Africa

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New Ebola Outbreak Confirmed in Congo

17 with signs of hemorrhagic fever have already died

(Newser) - The world has a new Ebola outbreak on its hands. The Democratic Republic of Congo declared an outbreak Monday after samples taken from two of five patients in the country's northwest province of Equateur tested positive for the Zaire strain of Ebola. More testing is underway, and NPR reports...

Kanye West's Slavery Remark Sparks Offer From Africa

Nigerian lawmaker Shehu Sani invites Kanye to visit

(Newser) - Now Kanye West has a choice—whether or not to visit former slave routes in Africa. Barraged with criticism over his remark that 400 years of slavery "sounds like a choice," the rapper was invited Friday to learn about the slave trade that once existed in Nigeria, CNN...

Giant Crack in Africa Suggests an 8th Continent Is Coming

Rift in Kenya means Africa might split in 2, but it will take millions of years

(Newser) - Some 250 million years ago, Earth had one continent—Pangaea. Today, there are seven, and in another 50 million years or so, there could be eight. That's according to geologists studying a massive crack that recently appeared in southwestern Kenya, taking out homes and a section of highway, after...

World's 5 Most Unequal Countries on Same Continent

Effects of South Africa's apartheid still felt

(Newser) - Inequality was embedded in South African culture through its apartheid system. Nearly a quarter century after its end, the country still has a long way to go. "Inequality is high, persistent, and has increased since 1994" in South Africa, which is the most unequal country in the world when...

These Stone Tools Are Smashing Theories on Africa
These Stone Tools
Are Smashing
Theories on Africa
NEW STUDIES
Mar 20, 2018 7:14 PM CDT

These Stone Tools Are Smashing Theories on Africa

At 320K years old, they push back date of Middle Stone Age

(Newser) - For decades, the human story was one told through signs of modernity—art, tools, burials—found only after Homo sapiens left Africa. Recent discoveries pushing back the date of departure are helping to change that narrative, as are three new studies in Science. Together, they describe the earliest stone tools...

Sahara Desert Reveals 'Holy Grail' of Dino Discoveries

African dinosaur suggests link to Europe in late Cretaceous Period

(Newser) - Researcher Matt Lamanna calls it "the Holy Grail" of dinosaur discoveries. After decades of digging had left a 44-million-year gap in the fossil record for dinos in Africa, Lamanna says his jaw "hit the floor" when he saw photos of skull fragments, a lower jaw, neck and back...

New Hope Against Hunger: These 'Super Beans'

Early signs of success in Africa

(Newser) - The so-called "super bean," a fast-maturing, high-yield variety, is being promoted by Uganda's government and agriculture experts amid efforts to feed hunger-prone parts of Africa, the AP reports. It's also a step toward the next goal: the "super, super bean" that researchers hope can be...

Here Are the 10 Poorest Countries on Earth

Burundi tops the list

(Newser) - As American lawmakers and financial experts debate economic disparity, 24/7 Wall St. takes a worldwide economic view—specifically, regarding which nations are the poorest on Earth. The site compared gross national income, or GNI, per capita from the World Bank for more than 170 nations, which is a close equivalent...

World&#39;s Greatest Killer Isn&#39;t War or Hunger
This Kills More
People Than War,
AIDS, or Smoking
NEW STUDY
Oct 20, 2017 9:14 AM CDT

This Kills More People Than War, AIDS, or Smoking

Pollution, responsible for 9M premature deaths in 2015: study

(Newser) - Environmental pollution—from filthy air to contaminated water—is killing more people every year than all war and violence in the world. More than smoking, hunger, or natural disasters. More than AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined, reports the AP . One out of every six premature deaths in the world in...

East Africa Doesn't Want 'Clothes of Dead White People' Anymore

And the US isn't happy about it

(Newser) - Seventy percent of donated second-hand clothing ends up in Africa, and a number of African nations are tired of it, the New York Times reports. Last year, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Burundi, and Kenya raised import tariffs on what Kenyans call the "clothes of dead white people" so...

