West Africa

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WHO's New Ebola Report Is Grim

Experts fear 'complete breakdown in civic society'

(Newser) - The World Health Organization's latest report on the Ebola outbreak warns of a threat well beyond what was feared. Last month, the WHO suggested that within nine months, the world could see 20,000 cases; now it points to that many cases as soon as early November, barring drastic...

US Ebola Contribution: 3K Military, $750M

'Significant' response will train hundreds of health workers, build hospitals

(Newser) - As part of his promised "scaled-up response" to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, President Obama is expected to announce during a visit to the CDC today that the US will be sending 3,000 military personnel in an effort that could cost up to $750 million over the...

In Places Scrubbed of Ebola, Virus Rears Its Head

Health officials warn Ebola's erratic spread is out of control

(Newser) - Just months ago, Doctors Without Borders was packing up its bags and leaving an Ebola-free region in Guinea; that site, Macenta, is now the hotbed site of 30 new cases, in what the AP reports is a sign of the virus' resurgence. Health officials are declaring, once again , that the...

Another Country Confirms Case of Ebola

Senegal says infected university student came from Sierra Leone

(Newser) - Ebola has spread to yet another country in Africa: Senegal. Local press reported today that a university student infected with the virus had traveled from Guinea into the West African nation, CNN reports. The student, 21, has been placed in quarantine in a hospital in Dakar and is in stable...

UN: We Could See 20K Ebola Cases

2nd Ebola strain found in Democratic Republic of Congo

(Newser) - Ebola cases in West Africa could multiply sixfold, affecting up to 20,000 as the virus "continues to accelerate," the World Health Organization said today, per Reuters . Some 1,552 people have now died out of the 3,069 cases reported—though the actual number of cases could...

CDC Hikes Ebola Alert to Highest Level

CDC Director Thomas Frieden makes announcement on Capitol Hill

(Newser) - The CDC has raised its response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa to the highest-possible level—a sign that this battle could well be a long one, NBC News reports. CDC Director Thomas Frieden announced the "level 1 activation" today at a special congressional hearing, where he said...

US Doctor With Ebola Turns Down Serum ...

... so it can go to his colleague instead

(Newser) - The hopeful news for two American charity workers stricken with Ebola in Liberia is that an experimental serum turned up yesterday. The wrenching part is that there was only enough for one of them. That's when Texas doctor Kent Brantly, one of the two ailing Americans, asked that it...

Peace Corps Evacuates Its Workers Over Ebola

2 Americans in isolation as a precaution because of contact with infected person

(Newser) - The Peace Corps is evacuating its volunteers from the three nations in West Africa hit hard by the Ebola epidemic, reports CNN . The 340 Americans will be returning to the US from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea as the outbreak worsens. In fact, two Peace Corps workers must remain behind...

'Hero' Ebola Doctor Dies; US Physician Is 'Grave'

Disease threatens to spread to Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria

(Newser) - Dr. Sheik Umar Khan, one of the leading doctors fighting Sierra Leone's Ebola outbreak, died today of the virus in yet another high-profile casualty , reports the BBC . The death of the man hailed by the government as a "national hero" comes as Nigeria, the continent's most populous...

Ebola: Lurking for Years Before Outbreak?

West African study finds signs of ebola in old blood tests

(Newser) - The Ebola outbreak that's claimed at least 500 lives in West Africa may have been lurking a while before going on its killing spree, NBC News reports. Researchers figured this by studying blood samples from old cases of viral illnesses in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, and finding possible...

'Tip of Iceberg'? Ebola Toll Passes 500

Aid group blames 'gross misjudgement in gauging severity'

(Newser) - Deep in the forests of southern Guinea, the first victims fell ill with high fevers. People assumed it was the perennial killer malaria and had no reason to fear touching the bodies. Some desperate relatives brought loved ones to the distant capital in search of better medical care, unknowingly spreading...

Ebola Outbreak Spreads in West Africa

Doctors Without Borders scrambles to help victims in Guinea

(Newser) - An outbreak of Ebola has killed more than 50 people in the West African country of Guinea, NPR reports. Guinea's first-ever outbreak of the disease among humans has officially killed 59, and another 21 are suffering from symptoms such as fever, vomiting, and diarrhea. "But you have to...

West African Lions on Brink of Extinction

There are fewer than 250 adults left, surprise study finds

(Newser) - Lions are on the verge of extinction in West Africa, a stunning new survey has concluded, after years of harrowing treks in search of them. When researchers started their search in 2005, the lions, a distinct species from their east and south African brethren, were believed to inhabit 21 protected...

Somalis No Longer World's Worst Pirates

Attacks off West Africa soaring

(Newser) - The pirate-infested waters of West Africa are now even more dangerous for seafarers than the rather more infamous seas around Somalia, according to an International Maritime Bureau report. West African pirates recorded attacks on 966 sailors last year, compared to 851 for Somali pirates—which was down 78% from the...

Mali President Resigns; West Africa Sighs With Relief

Amadou Toumani Toure steps down after military coup

(Newser) - A military coup in Mali is becoming a more orderly transfer of power and drawing support from the nation's rather nervous West African neighbors, Al Jazeera reports. About two weeks after a military coup , President Amadou Toumani Toure has agreed to step aside for parliament speaker Diouncounda Traore to...

Western Black Rhino Extinct
 Western Black Rhino Extinct 
Nov 10, 2011 3:36 AM CST

Western Black Rhino Extinct

Another rhino species at the point of no return, IUCN says

(Newser) - The western black rhino, one of four subspecies of black rhino, is now a thing of the past, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's "Red List." The group has declared the black rhino species native to West Africa extinct and says another rhino species,...

African Dictator's Son to Build $380M Yacht

Boat worth triple Equatorial Guinea's health, education spending

(Newser) - The son of a West African dictator is having a boat built for himself with a price tag of $380 million—or nearly triple what his country spends on health and education every year, AOL News reports. Teodorin Obiang, Equatorial Guinea’s agriculture minister, makes much more than most in...

Sotheby's Halts Sale of Looted Nigerian Mask

Protests, complaints cause withdrawal of $7M piece

(Newser) - Sotheby's has canceled the planned auction of a 16th-century ivory mask from West Africa after online protesters and the Nigerian government complained that the precious artifact had been looted from the country by British troops, reports the Independent . The mask, believed to have been worn by the king of Benin...

Bank Cuts Off Gbagbo From Ivory Coast Funds

West African officials hope for mass defection from Gbagbo

(Newser) - Laurent Gbagbo's access to state funds is being cut off, stepping up pressure on the man who refuses to concede defeat amid post-election violence that has killed at least 173 people and prompted fears of civil war. The move is expected to complicate Gbagbo's efforts to pay civil servants and...

US Wades Into Chaos in Guinea

Clinton sends diplomat, accuses junta of 'criminality'

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton has stepped into the crisis in the junta-ruled nation of Guinea, calling for "appropriate actions" against the military government, which she said "cannot remain in power." Clinton took the unusual step of dispatching a senior diplomat, who pinned blame for the recent killings and rapes...

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