Africa

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Don't Think Pink: Factory Threatens Flamingo Species

Endangered lesser flamingos breed in only one lake in eastern Africa

(Newser) - An Indian company's plans to build a plant to harvest soda ash, or sodium carbonate, from Lake Natron in northern Tanzania could spell the end for the endangered lesser flamingo, the smallest of the six flamingo species. The lake is the only major breeding site, and half a million of...

5 Kidnapped From Nigerian Oil Rig
5 Kidnapped From Nigerian Oil Rig
Jul 5, 2007 3:30 AM CDT

5 Kidnapped From Nigerian Oil Rig

Rebels seeking oil revenues end truce; 5 oil workers abducted

(Newser) - Five expat contractors were taken abducted yesterday during an attack on a Shell oil rig in the Niger Delta, just as a rebel group responsible for many similar attacks called off a one-month truce. The hostages include two New Zealanders, one Australian, one Lebanese and one Venezuelan; more than 200...

Son of Chad Prez Probable Murder Victim

Body with head wound found in Paris suburb

(Newser) - French police have launched an investigation into the death of Brahim Deby, whose body was recovered in the parking lot of his apartment building, Reuters reports. Once touted as a possible successor to his father, the younger Deby had become a controversial figure, doing time in France for drugs and...

China Raises Profile in Africa
China Raises Profile in Africa
Jun 27, 2007 9:28 AM CDT

China Raises Profile in Africa

UN peacekeepers, volunteers, economic efforts reflect Beijing's new commitment

(Newser) - China is increasing the number of UN peackekeepers it sends to Africa and raising its profile on the continent, creating a kind of "peace corps" to address problems from job shortages to health care, the Christian Science Monitor reports. China, itself a developing nation, appears determined to both do...

World Bank Confirms New Prez
World Bank Confirms New Prez
Jun 26, 2007 5:48 AM CDT

World Bank Confirms New Prez

Robert Zoellick to take over July 1

(Newser) - Declaring that he's looking forward to "encouraging hope, opportunity and dignity," Robert Zoellick was elected yesterday to succeed the embattled Paul Wolfowitz as new chief of the World Bank. The Goldman Sachs investment banker and former US deputy secretary of state will officially step into office July 1....

Africans OK Nine-Year Ivory Ban
Africans OK Nine-Year
Ivory Ban
Jun 15, 2007 6:30 AM CDT

Africans OK Nine-Year Ivory Ban

But first, countries approve a one-time mammoth sale

(Newser) - Four southern African countries will hold a one-time sale of 200 tons of stockpiled ivory before the start of a nine-year moratorium, in a hard-fought conservation compromise. Proceeds from the blowout will be used in elephant conservation efforts in the future. "It's the best we could achieve for the...

Collapse Looms in Zimbabwe
Collapse Looms in Zimbabwe
Jun 14, 2007 9:56 AM CDT

Collapse Looms in Zimbabwe

Economy may dissolve within six months as inflation spirals

(Newser) - Zimbabwe could suffer a full structural collapse in the next few months, the BBC reports. According to a memo distributed to aid workers, shops may resort to barter and utilities may shut down entirely in the country, on account of unbridled inflation that's already the world's highest at 3,714%.

Deal Threatens Ancient Tribe in Tanzania

Government agrees to rent safari land, pushing endangered people to the brink

(Newser) - The Hadzabe people of Tanzania walk in age-old footsteps near the once-bountiful Serengeti plain, starting fires with sticks and hunting with handmade poison arrows. Now the tribe has crossed paths with the royal family of Abu Dhabi, and the resulting conflict endangers a way of life that has endured for...

G8 Concludes with AIDS Pledge
G8 Concludes with AIDS Pledge
Jun 8, 2007 3:22 PM CDT

G8 Concludes with AIDS Pledge

World leaders renew $60B pledge to fight disease in Africa

(Newser) - Global leaders renewed their vow to spend $60 billion to help fight AIDS, TB, and malaria in Africa today as the G8 summit wrapped up. But they set no deadlines for delivering the relief, leading critics to question the pledge. "I think it is deliberately the language of obfuscation,...

