' summit opens on Monday 11 May 2026 in Nairobi
The summit has been named 'Africa Forward – Partnerships between Africa and France for Innovation and Growth Summit'. It invites the French and African business communities, for the very first time, in an event co-organised with an Anglophone country.
More soon!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)