News & Comment | 5th Mar 2014

The west lays itself a trap over Uganda’s anti-gay laws

Once a favourite of international aid donors, Uganda’s president is the target of western outrage following his decision last week to approve one of the continent’s nastiest anti-homosexual laws.

News & Comment | 10th Sep 2013

Face up to reality and start talking to Robert Mugabe

It is time for the west to take stock, set aside old scores and take a fresh look at Zimbabwe.

Books | 26th Jun 2012

Stripey & The Post Box

Authored and commissioned by Michael Holman, the book tells the story of Stripey the cat and his quest to solve the problem of dogs making it near impossible to post letters for fear of being ambushed and chased, ending in the hallowed halls of Number 10 Downing Street and Newsnight.

See more about the design & illustrations at www.on-idle.com/work/culture/stripey-and-the-post-box

Stripey & The Post Box

News & Comment | 7th Apr 2012

What Kibaki’s snub means for old Europe

There is bad news for those aggrieved European diplomats whose complaints about being denied access to President Kibaki made headlines last weekend.

News & Comment | 28th Feb 2012

Africa is rising - and Britain's bwanas are out of step

Africa is on the move: from basket case to a potential bread basket, from dodgy debtor to investor opportunity. Too bad that Britain risks remaining out of step and out of touch.

Reportage | 24th Aug 2011

Why has Africa had such a small role in the famine relief effort?

Dadaab in northeast Kenya is one of the largest refugee camps in the world

News & Comment | 22nd Mar 2011

The African renaissance is under way

Africa is on the move. Not since the era of decolonisation has there been such an upbeat assessment of the continent’s prospects. From Cape Town to Cairo, from the Indian Ocean beaches to the oil-rich Atlantic, a billion people, hardworking and hustling, are changing the face of a vast region, one that could accommodate China and Europe, India and the United States, with room to spare for Argentina and New Zealand.

Books | 11th Apr 2010

Dizzy Worms - An African Tale

In DIZZY WORMS, the final novel in the satirical Kuwisha trilogy, Michael Holman draws an affectionate portrait of a region beset by the machinations of local politicians and the attentions of diplomats, foreign donors, aid workers, and journalists.

Dizzy Worms - An African Tale

Biographical | 15th Mar 2010

A Profile of Michael Holman

An interview by Marianne Brown.

"Holman has had a front row seat at one of the world’s theatres, the rise and fall of Africans nations. But instead of hogging the view, he invites you in and tells you to eat your biscuit."

News & Comment | 11th Feb 2010

A leader welcomed by the world

Nelson Mandela emerged with tantalising slowness.

For the first time in 27 years the outside world was about to see the man who had become an iconic image of the century.

A leader welcomed by the world

News & Comment | 25th May 2009

Tainted data hide the cost if Africa's upheavals

Even by Africa's grim standars, it was a horrendous statistic: 5.4m peiple have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo from "war-related causes since 1998", claimed the International Rescue Committee in january last year.

Reviews | 1st May 2009

Towards the light

We have tomorrow: Stirrings in Africa 1959 - 1967