Africa

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For the Serengeti's Maasai, a Bitter Irony Unfolds

'Atlantic' explores how they're losing land they've carefully tended in the name of conservation

(Newser) - On the surface, the news might please those with a conservationist bent—Tanzania setting aside more and more land for preservation. Look a little closer and what emerges is the brutal toll being exacted on the Maasai—pastoralists who are "among the lightest-living people on the planet"—in...

Champ Hits 60 Hours in Attempt at Chess Marathon Record

Tunde Onakoya raises money for education of poor African children

(Newser) - Tunde Onakoya broke the world record for the longest chess marathon—56 hours, 9 minutes, 37 seconds of nonstop play—and kept going. The Nigerian chess champion reached his goal of 58 hours early Saturday in New York's Time Square, putting him comfortably past the mark set by Hallvard...

This Guy Just Ran the Entire Length of Africa

Russ Cook is believed to be the first person to have accomplished the feat

(Newser) - A British runner—once described by Runner's World as an "extreme ultrarunner"—finished running the entire length of Africa on Sunday afternoon after having set off nearly a year prior. Russ Cook crossed the finish line in Tunisia, having run from the southernmost tip of the continent...

Cruise Ship Leaves 8 Passengers Behind in Africa
Cruise Ship Left 8 Behind,
Nightmare Commences
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 6, 2024 6:00 AM CDT

Cruise Ship Left 8 Behind, Nightmare Commences

Norwegian Cruise Line says they were late returning from an excursion

(Newser) - Eight passengers who were left behind when their Norwegian Cruise Line ship departed from the African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe are scrambling to meet back up with the ship and rejoin the cruise. Jill and Jay Campbell of South Carolina tell WPDE and WMBF that...

US Woman's 'Dream Adventure' With Elephants Turns Fatal

Gail Mattson, 79, was killed when a bull elephant flipped a safari vehicle in Zambia

(Newser) - An American tourist on a safari tour of Zambia's Kafue National Park died Saturday when an elephant charged the vehicle carrying her. The woman, whom KSTP identifies as 79-year-old Gail Mattson of Minnesota and Arizona, was staying at Lufupa Camp and had ventured out with five others for a...

Scientists Find 'Super Cool' Way to Spy on Insects
'Super Cool' Mapping
Tracks Down Tiny Invaders
NEW STUDY
Apr 2, 2024 2:11 PM CDT

'Super Cool' Mapping Tracks Down Tiny Invaders

Airborne laser mapping could speed tracking of invasive insects, study finds

(Newser) - Scientists in search of insects can spend 1,000 hours checking roughly 10,000 trees across 40 acres. Or, with a more convenient approach, they can do the same in about an hour. More and more, researchers are turning to remote sensing technology to ease the burden of searching landscapes...

We Talk Ukraine and Gaza, but Not This 'Living Hell'

International community's silence on civil war in Sudan speaks volumes, some note

(Newser) - There's been understandable outrage from all corners over the wars in Gaza and Ukraine , with media covering frantic aid negotiations and threats of famine . But when it comes to the nearly year-old civil war in Sudan, a continent away, there's been relative silence—silence now becoming deafening, according...

This May Be First Nation to Do a 180 on Female Genital Mutilation

Gambia advances bill to repeal its ban

(Newser) - Activists who've been campaigning for years to outlaw female genital mutilation around the world could face a major setback as Gambia risks becoming the first country to reverse a ban on the practice linked to infertility and death. The West African country banned female genital mutilation (FGM) or cutting...

Undersea Cables Fail, Knocking Out Internet Service to Africa

At least a dozen countries are affected by outages

(Newser) - Several subsea cables failed Thursday, operators reported, cutting internet service to west and central Africa. Ivory Coast, for example, was reduced to about 4% connectivity in the morning, according to NetBlocks, a tracker. In Liberia, basic internet service and social media access were unavailable in most of the country, the...

As Wars Rage, This 'Living Nightmare' Is Largely Ignored

Sudan civil war has killed thousands, forced 8M from their homes

(Newser) - With much attention on wars in Europe, the victims of Sudan's civil war are facing death and destruction largely without help. Eleven months after fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group broke out on the streets of the nation's capital,...

