Africa

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Doctors Without Borders Exits Somalia, Slams Leaders

Group leaving after 22 years after repeated attacks on aid workers

(Newser) - The aid group Doctors Without Borders said today it is pulling out of Somalia after 22 years there because of attacks on its staff. In a scathing indictment of Somalia's leaders, the group, also known by its French initials as MSF, said the decision is the result of "...

44 Slain While Praying in Nigeria

Mass shooting at mosque by suspected Islamic militants

(Newser) - Suspected Islamic militants wearing army fatigues gunned down 44 people praying at a mosque in northeast Nigeria, while another 12 civilians died in an apparently simultaneous attack nearby, security agents said today. The attacks were the latest in a slew of violence blamed on religious extremists in this West African...

Help National Security: Curb Animal Poaching
Help National Security:
Curb Animal Poaching
OPINION
Aug 10, 2013 2:15 PM CDT

Help National Security: Curb Animal Poaching

Funds go to terrorist groups, say op-ed writers

(Newser) - The US needs to get way more aggressive in stopping animal poachers worldwide—not just for moral reasons but for its own national security, write three advocates in the New York Times . Poaching is a major source of revenue for terror organizations, and poachers' links to groups such as al-Qeada,...

Police Round Up 5 in Zanzibar Acid Attack

British teens return home to London for treatment

(Newser) - Police in Zanzibar have rounded up five men for questioning after a pair of British girls were burned in an acid attack and flown back to London, the Telegraph reports. One of the five men is probably a shopkeeper who argued with Katie Gee and Kirstie Trup, both 18, before...

Texas-Sized Nigeria Will Have More People Than US by 2050

And it might overtake China in another century

(Newser) - The UN's new population forecast for the world has some eye-popping figures, especially about Africa in general and Nigeria in particular. Its charts show that Nigeria, about the size of Texas, will surpass the entire US in population by 2050, reports the Guardian . By 2100, it is expected to...

7 UN Peacekeepers Killed in Sudan

Deadliest attack in the history of the operation

(Newser) - Seven UN peacekeepers are dead and another 17 wounded after gunmen ambushed a team in Sudan's western region of Darfur. It is the deadliest ever single attack on the international force in the country since it began its work there in five years ago. The assault included sustained heavy...

What to Look for as Obama Tours Africa

Nelson Mandela reportedly on life support

(Newser) - President Obama has arrived in Senegal, the first of three countries he'll visit during his African tour—the other two being Tanzania and South Africa, the Wall Street Journal reports. His trip comes at a heavy moment for South Africa, the New York Times notes, with Nelson Mandela said...

Security to Be Intense(ly Expensive) on Obama's Africa Trip

Trip could cost between $60 million and $100 million

(Newser) - Barack Obama is set to take his first extended tour of sub-Saharan Africa this month—and it ain't gonna be cheap. Obama's security for the trip could cost as much as $100 million, according to planning documents obtained by the Washington Post . What's all that money going...

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...

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