Africa

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Oreo Maker Creates Chocolate That Doesn't Melt

Hopes to boost sales in Africa and Middle East

(Newser) - The company that makes Cadbury chocolates and Oreos is launching a new chocolate that can resist heats of up to 104 degrees without melting, and it should be on shelves soon—but probably not the ones in US grocery stores. This isn't a Willy Wonka-style gimmick so much as...

Nigeria Launches 'Massive' Crackdown on Boko Haram

Goodluck Jonathan says recent attacks call for 'extraordinary measures'

(Newser) - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency ( again ; though last time it was just smaller local areas) and launched a "massive" crackdown on Boko Haram, following a series of recent attacks. "I hereby declare a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states,...

Why an African King Lives on Public Assistance in Virginia

Rwanda's last royal ruler still yearns to reunite his nation

(Newser) - Figure the last king of Rwanda is living on a swanky estate somewhere in Africa? Try again: Kigeli V Ndahindurwa, who ruled from 1959-61, has spent years living in low-income housing in Virginia, where he likes watching wrestling on TV and handing out candies to kids, reports the Washingtonian . But...

Desert 'Fairy Circles' Made by ... Termites?

German scientist thinks he's solved the mystery

(Newser) - It's kind of a let-down, if true. A German scientist says the mysterious "fairy circles" that have long cropped up in the desert of southwest Africa are caused by humble sand termites, reports Global Post . The critters live beneath the soil and thrive on grass roots, explains Norbert...

'Penis-Snatching' Case Startles Visitor in Africa

Anthropologist 'intrigued' by alleged witchcraft

(Newser) - An American anthropologist was surprised to encounter reports of penis-snatching in an African village—but only because the "crime" is normally confined to more populated areas, the Daily Mail reports. Writing at AlterNet , Louisa Lombard recounts her visit to the village of Tiringoulou in the Central African Republic, where...

France: Mali Fighting Over, Time for Talks

Mali interim prez refuses to talk to Islamic militants, only secular groups

(Newser) - With French forces retaking the last city held by rebels , Paris is now looking for the Mali government and "legitimate representatives" from rebel groups to talk, reports al-Jazeera . "We have arrived at a moment of change," says France's defense minister, declaring that "the French intervention...

France Takes Mali's Last Rebel City; Next: the Hard Part

A force of African nations will try to keep militants from mounting comeback

(Newser) - France is wrapping up the first phase of its Mali mission: Its forces took back the last big urban center once held by Islamic militants, reports Reuters . The success in Kidal follows similar operations in Gao and Timbuktu over the last three weeks, and now France is getting ready to...

US Might Step Up Involvement in Mali

Considers sending refueling planes for French jets: New York Times

(Newser) - The US has provided modest tactical and intelligence aid to France so far in its fight against al-Qaeda-linked militants in Mali, but the New York Times reports that US officials are now considering a notable increase—sending in aerial refueling planes for French fighter jets. Talks have been under way...

To Fight African Terrorism, Start by Educating Girls

Military-only strategy is doomed to fail: Malcolm Potts

(Newser) - The US and the entire world ought to be very worried about what's going in in Mali , Algeria , and the rest of the Sahel region in Africa, because things are going to get much worse without "radical new policies," writes obstetrician Malcolm Potts in the Los Angeles ...

Africa Sees Its First Woman Billionaire

Isabel dos Santos is daughter of Angolan president

(Newser) - Africa's got its first female billionaire. Thanks to her shares in Portuguese and Angolan companies, Isabel dos Santos, 40, is now worth more than $1 billion, Forbes reports. The daughter of Jose Eduardo dos Santos, the 33-year president of Angola, she opened her first business, an Angola restaurant, at...

Why the US Must Help France Save Mali
 Why the US Must Help 
 France Save Mali 
OPINION
Jan 15, 2013 12:54 PM CST

Why the US Must Help France Save Mali

If not, it will become haven for terrorists: Vicki Huddleston

(Newser) - The US is reportedly going to provide more tactical help to French troops trying to keep Islamist rebels from overtaking Mali, and a former US ambassador to the country says it can't come too soon. Helping France succeed is "in our national interest," argues Vicki Huddleston in...

French Strikes Kill 100 in Mali

Militants, soldiers killed in strategic town of Konna

(Newser) - French airstrikes in Mali have killed more than 100 people in the key town of Konna, including Islamist militants and government soldiers, Reuters reports. "We have driven them out, we are effectively in Konna," said a Malian official after 30 vehicles carrying rebels were reportedly bombed. "We...

France Launches Airstrikes in Mali

President Hollande says terrorists 'threaten us all'

(Newser) - France launched airstrikes today to help the government of Mali defeat al-Qaeda-linked militants who captured more ground this week, dramatically raising the stakes in the battle for this vast desert nation. French President Francois Hollande said the "terrorist groups, drug traffickers, and extremists" in northern Mali "show a...

Central African Republic Rebels: OK, We'll Talk

Halt advance on Bangui

(Newser) - Rebels in the poverty-stricken Central African Republic have been advancing on the capital for three weeks, but today they agreed to halt and begin peace talks, Reuters reports. They had come within striking distance of Bangui, causing the US to close its embassy in the country and evacuate its citizens...

Sudden Climate Change Forced Evolution: Scientists
Sudden Climate Change Forced Evolution: Scientists
in case you missed it
Dec 29, 2012 7:00 PM CST

Sudden Climate Change Forced Evolution: Scientists

Early humans saw woodland shift to grassland

(Newser) - Early humans evolved in fits and starts due to rapid environmental changes—not gradually as scientists used to think, according to a new study. Analyzing lake sediments in northern Tanzania, scientists from Penn State and Rutgers University concluded that climate change altered the landscape back and forth from grassland to...

African Nations Agree: Let's Invade Mali

Leaders aim to wrest northern Mali from Islamist control

(Newser) - West African nations yesterday agreed to send some 3,000 troops to help the country of Mali wrest back control of its northern half, which was seized by al-Qaeda-linked fighters more than six months ago, according to an official and a report on Nigerian state television. The decision came at...

Romney Adviser Backed Bans on Abortion, Gays in Africa

Jay Sekulow's ideology undermines Mitt's new centrism: Andy Kroll

(Newser) - Mitt Romney, man of the political center? At Mother Jones , Andy Kroll ridicules that notion by emphasizing Romney's ties with Jay Sekulow, a star of the Christian right who has advocated bans on homosexuality and abortion in Africa. His American Center for Law and Justice—called by Time a...

African Union Gets First Female Leader

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was South African minister

(Newser) - A female leader has taken up the top leadership position at the African Union for the first time. South Africa's Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma today took charge of the African Union, where she will be in charge of peace, security, politics, and economic affairs of the continent. Dlamini-Zuma was most recently...

2 Americans Win Economics Nobel for Strides in Matching

Winner of African governance prize: No one

(Newser) - Americans Alvin Roth and Peter Shapley have won the Nobel prize for economics on the strength of their work matching players in a wide range of markets, the Wall Street Journal reports. "For example, students have to be matched with schools, and donors of human organs with patients in...

Soldiers Shoot Mauritania's President 'by Mistake'

Islamists, however, had vowed revenge against him

(Newser) - Soldiers in Mauritania have shot and wounded the nation's president, but he assures people the incident was all a mistake, Reuters reports. The government flew President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to France yesterday for medical treatment, where he issued a televised message: "I want to reassure everyone about...

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