Horrific Cases of Femicide Spur Protests Across Africa

Brutal murders in Kenya, Somalia, and Cameroon have sparked protests

(Newser) - Recent acts of femicide and gender-based violence across several African countries—including Kenya, Somalia, and Cameroon—have prompted protests and calls for government action. The details are harrowing, and include beheadings, immolation, and mutilation, with the majority of cases involving intimate partners, the New York Times reports. Women's rights...

Drought Kills at Least 100 Elephants
Drought Kills
at Least 100
Elephants
Dec 19, 2023 12:00 PM CST

Drought Kills at Least 100 Elephants

El Nino blamed for lack of water killing pachyderms in recent weeks in Zimbabwe's largest national park

(Newser) - At least 100 elephants have died in Zimbabwe's largest national park in recent weeks because of drought, their carcasses a grisly sign of what wildlife authorities and conservation groups say is the impact of climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon. Authorities warn that more could die as...

Most French Speakers Don't Live in France

60% of those who use the language are in Africa

(Newser) - The New York Times has a story detailing how the French language is evolving in a relatively fast manner, with the twist being that most of this evolution isn't actually happening in France. The story has some surprising stats on the subject, starting with this one: Most speakers of...

UN Calls Food Crisis in Africa Unprecedented

Most people can't afford a healthy diet, report says

(Newser) - At least three-fourths of Africans can't afford a healthy diet, and a fifth are undernourished due to an "unprecedented food crisis," United Nations agencies said in a report released Thursday with the African Union Commission. The continent's 1.4 billion people are confronting high levels of...

'Mountains' of Plastic Waste Grow Across Africa

New analysis, church leaders warn of harm before negotiations begin on treaty

(Newser) - Africa's plastic waste problem is increasing faster than in any other part of the world, an analysis of data by the charity Tearfund says—with enough plastic being burned or dumped in sub-Saharan Africa every minute to cover a football field. A United Nations conference is being held next...

400 Elephants Dropped Dead. Now, a 'Very Worrying' Find
400 Elephants Dropped Dead.
Now, a 'Very Worrying' Find
in case you missed it
Oct 28, 2023 12:10 PM CDT

400 Elephants Dropped Dead. Now, a 'Very Worrying' Find

In a first, researchers link 'Pasteurella' Bisgaard taxon 45 to blood poisoning

(Newser) - Experts believe they've gotten to the bottom of a "conservation disaster" that killed hundreds of endangered African savanna elephants across Botswana and Zimbabwe, and the explanation isn't likely to soothe those hoping to save the beautiful beasts. Nearly 400 elephants of all ages were found dead in...

Officers Seize Power, Arrest President in Gabon
Africa Sees Another Coup
Aug 30, 2023 6:25 AM CDT

Africa Sees Another Coup

Military officers seize power in Gabon, put president under house arrest

(Newser) - Gabon's diplomatic government appears to be falling along with what the New York Times calls "one of Africa's most enduring political dynasties." Military officers in Gabon appeared on television early Wednesday, less than an hour after President Ali Bongo Ondimba was declared to have won a...

Moderator of Facebook Content: I 'Stood Up and Screamed'

As employees sue, CEO of Sama laments harmful content, wishes she'd never signed a contract

(Newser) - Online content moderation is a stressful job, but someone's got to do it—though now an East African firm is saying it wishes its workers weren't those someones. Per the Guardian , employees are now bringing lawsuits against both outsourcing company Sama and Meta, Facebook's parent, after they...

Niger's Coup Leaders: We'll Try Deposed Prez for 'High Treason'

New regime says Mohamed Bazoum will face prosecution

(Newser) - Niger's mutinous soldiers said they'll prosecute deposed President Mohamed Bazoum for "high treason" and undermining state security, in an announcement hours after the junta said they were open to dialogue with West African nations to resolve the mounting regional crisis. If found guilty, Bazoum could face the...

6 African Nations Now Form a Continent-Wide 'Coup Belt'

From Sudan in the east to Guinea in the west

(Newser) - Take a map of Africa, shade in the nations that have had military coups over the last few years, and you'll see the pattern: It's what Declan Walsh in the New York Times calls a "coup belt" stretching across the entire continent. It goes from Guinea on...

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