The Latest Breaking News from Spotlight on Africa

In this first episode of Spotlight on Africa for 2026, we look back at a very eventful first three weeks of January. We focus on the recent general elections in Uganda, Israel's recognition of Somaliland, and how both could have implications for the entire East Africa region and beyond.

In this new episode of Spotlight on Africa, we explore different perspectives on African history – from Unesco, which has just released the final three volumes of its General History of Africa, and from the Congo through the insights of artist and filmmaker Sammy Baloji.

In this episode of Spotlight in Africa, we discuss the forthcoming presidential election in Cameroon, before turning our attention to Nigeria. We also explore ways to strengthen relations between South Africa and the United States, with a particular focus on improving conditions for seasonal migrant workers.

Spotlight on Africa returns after the summer break. In this episode, we travel first to Rwanda and then on to Malawi. We begin by examining how the United States, along with some European powers, is looking to third countries in Africa to take in illegal migrants, with particular focus on…

This season of Spotlight on Africa concludes ahead of the summer break with a focus on Frantz Fanon in the year of his centenary. It also highlights a groundbreaking new report by UNESCO on the state of the publishing industry across the continent.

In this episode, Spotlight on Africa reviews the origins of protests in Kenya against police brutality. And you'll also hear from the co-founders of the Africa Basel contemporary art fair, in Switzerland, the newest event of its kind.

In East Africa, politicians and civil society members are increasingly alarmed by political arrests, as opposition figure Tundu Lissu remains imprisoned in Tanzania, facing the death penalty in a trial that continues to be repeatedly postponed. In this week's Spotlight on Africa podcast, we hear from Robert Amsterdam, legal counsel…

As relations between South Africa and the US hit their lowest point since apartheid’s end, President Cyril Ramaphosa heads to Washington to mend fences after years of frosty ties and dwindling aid under Trump-era policies. In this week's Spotlight on Africa we unpack what’s at stake - and what was…

Amnesty International’s 2025 annual report reviews a broad range of human rights issues, highlighting concerns in 150 countries and linking global and regional trends with an eye on the future. In Africa, the organization says the so-called “Trump effect” in the US and beyond has led to an unprecedented neglect…