Photographers in Lilongwe

How a School Project in the Amazon Is Tracing Afro-Brazilian Ancestry Back to Africa’s Great Empires

Reporting style, Informative: Primarily a reported feature grounded in students’ research and historical context, with sympathetic language emphasizing the project’s value.

Teacher Lucas Sousa’s Origens project in Alcântara, Maranhão, combines DNA tests, oral histories and historical records to help quilombola students investigate their African ancestry. Participants found connections to West African regions including the former Kingdom of Dahomey in present-day Benin and Senegambia, prompting study of societies such as Mali, Jolof and Kaabu. The research connects these findings to Maranhão’s Afro-Brazilian religious tradition of Tambor de Mina and the story of Na Agontimé. Beyond tracing ancestry, the project helps students confront the histories disrupted by slavery and recognize Africa as a continent of diverse societies and histories.

The Congo and Rwanda Peace Agreement: The Accountability Clause That Cannot Be Applied

Reporting style, Interpretive: Argues that the peace agreement's accountability clause is being abandoned in practice and urges investigators and verification to be deployed.

Political context, Centre-left: Focuses on human rights, accountability, and civilian protection, without a broader partisan position.

The 2025 Congo–Rwanda peace agreement makes any reintegration of fighters into Congo’s army conditional on individualized vetting for serious violations, a safeguard intended to avoid repeating the 2009 integration that preceded the M23 rebellion. Yet the UN commission tasked with identifying perpetrators lacks funding and access to eastern Congo, while fighter integration is being arranged. The agreement’s silence on prosecutions is not a formal amnesty, but the vetting condition may effectively be satisfied by default when no findings exist. A proposed truth commission cannot screen fighters before they enter the army, and delayed justice conflicts with the agreement’s terms. The author argues that the parties should extend their existing security-verification process to fighter vetting and provide investigators access and the means to identify individuals.

Minister rues M5 rehabilitation delay

Reporting style, Informative: Predominantly factual reporting, with limited evaluative language reflecting the minister's concerns about delays.

Transport Minister Jappie Mhango criticized slow progress on the first lot of Malawi's M5 rehabilitation project between Kaphatenga in Salima and Benga in Nkhotakota. China Railway 20 Bureau Group Corporation has completed only 16 percent of the 60-kilometre section, which is expected to be finished by August next year. Roads Authority chief executive Joel Longwe attributed delays to the project's scale and environmental factors, but said additional machinery had been approved to accelerate construction. The $121 million project is co-financed by the African Development Bank, the OPEC Fund and the Malawi Government.

Evacuation centre to give survivors dignity

Reporting style, Factual: Predominantly factual reporting based on statements from officials and project partners.

A new evacuation centre at Chambogho Village in Karonga District has been handed over to the council to provide dignified accommodation for disaster survivors who previously sheltered in schools and health facilities. The centre includes a kitchen, borehole, toilets and bathrooms, and is intended to serve communities affected by recurrent floods that impact at least 10,000 households. Community leaders are mobilising resources to protect the facility, although electricity connectivity remains unresolved. Funded with K226 million from the Scottish Government through DAI Global UK, the project was implemented by Karonga Diocese and Oxfam in Malawi, which urged the council to incorporate the facility into its development plans.

Fazili ‘Not the Coach’ at World Cup

Reporting style, Factual: Primarily factual reporting about coaching eligibility and qualifications.

The Football Association of Malawi says Scorchers coach Lovemore Fazili will join Malawi’s technical team at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil but cannot serve as head coach because he lacks the required CAF A Licence. Fazili previously coached at WAFCON under an existing contract after leading Malawi to the final and securing its first World Cup qualification. FAM president Fleetwood Haiya says Fazili is expected to attend a locally organized CAF A course, but its timing may prevent him from qualifying in time.

MIJ Announces Congregation for Next Month

Reporting style, Factual: Factual announcement of graduation arrangements, fees, and rehearsal details.

The Malawi Institute of Journalism announced that its graduation ceremony will take place on November 27, 2026, at COMESA Hall. Academic awards will be given to Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Diploma in Journalism graduates. Graduation fees are MK120,000 for bachelor’s graduates and MK100,000 for diploma graduates, including those graduating in absentia. Rehearsals are scheduled for November 26 at 1 p.m. at the same venue.

Gold rush draws thousands to Kamchoko in Mzimba

Reporting style, Factual: Written in a factual, report-style tone with official statements and no subjective commentary.

Thousands of people have flocked to Kamchocho in Mzimba in search of gold, turning the area into an overcrowded and unregulated mining site. Officials report severe environmental damage, including deep pits, vegetation loss, and unstable soil, posing serious safety risks. Authorities confirm that no mining licences have been issued for the area and classify all activities as illegal, warning miners to obtain proper permits. Despite this, high informal gold prices continue to attract more people.

Communities in Nkhata Bay have never listened to local radios due to no signal since independence

Reporting style, Balanced: The article presents both factual information and opinions from local residents and officials.

Residents in rural Nkhata Bay, Malawi, have been unable to access local radio stations due to a lack of signal, relying instead on Tanzanian broadcasts. This has hindered their access to information and technological opportunities. The Malawian government, through MACRA, acknowledges the issue and plans to install 26 network towers across the country, including Nkhata Bay, to improve radio and mobile network coverage. The government has also resumed licensing broadcasters following a frequency reframing exercise, aiming to enhance local broadcasting capabilities.