Michela Wrong

Africa’s most secretive dictatorship faces an existential crisis Eritrea’s sovereignty is under threat from an expansionist Ethiopia

I would challenge the notion the rivalry between the TPLF and Isaias is rooted in the 1998-2000 war. It predated and exacerbated it. But good to see a mainstream publication like the Economist drawing attention to rising tensions in the Horn. www.economist.com/middle-east-...

Jane Goodall, the gentle disrupter whose research on chimpanzees redefined what it meant to be human Without formal scientific training, Goodall upended the study of animal behavior. She also inspired countless people to protect nature.

I was reflecting with a friend that Jane Goodall managed to reach the grand age of 91 with - if her public interviews were anything to go by - the engaged, questing mind of a youngster. And she wore her (deserved) fame lightly. It was never about her. theconversation.com/jane-goodall...

Inside the meticulous, marvellous mind of John le Carré A new exhibition opens up the spy writer’s sprawling literary archive to shed light on his idiosyncratic creative process. Katie Rosseinsky explores how he brought George Smiley and co to life

www.independent.co.uk/arts-enterta...

Two countries signed a peace deal in Washington. On the ground, little has changed | CNN In the mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, new recruits are being trained for battle – and US President Donald Trump’s claimed peace deal for the nation feels like a distant dream.

edition.cnn.com/2025/09/22/a...

Cycling Event Can’t Override Rwanda’s Abuses Kigali is hosting the International Cycling Union Road World Championships. But the celebration of international cycling’s flagship event cannot cover up Rwanda’s abusive human rights record.

www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

WK wielrennen in Rwanda: ‘Met dit WK steunen we een regime dat massale wreedheden begaat’ Op zondag 21 september begonnen de wereldkampioenschappen wielrennen in Rwanda. De kans is groot dat het in het land van de duizend heuvels een nieuwe triomftocht wordt voor klimmer en hardrijder Remc...

I was interviewed by Jan Antonissen ahead of the cycling championships in Rwanda. Striking how many media outlets doggedly gloss over this event's political aspects, despite the fact Rwanda already politicised it by banning a Belgian journalist. www.humo.be/nieuws/wk-wi...

Controversy erupts in Rwanda as Belgian journalist barred from flight after criticising government: “That speaks volumes about the authoritarian nature of the regime” With the UCI Road World Championships not yet even underway in Rwanda, the spotlight has already abruptly shifted from cycling to censorship. Belgian journalist Stijn Vercruysse, a veteran Africa corr...

If you're a control-freak police state, best not volunteer to host global sports events which attract hordes of journalists. Annoying, disobedient, disrespectful things, journalists. Rwanda should never have been allowed to host these cycling championships. cyclinguptodate.com/cycling/cont...

Belgian journalist denied entry to Rwanda for World Cycling Championships Belgian journalist Stijn Vercruysse, from Flemish public broadcaster VRT, has been denied entry to Rwanda to report on the World Cycling...

This is exactly what happens when a sports organisation gets in bed with a dictatorship. As many of us pointed out at the time, the UCI should never have chosen Rwanda as a venue for world championships. What the **** did they expect? www.belganewsagency.eu/belgian-jour...

Trump's peace deal for eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is in trouble: www.reuters.com/world/africa...

BBC Radio 4 - Start the Week, Afghanistan and the DRC Lyse Doucet, Michela Wrong and Ashleigh Percival-Borley talk to Shahidha Bari.

Talking about Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, iconic hotels and the joy of storytelling on "Start the Week" this morning. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

It was a privilege to be on the BBC's "Start the Week" this morning discussing war, iconic hotels and the joy of story-telling with what we belatedly clocked to be an all-woman panel: veteran Lyse Doucet, military historian Ashleigh Percival-Borley and presenter Shahidha Bari.

DR Congo: Militias, Army Threaten South Kivu Civilians Congolese military forces and a coalition of abusive militias are threatening the security of civilians in Uvira, South Kivu province, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

Inside the world of Kenya’s ‘shadow scholars’ paid to write essays for UK students Highly educated Kenyans working for essay mills ghostwrite academic work that students pass off as their own

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

M23’s State-Building Project: Africa File Special Edition Rwandan-backed M23 has launched a systematic state-building project to translate its military gains in the eastern Democratic Republic of...

I'd not heard of Critical Threats before, but this is a strong report detailing the administrative structures being put in place by the Rwandan-backed M23 as it attempts to create a protectorate in eastern DRC. Rwanda is in it for the long haul this time. www.criticalthreats.org/analysis/m23...