WHO: Nearly Half of Abortions Around the World Aren't Safe

Most disturbing are those abortions that fall into the 'least safe' category

(Newser) - Between 2010 and 2014, nearly 56 million women around the world got abortions each year—and the World Health Organization has found that almost half of them weren't safe. Per a WHO/Guttmacher Institute study published in the Lancet journal, of those 55.7 million annual abortions, just over 17...

New Nation in the News: Nambia. Sort Of
This Is Why Everyone's Talking
About Nation of 'Nambia'
the rundown
Sep 21, 2017 11:25 AM CDT

This Is Why Everyone's Talking About Nation of 'Nambia'

President Trump takes grief for referring to nonexistent country twice

(Newser) - The nation that seems to be showing up in most headlines Thursday is Nambia, mainly because it doesn't actually exist. In a speech to African leaders Wednesday, President Trump referred to "Nambia" not once but twice, first in his general introduction and then later when he mentioned that...

When These Dogs Sneeze, They&#39;re Casting a Vote
When These Dogs Sneeze,
They're Casting a Vote
study says
Sep 9, 2017 10:00 AM CDT

When These Dogs Sneeze, They're Casting a Vote

Scientists spot the pattern in African wild dogs

(Newser) - It started with a simple enough question, "Why are these dogs sneezing so much?" But the subsequent research has led to a fascinating theory: The dogs, specifically African wild dogs in Botswana, use their sneezes to vote on pack activity, reports Atlas Obscura . "The sneeze acts as some...

Army Suspends General for Flirting With Soldier's Wife

'How often does your devil vixen come out?' he asked on Facebook

(Newser) - The Army has suspended the head of its forces in Africa after he was caught flirting with the wife of an enlisted soldier in private Facebook messages, USA Today reports. "I knew u were worth worshiping!" Maj. Gen. Joseph Harrington writes in one message. "How often does...

Study Finds Bad News for Aardvarks
Study Finds
Bad News for
Aardvarks
Jul 31, 2017 7:01 PM CDT

Study Finds Bad News for Aardvarks

Drought kills 5 of 6 that were being monitored

(Newser) - Little is known about Africa's elusive aardvarks, but new research says they are vulnerable to climate change like many other species, the AP reports. Hotter temperatures are taking their toll on the aardvark, whose diet of ants and termites is becoming scarcer in some areas because of reduced rainfall,...

Lost Islamic City Held Riches From a World Away

It was a trade center in Ethiopia beginning in the 10th century

(Newser) - Residents of the small town of Harlaa in eastern Ethiopia have long suspected that ancient coins and pottery fragments uncovered there represented a trail to undiscovered riches. They weren't far off, reports Quartz . After two years of digging in Harlaa, archaeologists have found ancient beads in almost every color...

Police Issue Warning to Bald Men in African Nation

They may be targeted for ritual attacks in Mozambique

(Newser) - Police have issued a warning to bald men in Mozambique: They could be targeted for ritual attacks. Five men were recently murdered for their body parts, the BBC reports. "The belief is that the head of a bald man contains gold," a police commander explains. "[Suspects']...

American Abducted in Democratic Republic of Congo

Michael Sharp was working for the UN when he was taken Sunday

(Newser) - A 34-year-old American UN worker was abducted Sunday in the Democratic Republic of Congo and is currently missing, Al Jazeera reports. According to NBC News , Michael Sharp was traveling through the African nation on motorcycle with a group that included another UN worker, three local drivers, and a translator. All...

There Are Just 25 'Big Tuskers' Left in the World. One Was Just Killed

Poachers suspected to have poisoned Satao II

(Newser) - One of the last "big tusker" elephants in Africa has been killed by poachers. Satao II, one of the oldest and biggest elephants on the continent, is believed to have been struck by a poisoned arrow; he was found dead Monday, before poachers could take his ivory. The elephant,...

Tiny Invader Threatens Food Staple in Africa

Fall armyworm is wiping out maize crops

(Newser) - Still reeling from a severe drought, Zimbabwe is now on the brink of going hungry as an invasive pest wreaks havoc on the staple crop maize. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization reports that seven of the country's eight provinces have been hit by the fall armyworm, and as...

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