Africa

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Narcotic Khat Raises Cultural Rift in US

Police worry about growing use of common African drug

(Newser) - In Africa, it’s the perfectly legal pick-me-up and social lubricant of choice, but in America, khat is an illegal narcotic—and its popularity is growing, the Los Angeles Times reports. Cities like Washington and San Diego are stepping up enforcement measures against the green leaf as growing African immigrant...

Opposition Leader Claims Victory in Ghana Runoff

But ruling party says results still too close to call

(Newser) - John Atta Mills has proclaimed himself the winner of Ghana’s presidential runoff election, the BBC reports, but the ruling NPP party says the results are still too close to call. Tensions are running high over the poll—earlier today police were forced to fire warning shots at a huge...

President of Somalia Resigns as Rebels Battle

Islamist groups turn on one another in political vacuum

(Newser) - Somalia's warlord-turned-president resigned today, reports the New York Times, as militant Islamists continued their gradual takeover of the country. The departure of Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed prefigures more woe for the deeply troubled nation, but it could also provide an opportunity. His resignation may let moderate Islamists come into the government,...

Pope Calls for Peace in Christmas Speech

Middle East, Africa conflicts must be resolved: Benedict

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI passionately called for peace in the Holy Land during his annual Christmas message, delivered from the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica. “The horizon seems once again bleak for Israelis and Palestinians,” he said, praying for hope against war, terrorism, and injustice. He also appealed...

Chaos Reigns in Guinea as Coup Leaders Assert Power

Junior officers strengthen control over government

(Newser) - Junior military officers appointed their coup leader as president of Guinea, even as their superiors denied that the so-called putsch had succeeded. Coup leaders also postponed elections promised in 60 days and said they may have to remain in control for two years, leaving the West African nation teetering between...

Army Seizes Power After Guinea's Dictator Dies

Military suspends the constitution

(Newser) - Guinea's army has dissolved the African nation's government and seized power just hours after the death of its longtime dictatorial president, Lansana Conte. "As of today, the constitution is suspended, as well as political and union activity," said a military commander in a radio address. The capital...

Zimbabwe, Once Well-Fed, Turns to Eating Bugs

As Mugabe blocks aid, starving population's plight nosedives

(Newser) - Zimbabwe was once "a breadbasket for all of southern Africa," writes Celia Dugger in the New York Times, but a manmade crisis has turned the once-prosperous country into a land of scavengers. The UN says 7 of 10 Zimbabweans eat one meal or fewer a day, thanks to...

Is Your Castoff Their Cross?
Is Your Castoff Their Cross?
Dec 14, 2008 8:20 PM CST

Is Your Castoff Their Cross?

$1B in Western clothes flood poorer nations and may undercut businesses

(Newser) - When you gave away last year's clothes, you probably didn't think that poor nations would pay big bucks for them. Yet castoffs are a $1 billion business, the Spectator reports, and may be threatening African cotton growers by flooding their nascent markets. Oxfam argues that its castoffs create jobs—washers,...

Citing 'Treason,' Somali Prez Fires His PM

Gov't near collapse, insurgents vow never to talk to leadership

(Newser) - Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf fired his prime minister today and accused him of paralyzing the government with "corruption, inefficiency, and treason." Hours later, as the government veered toward collapse, Islamic insurgents held a brazen news conference in the capital and vowed never to negotiate with the leadership.

Mosquitoes: a Cure for Malaria?
 Mosquitoes: a Cure for Malaria? 
Glossies
Dec 13, 2008 4:02 AM CST

Mosquitoes: a Cure for Malaria?

Scientist takes risks to find cure

(Newser) - Mosquitoes land, swap a little of your blood for parasites that head straight to your liver, and so cause a million malaria-related deaths every year, writes Jason Fagone in Esquire. But what if you took those same mosquitoes and irradiated them? You get weakened parasites that make the perfect vaccine,...