Sadly (or not so sadly, I guess), yes. We are old, Father William...

The 25th anniversary edition of "In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz", my account of Mobutu's rise and fall, comes out tomorrow. Back when it was first published, I never dreamed it would still be selling all these years later. Funny. It has a new afterword and updates throughout.

My copies of “Tradecraft”, the collection of essays by people who helped John le Carré research his novels, has arrived. Contains one chapter about the week Jason Stearns and I spent with the author in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Weekend - Israel destroys high-rise building in Gaza - BBC Sounds Residents of Gaza City are urged to leave as the Israeli army continues its attacks

I just realised that the BBC "play again" facility actually divides the Weekend programme into two episodes. Here's the first of the two, which features an item on the outbreak of ebola in DRC: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Arrest warrant for Marie Colvin’s killing rattles Assad’s gilded cage France seeking Bashar al-Assad, the former Syrian dictator, and his henchmen. But how long can they hold off justice from under Putin’s protection?

The wheels of justice grind slowly, but.... www.thetimes.com/article/5338...

Weekend - Vatican to canonise first millennial saint - BBC Sounds Carlo Acutis, an Italian who died of leukaemia at 15, will be canonised on Sunday

For those who missed it, I was just on the BBC World Service Weekend, alongside Der Spiegel's Steffen Lüdke, chatting with Julian Worricker about Ebola, women in WW2, the upcoming John le Carre "Tradecraft" book/exhibition and dementia....
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

RSF salue la mémoire de Déo Namujimbo, son ancien correspondant en RDC De Goma à Kinshasa et de Lubumbashi à Matadi, la nouvelle de la mort à Paris, le 31 août 2025, du journaliste et écrivain congolais Déo Namujimbo a été un choc. Reporters sans frontières (RSF) rend ho...

This is very sad news. I met Congolese journalist and writer Deo Namujimbo in Paris a few years back. A feisty, articulate, committed activist. rsf.org/fr/rsf-salue...

The military cemetery in Kigali, Rwanda, keeps growing in size, peace negotiations notwitstanding. An excellent investigation by Human Rights Watch. bsky.app/profile/hrw....

John le Carré’s shadow world of secret informers Long after he’d given up his intelligence career, the author remained at the centre of a web of contacts who played a key role in his writing. Now they’r...

It's gratifying to feature in this article by Stephen Smith about the writers and researchers who helped David Cornwell, better known as John le Carré, on his novels. With me, it was for work on "The Mission Song". observer.co.uk/style/featur...

cf Page 179 of my book "Do Not Disturb" - "Kagame, appointed major, was director of finance and administration in the new military intelligence department set up by General Mugisha Muntu."

Decades After Genocide, Rwanda Emerges as Aggressive Regional Power The tiny country has evolved from an object of sympathy into a controversial and feared powerhouse.

Good overview, but the correspondent fell for that old canard that Kagame was head of military intelligence in Uganda. Which will be a surprise to those who actually held that job. On Rwanda, wikipedia can't be trusted. www.wsj.com/world/africa...

DR Congo: M23 Mass Killings Near Virunga National Park The Rwandan-controlled M23 armed group summarily executed over 140 civilians, in at least 14 villages and farming areas in July 2025 near Virunga National Park, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The slaughter of villagers goes on in eastern Congo, despite the peace process. www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

Posting for peace: the Mogadishu judge taking on terroris... Sharing court clips with his 1.5m followers has made Hassan Ali Nur Shuute Somalia’s leading influencer

I got to it late, but this is a fascinating piece about Somalia's "Tik-Tok judge" and his attempts to bring Al-Shabaab suspects to book. observer.co.uk/news/interna...

I was delighted to see both "Do Not Disturb" and "It's Our Turn to Eat" - my books on Rwanda and Kenya - are included in this new roundup of the best books on African, Asian and Latin American countries. Just out.

Unsurprisingly, the DRC government is not impressed.

Kenya names envoy to M23-controlled Goma city Kenyan President William Ruto on Friday, August 15, appointed a consul general in Goma, largest city in eastern DR Congo controlled by the AFC-M23 rebels since January this...

A particularly mischievous move, this, from Kenya's William Ruto, at a time when US-negotiated peace talks aimed at keeping DRC in one piece are under way: www.newtimes.co.rw/article/2893...