Africa

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Zuma's First Big Test: South Africa's 23% Jobless

At 23.5%, unemployment keeps nation locked in poverty

(Newser) - South Africa is facing its first post-apartheid recession, and unemployment has hit 23.5%—a punishing figure that has ended the honeymoon of its new president, Jacob Zuma. Many who voted for Zuma have never had a job at all and are desperate for work, Celia Dugger reports for the...

Bono Charity Rips Italy, France for Stiffing Africa

Anti-poverty group says broken aid promise should cost Italy right to host G8 summit

(Newser) - An anti-poverty group founded by Bono has issued a report harshly condemning France and Italy for reneging on promises to boost aid to Africa, the BBC reports. The report from the organization One called France's performance "disappointing" and Italy's an "utter failure," which has dragged down...

Tanzania Opens Trials in Killings of Albinos

Dozens arrested in 40 murders; body parts used for witchcraft

(Newser) - Tanzania is trying seven people for murdering albinos and selling their body parts for use in witchcraft, the BBC reports. Dozens have been arrested in some 40 murders over the past year and a half, but so far no one has been convicted. Witch doctors sell “albino potions” for...

Shell Settles Nigeria Case for $15.5M

Saro-Wiwa settlement is milestone for international law

(Newser) - Royal Dutch Shell agreed to settle a lawsuit over the 1995 deaths of Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Nigerians for $15.5 million, reports the Financial Times. Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists against petroleum exploitation were executed by the Nigerian military government, allegedly at the behest of the oil giant. In...

Int'l Pirate Patrols Spar With Language Barriers

Diverse crews learn to communicate

(Newser) - The international fleet patrolling for pirates off the coast of Somalia is on guard against an oceanic traffic jam, too, the Military Times reports. One US admiral likened the problem to young soccer players swarming the ball, saying communications were necessary for an efficient response. There are three separate international...

Gabon President Omar Bongo Dead at 73
Gabon President Omar Bongo Dead at 73
Obituary
Jun 8, 2009 12:35 PM CDT

Gabon President Omar Bongo Dead at 73

In office since 1967, he was world's longest-serving leader

(Newser) - Gabonese President Omar Bongo has died of cardiac arrest at age 73, the BBC reports. Bongo has led Gabon since 1967, which made him the longest serving president in the world. Bongo has been in a hospital in Barcelona since May, and prior rumors of his death had sparked panic...

Chadian 'Vampire' Dish Gets Blood Boiling ... or Frying

(Newser) - There’s a vampire resurgence in Chad, and no, it’s not because Twilight has swept the African country. Cost-conscious residents have resurrected a dish slyly known as “vampire”: cooked animal blood, the BBC reports. With global food prices soaring and meat increasingly expensive, traditional vampire is “actually...

UN Fights to Release Child Soldiers in Chad

Boys as young as 13 held captive by African nation's army

(Newser) - The UN has obtained access to 80 child soldiers, some as young as 13, who have been taken prisoner in Chad near the Sudanese region of Darfur. UNICEF says that the children were captured and paraded before television cameras after a battle in early May between the Chadian army and...

Meet Prince Zimboo, Borat's Hip-Hop Brother

African musician is a mystery, gaining in popularity

(Newser) - An up-and-coming player in the genre of “hipster world music,” Prince Zimboo Abakunamabooba is an African hip-hopper with 999 wives—or is he? Zimboo, who has been performing “deliriously funny music” since at least 2007, “is something like the African Borat,” writes Jonah Weiner for...

Recession Pushes African Immigrants to Head Home

Many opt for slower, cheaper lifestyle

(Newser) - The US recession is driving many middle-class African immigrants home, where life is slower and growth has lately pointed to a bright economic future, the Washington Post reports. Diaspora societies of immigrants say many members are planning to return to Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana.“The people I know here...

African Lawmaker Calls for 'Branding' HIV Sufferers

Swaziland MP slammed for suggesting compulsory testing, warning logos

(Newser) - A member of Swaziland's parliament has come under fire for suggesting making HIV tests compulsory and branding warning logos on the buttocks of those with the disease, the Telegraph reports. "Before having sex with anyone, people will have to check their partners' buttocks before proceeding," he explained. Health...

Obama to Visit Ghana in July

(Newser) - Barack Obama will visit Ghana in July to hold bilateral talks with President John Atta Mills, Ghana Business News reports. The talks will focus on “strengthening the fraternal relationships” between the US and Ghana, according to a Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It will be Obama’s first...

Sudan Prez: No Crimes in Darfur

Says media claims are part of propaganda campaign

(Newser) - Sudan’s president says his military hasn’t attacked civilians in Darfur and challenges “anybody” to show evidence to the contrary. “What has been reported to have happened in Darfur did not actually happen at all,” Omar al Bashir told the BBC in his first interview since...

Forget Swine Flu— 5 Pandemics to Fear

(Newser) - While the world panics over swine flu, many far more serious outbreaks lie in wait, reports Foreign Policy. Here are some you won’t see on TV—yet:  
  • Cholera: The deadly diarrheal infection is rampant in Africa, with infections shooting up 96% in 2006. The current outbreak in Zimbabwe
...

Sudan Invites Aid Groups Back to Darfur

After getting the boot in March, NGOs to return to troubled region

(Newser) - The Sudanese government says it will invite new aid groups to work in Darfur and let the UN and other agencies expand their operations in the region. The announcement comes two months after Sudan expelled 13 NGOs, including Doctors Without Borders, in the aftermath of the International Criminal Court's indictment...

Africans Have World's Greatest Genetic Diversity

Landmark study tracks modern humanity's origins to area in South Africa

(Newser) - The people of Africa have by far the world's most diverse genes, says a new study that sheds light on humanity's origins. Researchers—who traveled deep into remote areas of Africa to study more than a hundred populations—have pinpointed the origin of modern humans to an area near the...

Mercy's Dad Rips 'Scandalous' Madge

Dad who walked out on toddler's mom blasts Madonna for lacking 'good morals'

(Newser) - Madonna's battle to adopt a second Malawi child suffered a major blow yesterday when the toddler's father blasted the singer's loose morals and launched a battle for custody, reports the Daily Mail. James Kambewa is seeking to block the adoption because he wants to spare 3-year-old Mercy a life of...

Kenyan Women Use Sex Strike to Sway Politics

They want political rivals to stop infighting

(Newser) - Kenyan women are withholding sex in hopes of forcing an end to the squabbling that threatens to break the government's fragile coalition and plunge the nation into chaos, the AP reports. Thousands of members of 11 women's groups are participating in the week-long strike, and they have asked the wives...

Freed Gay Activists Flee Senegal Lynch Mob

(Newser) - Gay AIDS activists in Senegal are fleeing a mob that vows to turn them into "fish food," GlobalPost reports. Arrested late last year, the nine activists were sentenced to 8-year terms for “indecent acts against nature," but an appeals court freed them early this...

Zimbabwe Central Bank Stole Cash to Stay Solvent

Governor admits pilfering private accounts to keep ministries running

(Newser) - Zimbabwe's central bank governor admits he took money from bank accounts of private businesses and foreign aid groups without permission to keep the country's cash-strapped ministries running. Gideon Gono said today he loaned money from the private hard-currency accounts to the government. He says the accounts will be reimbursed when...

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