Middle East & Africa | No-frills education

Trust, slavery and the African School of Economics

Leonard Wantchekon is trying to build a world-class university in Benin

A professor with a purpose
|ABOMEY-CALAVI

AS LEONARD WANTCHEKON was having breakfast with his wife, Catherine Kossou, in 2007, she recalled how one friend could not trust anyone. Even as a child her friend would say: “That person is going to sell you,” or “He will make you disappear.”

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Lessons from Leonard”

Seize the moment: The chance to flatten the climate curve

From the May 23rd 2020 edition

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A man inspects the damage at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted the Shayyah neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs on November 26, 2024

Israel and Hizbullah strike a fragile deal to end their war 

Joe Biden’s last roll of the dice on peace in the Middle East

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant hold a press conference in Tel Aviv

The arrest warrant is a diplomatic disaster for Netanyahu

But may also undermine the International Criminal Court


Food distributed to displaced Palestinians in Gaza

Israel’s hardliners reckon Gaza’s chaos shows they must control it

Only 11 out of a recent convoy of 109 aid trucks managed to get in


Why GM crops aren’t feeding Africa

Despite decades of research, few countries grow them there

A genocidal militia’s quest for legitimacy

A warring party in Sudan claims it wants to talk peace

Get ready for “Maximum Pressure 2.0” on Iran 

The Trump White House may bomb and penalise the regime into a deal