Cholera Is Raging, Whatever Mugabe Says

Zimbabwe nears total collapse as health sector shuts down

(Newser) - Robert Mugabe says that the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe has ended, but health experts say that 60,000 people could succumb to the disease, and half of the country's population is at risk. Zimbabwe's socioeconomic collapse has frighteningly accelerated, writes Celia Dugger in Harare, and daily life has become impossible....

Ghana Election Goes to a Runoff

Neither of top two candidates secured requisite 50%; next vote is Dec. 28

(Newser) - Voters in Ghana will have to go to the polls again to decide their next president, as neither major candidate received the 50% in Sunday’s election. Governing-party candidate Nana Akufo-Addo scored 49.13%, with key opposition leader John Atta Mills pulling in a close 47.92%. The next vote...

Carter: Zimbabwe Conditions 'Horrifying'

Humanitarian crisis getting worse because of stubborn Mugabe

(Newser) - Jimmy Carter and his group of international peacemakers have been barred from entering Zimbabwe, but reports of conditions there are “horrifying,” the former president tells NPR. Mugabe’s “campaign of oppression” has frustrated attempts to deal with a spreading cholera outbreak. “Mugabe had made every effort,...

Hit Pirates With Somalia Blockade
 Hit Pirates With 
 Somalia Blockade 
OPINION
Dec 4, 2008 12:18 PM CST

Hit Pirates With Somalia Blockade

Policing them where they hold their prey is more effective than ocean patrols

(Newser) - The Somali pirates terrorizing shipping lanes are clever, Peter Fromuth writes in the Washington Post, but their biggest advantages are those pirates have enjoyed throughout history: “big seas, many prey, and few protectors.” There are too many targets for warships to mount effective patrols on open waters. Instead,...

Female Thieves in Uganda Use Chloroformed Bosoms

Ugandan crooks rob Lotharios knocked out by chemical on female conspirators' breasts

(Newser) - Ugandan men, particularly traveling salesmen with hefty wallets, have been beset by bandits employing femmes fatale outfitted with chloroform-laden bosoms, the Telegraph reports. After being stripped and relieved of all his possessions, a typical victim “just remembers being in the act of romancing” and nothing after, says one official.

Troops Run Amok in Zimbabwe Capital

Police, soldiers clash after unpaid troops turn to robbing, looting

(Newser) - Unpaid Zimbabwean soldiers battled riot police on the streets of Harare today, venting their frustration after waiting all day to withdraw money from a bank, the BBC reports. Dozens of troops ran riot before order was restored, robbing moneychangers, looting shops, and encouraging civilians to join them. Some passers-by threw...

Unrelated Obamas Relish Connection

(Newser) - Ordinary citizens who share the last name Obama with the president-elect are seeing goodwill and unexpected perks lately, the Washington Post reports. They might not be able to score Inauguration tickets, but entrance to a swanky nightclub? No problem. Speeding ticket? Fixed. And it’s an exclusive club: The country...

Nigeria Struggles to Protect Child Brides

Underage marriage outlawed, but Muslim leaders support it

(Newser) - In northern Nigeria, almost half the girls are married by age 15, and a law outlawing child marriage faces serious resistance from Muslim leaders, the Times of London reports. "We have no choice," says one teen who was brutally raped by her husband. As a result, fistula—a...

Man's New Best Friend: Rats Ferret Out Land Mines, TB

(Newser) - Move over, Rover: Man has a new best friend that is helping to combat two scourges plaguing the developing world. Rats, normally reviled as filthy vermin, are sniffing out land mines and detecting tuberculosis bacteria. "Rats are usually considered pests or enemies of humanity,” said one Mozambican handler,...

Rich Nations Snap Up Third World Farmland

(Newser) - Rich nations are buying up farmland in developing countries and drawing the ire of some critics, the Guardian reports. One UN official said the purchases, designed as a hedge against food shortages, could put poor nations at risk of starving to feed the wealthy. In "this scramble for soil...

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