China to Test Controversial Malaria Treatment

Researchers aim to eradicate disease on African island

(Newser) - A Chinese researcher will test a radical new strategy designed to wipe out malaria on a small African island, the International Herald Tribune reports. Mass treatment with a highly effective antimalarial drug would virtually clear the parasite from patients' blood, but critics fear the plan could backfire, causing drug resistance...

Charles Taylor Skips War Crimes Trial

Former President of Liberia accused of atrocities in Sierra Leone

(Newser) - Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, didn't show up for the opening of his  war-crimes trial in The Hague today, the BBC reports. He is accused of fostering a long bloody civil war in Sierra Leone marked by crimes against humanity, terrorism, rape and the use of child soldiers....

Desmond Tutu to Anglicans: Get Over It

Church should attend to AIDS, corruption, Darfur—not gay priests

(Newser) - Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu called on Africa's Anglican church to let go of what he called its "extraordinary obsession" with gay priests and same-sex marriage.  The church should, instead, be paying attention to the crises caused by AIDS, Darfur and Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe's corruption. 

Philanthropist Bets $40M on Eco-Tourism

Greg Carr would put nature back in Mozambique nature preserve

(Newser) - Philanthropist Greg Carr wants to turn an African ecosystem around—and he’s willing to pay to do it. The tech-bubble whiz kid will spend $40 million over the next 30 years to restore Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park, destroyed during the country's 16-year civil war. Stephanie Hanes follows Carr as...

African Colleges Fail a Generation
African Colleges Fail
a Generation
May 19, 2007 9:49 PM CDT

African Colleges Fail a Generation

Underfunded and overcrowded, promising universities begin to buckle

(Newser) - Once a beacon of hope for the world's poorest continent, Africa's colleges are collapsing under the weight of too many students and too little cash, the Sunday Times reports. At Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, students are packed into overcrowded dorms and classrooms, labs are dilapidated, and qualified teachers...

Secretive French Office Wields Power in Africa

New regime may sever link to colonial past

(Newser) - The election of Nicolas Sarkozy could end the influence of the "African Cell," a tiny French government office that exerts great power in Africa. Since 1958, the Cell has used the French military to install and protect African leaders it considers friendly, opening it to charges that it...

Ethiopia Pushes for Somalia Pullout
Ethiopia Pushes for Somalia Pullout
May 15, 2007 7:54 AM CDT

Ethiopia Pushes for Somalia Pullout

UN calls refugee crisis worse than Darfur's; skirmishes continue

(Newser) - Ethiopia wants its troops out of Somalia, where the UN says the refugee crisis is now worse than the situation in Darfur, the BBC reports. But a pullout now could spell disaster for the estimated 300,000 Somalis displaced by recent fighting between the Ethiopia-backed government and the Islamist resistance,...

Kenya Airways Flight Crashes in Cameroon

Dropped off the radar shortly after takeoff; 114 aboard

(Newser) - A Kenya Airways plane with 114 aboard has disappeared and is believed to have crashed in southern Cameroon. The Kenyan Standard reports that the plane sent out an automated distress signal five minutes after takeoff, and villagers near the suspected crash site say they heard an explosion.

Nigerian 'Lesbian' Turns Herself In
Nigerian 'Lesbian' Turns Herself In
Apr 28, 2007 10:40 PM CDT

Nigerian 'Lesbian' Turns Herself In

Pursued by police after 'gay' wedding, woman says she's straight

(Newser) - The Nigerian woman whose story of lesbian love on the run made international headlines yesterday has news for the authorities who hoped to arrest her: she's not a lesbian. "I have never practiced— never heard the word 'lesbian'—truly," says Aunty Madiguri, who was accused of violating Sharia...

Nigerian Lesbians Take Forbidden Love on the Run

(Newser) - Five Nigerian lesbians are running for their love after a weekend wedding put them in direct violation of the local Islamic law. Police have issued arrest warrants against Aunty Maiduguri and her four wives, charging them with violating the Sharia law that governs much of northern Nigeria.

Faulty Nigerian Election Sparks Fears of Unrest

Observers call vote a charade; opposition plans protests

(Newser) - The ruling party candidate has won Nigeria's presidential election by a landslide, sparking fears that political unrest could compromise the supply of oil in Africa's largest producer. Umar Yar'Adua was declared the winner of Saturday's election yesterday with 70% of the vote, ending a campaign marked by intimidation, ballot-stuffing, and...

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