Africa

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Army Seizes Power in Mauritania
Army Seizes Power in Mauritania
Aug 6, 2008 9:38 AM CDT

Army Seizes Power in Mauritania

African nation's first democratically elected president captive

(Newser) - Soldiers in the West African nation of Mauritania mounted a coup d'etat today, arresting the president and prime minister and shutting down state radio and television, the Guardian reports. Troops entered the capital and apprehended Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, the country’s first democratically elected president, after he began taking...

Post-Primaries, Bill Hits Road to Recovery

In Africa for his charity, ex-Prez says he 'couldn't be happier'

(Newser) - After a brutal primary race peppered with “YouTube moments” that tarnished his image, Bill Clinton is back to work, traveling through Africa in support of his charity. “This is my life now, and I was eager to get back to it,” the former president told the Washington ...

Cindy McCain: 'Look to the Women'
Cindy McCain: 'Look to the Women'
Opinion
Jul 28, 2008 11:51 AM CDT

Cindy McCain: 'Look to the Women'

In healing, Rwanda can set an example for the rest of the world

(Newser) - Cindy McCain’s recent voyage to Rwanda stirred up memories of her last visit, in 1994. The campaign of genocide then ravaging the country has ended, and Rwanda's recovery is a model for the rest of the world, the would-be first lady writes in the Wall Street Journal. Women own...

Sudan Rallies Behind Leader, Despite Darfur

Indicted president seen as only hope of preventing anarchy

(Newser) - Omar al-Bashir is reviled across the world for presiding over the mass murder of his own people in Darfur, and now the Sudanese president has been accused of genocide by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. But within Sudan his rule has become more secure than ever, as opponent...

African Sun Could Power EU
  African Sun Could Power EU 
Jul 23, 2008 1:50 PM CDT

African Sun Could Power EU

Scientists propose African solar farms for Europe's power

(Newser) - All of the European continent’s electrical needs could be generated by massive solar farms in Africa, scientists posited today, unveiling a plan to do just that, the Guardian reports. The proposal, which would require an area the size of Wales—insignificant in the vast expanse of the Sahara Desert,...

African Women Take Brunt of Food Crisis

As prices soar, mothers feed the men and eat what remains

(Newser) - As food and fuel prices continue to climb, impoverished families across Africa are hurting worse than ever—and women are suffering the most. The Washington Post follows one Burkina Faso mother in her daily struggle to feed her family and survive in a culture that puts her last at mealtime....

Mandela's Birthday Wish: Help the Poor

South African legend celebrates 90th, calls on rich to do more

(Newser) - Nelson Mandela turned 90 today, and he used the occasion to talk to reporters about the plight of South Africa’s poor, the BBC reports. “If you are poor, you are not likely to live long,” he said. “There are many people in South Africa who are...

Gene Raises AIDS Risk in Africa
 Gene Raises AIDS Risk in Africa 
Jul 16, 2008 10:14 PM CDT

Gene Raises AIDS Risk in Africa

Africans 40% more likely to contract HIV

(Newser) - A gene extremely common among Africans but almost unknown other ethnic groups may be rendering people of sub-Saharan Africa more susceptible to HIV and AIDS, the Times of London reports. The gene variant—common because it provides malaria protection—makes carriers 40% more likely to contract HIV and could be...

Senate Targets Ban on HIV- Positive Visitors

$50B AIDS bill, nearing vote, could dismantle 20-year prohibition

(Newser) - The Senate moved today to repeal a ban on allowing immigrants and vistors who are HIV-positive to enter the country, the AP reports. The measure was part of a $50 billion bill to combat AIDS worldwide. The US is one of only a dozen countries—including Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and...

UN Approves China to Buy Ivory
 UN Approves China to Buy Ivory 
Jul 16, 2008 5:29 AM CDT

UN Approves China to Buy Ivory

Critics say allowing imports plays 'Russian roulette' with elephants' lives

(Newser) - China has been given a green light to begin importing African ivory by a UN body that banned the sale 10 years ago, a decision that has infuriated conservation groups, the Daily Telegraph reports. African states say they need to sell stockpiles of ivory from elephants that are culled or...

