Africa
Ouagadougou correspondent: no Arab spring in Burkina Faso either
Whilst Burkina Faso offered Muammar Gaddafi asylum on 25 August, they recognised the national transitional council in early September. August also saw the jailing of three policemen for their part in the death of student Justin Zongo in custody in February. Yet why did the country's mutinies not lead to the same dramatic changes as we are now seeing in Libya?
africa, libya, arab spring, revolution, burkina faso, third world, western africa
Chelas: not such a dodgy neighbourhood of Lisbon
‘You were in Chelas? I’ve lived in Lisbon for eight years and I have never risked going there,’ says Melinda, a 23-year old student who moved to Portugal with her family from Cape Verde. Melinda isn’t the only one who knows of the bad reputation of this district
Denmark 2011 Oscar for In A Better World - but not a very Danish movie
Susanne Bier’s ‘Hævnen’ is a story about blood, thirst and justice and the hard realities of life. But how did a movie about such dark subjects come out of Denmark, the country with the happiest people on earth?
africa, culture, doctors, happiness, oscars, culture calendar, island
Tiken Jah Fakoly: ‘Africa has to overcome its ethnic and religious issues’
The Ivorian roots-reggae singer is in Paris to promote an upcoming African solidarity week in June, but also to create an echo of the Tunisian people’s fight across the rest of the African continent
africa, paris, colonisation, culture, culture calendar, tunisia, tiken jah fakoly
Global entrepreneurs at Brussels green summit
Three years ago the Greek-Dane Nike Kondakis found a used parachute lying on the ground and decided it would make great material for a dress. Now, at the age of 28, she is the owner of her own small fashion company making used-parachute couture and dead-wood jewellery in Kenya
africa, belgium, brussels, green europe on the ground, business man, society
Madagascar, Haiti, Congo: what European development days show
Where do the millions of euros that are sent from European homes to the four corners of the earth through development programs actually go? The ‘It’s our money; it’s their future’ project sees several young Europeans, accompanied by a Belgian film crew, travelling to five countries to observe the work of NGOs in order to find out
africa, european commission, sustainable developement, development, humanitarian, european union, society
Uruguay vs Europe: what world cup identity?
28 countries out, four left. Uruguay aside, the football championship final will definitely feature either Germany or Spain, one of whom could be facing the Netherlands to contend for a title currently held by Italy. It's not about football anymore though – does this bridge a stronger European identity for those of us on the continent, supporters or not?
africa, football, european identity, world cup, sport, netherlands, germany
Getting to grips with djembe, tro-tro and obronis in Ghana
I was told before I arrived in Ghana that everyone wants to speak to the foreigner or the obroni (‘white person’) as they say in Twi, one of the main dialects of the forty spoken in Ghana. I had several on the spot marriage proposals; but that’s Ghana and its people for you
Niang Mor: story of a Senegalese 'near-extradition' from Italy
You'd hardly believe that he was 57 if you saw his papers. Mor moved to France in 1982, then Germany four years later, to finally settle in Ravenna in 1990. He has a regular trading licence, has always been in work and has never had any trouble with the law. The story of his incredible 'near- extradition'
Kinshasa Symphony: why is Mozart in Africa an alien concept?
People passionately making music is always good film fodder. This German documentary offers a contrast to the conflicts and states of mind dealt with its 2008 predecessor 'Trip to Asia', which followed the Berlin philharmonic
africa, berlin, culture, culture calendar, berlinale, music, film
Visit Marrakech
One of the most cosmopolitan cities in North Africa has almost a million inhabitants, large numbers of whom are condemned to poverty, but the former imperial city is a convincing modern city at the foot of the Atlas mountains
Staff Benda Bilili, voice of the voiceless in Congo
‘We're all handicapped people, ain't we?’ runs their myspace byline. After more than a month of touring through Europe, this group of paraplegic street musicians from Kinshasa left crowds elated and bewildered almost a year after releasing their debut album Très Très Fort, courtesy of Belgian producer Vincent Kenis of Congotronics fame. A French documentary on the group has been underway for seven years
africa, documentary, bands, disable people, discrimination, culture, culture calendar
Dear Reader via Johannesburg and Berlin: 'We’re all just geeks really'
Cherilyn MacNeil, 24, the charismatic singer and pianist of South African indie trio Dear Reader, speaks to us from the fringes of the Berlin Festival about her home country’s mix of danger and new beginnings, faith and spirituality, broken hearts and summer in Berlin
africa, love, south africa, multiculturalism, concert, berlinale, brunch
Migrants keep coming to Seville, Spain and the rest of Europe
But their rights as workers and humans are at stake, while the status of illegal or legal are being sorted out
africa, discrimination, romania, documents, senegal, canary islands, spain
Buraka Som Sistema: 'We never wanted the African flag thing in our music'
As four men from Lisbon and Luanda set Angolan disturbances to breakbeat music, the European press scrams to box the sound. We have a shot too when we meet the band on one of their tour legs in Paris. After all, they have been on a gradual rise in Europe over the last couple of years
africa, portugal, culture, angola, concert, culture calendar, downloads
Gonçalo M. Tavares: 'I hate the idea that everything you do is new'
The Luanda-born epistemology professor at Lisbon University, 38, talks his award-winning novel 'Jerusalem', and why it took him so long to get published already
africa, portugal, bertolt brecht, angola, gonçalo m. tavares, books, brunch
by
by
by
by