Zambia Denies Reports That Prez Is Dead

'Responding well;' Mugabe critic collapsed ahead of AU summit

(Newser) - Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa is resting comfortably in a Paris hospital, said a government spokesman today, denying "malicious" widespread reports that the leader had died after suffering his second stroke in 2 years ahead of an African Union summit. Mwanawasa "is responding well to treatment. He has made...

Mandela Blasts Mugabe's 'Tragic Failure of Leadership'

Former South African leader makes his first public comments on Zimbabwe

(Newser) - Nelson Mandela broke his silence today and denounced the "tragic failure of leadership" of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. The influential former South African leader had previously held back so he wouldn't undermine the authority of mediator Thabo Mbeki, the BBC reports. "The world remains beset by so much...

Darfur Sinking Into Chaos of Warring Rebel Groups

Rebel factions endanger massive relief effort

(Newser) - The civil war in Darfur has degenerated into a tangled mess of militias and warlords battling each other, a development that threatens efforts to bring relief to the 2.5 million people affected by the fighting. Dozens of rebel groups are at war with each other, not just the government,...

Despite Mugabe, Democracy Is Gaining in Zimbabwe

Number of 'free' sub-Saharan nations up; grass-roots efforts continue

(Newser) - Undemocratic though the situation might seem, the fact that the opposition has forced a presidential run-off in Zimbabwe is a sign of democracy's spread in sub-Saharan Africa, the Wall Street Journal reports, where the number of "free" countries has reached 11 of 48, up from 3 in 1977. "...

Mugabe's Horrors Transcend Race
Mugabe's Horrors Transcend Race
Opinion
Jun 14, 2008 4:22 PM CDT

Mugabe's Horrors Transcend Race

Yes, he's a black leader of an African nation; he's also a tyrant

(Newser) - Once, Westerners cared about southern Africa. In the late 20th century, outraged Americans of all stripes spoke out against apartheid, an outpouring that ultimately helped liberate both South Africa and Zimbabwe. Now, Zimbabwe is under the thumb of another murderous tyrant—this time a black one—and the West remains...

Zimbabwe Jails Opposition Leaders
Zimbabwe Jails Opposition Leaders
Jun 12, 2008 2:57 PM CDT

Zimbabwe Jails Opposition Leaders

No. 2 faces treason charges; Tsvangirai detained, released

(Newser) - President Robert Mugabe's regime struck at the opposition leadership today, just two weeks before Zimbabwe's presidential runoff election, twice detaining his challenger and jailing the opposition party's No. 2 official on treason charges, which carry the death penalty. Presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai was stopped at a roadblock and held at...

Mugabe Detains His Challenger
 Mugabe Detains His Challenger 
Jun 4, 2008 11:58 AM CDT

Mugabe Detains His Challenger

Tsvangirai's party blasts 'illegal detention' during campaign

(Newser) - The leader of Zimbabwe’s opposition was detained today while campaigning, MSNBC reports. Morgan Tsvangirai, back in the country to challenge Robert Mugabe in a June 27 presidential run-off, is being held by police along with 14 other Movement for Democratic Change officials, the party said.

$10 Mosquito Nets Move Young Donors to Save Lives

Malaria solution is hands-on way to help

(Newser) - Mosquito nets, at $10 a pop, are a low-cost, effective way to prevent malaria—and they've become a cause célèbre for young people across the country, who've raised millions in donation drives, the New York Times reports. “You can say $10 saves a life,” says one...

Thousands Protest South African Violence

Largest newspaper calls for president to step down for failure to stop killing

(Newser) - Thousands of South Africans marched through Johannesburg yesterday to protest anti-immigrant rampages that have claimed at least 50 lives. Carrying placards comparing the violence to apartheid, marchers brought traffic to a standstill, Reuters reports. The action was organized by labor unions and churches. The nation's largest newspaper today called for...

Kenya Mob Torches 11 for Witchcraft
Kenya Mob Torches 11
for Witchcraft
May 22, 2008 8:15 AM CDT

Kenya Mob Torches 11 for Witchcraft

'Sorcerers' accused of casting spells on villagers

(Newser) - A mob in western Kenya hunted down and killed 11 people they accused of being witches and wizards, AP reports. The gang went from house to house with a list of suspected sorcerers and the spells they had cast. The eight men and three women, most over 70, were lynched...

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