Africa

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Malawi Leader Pardons Jailed Gay Couple

He orders their immediate release

(Newser) - Malawi's president says he has pardoned and ordered the release of a jailed gay couple sentenced to 14 years in prison. President Bingu wa Mutharika made the announcement today during a press conference with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Lilongwe, the capital. A judge earlier this month convicted and sentenced...

Naomi Campbell Punches Camera, Storms Off Set

 Naomi Campbell 
 Punches Camera, 
 Storms Off Set 
don't ask her about blood diamonds
Apr 23, 2010 8:45 AM CDT

Naomi Campbell Punches Camera, Storms Off Set

Supermodel hasn't gotten anger issues under control

(Newser) - In case there was any doubt, Naomi Campbell still has a pretty bad temper. The supermodel lashed out during an interview with ABC, when asked if she was given a blood diamond by former African dictator Charles Taylor. “I didn't receive a diamond and I'm not going to speak...

Gay Men's Bodies Desecrated in Africa

Death no reprieve from violence for gay men in Senegal

(Newser) - To the long list of abuse meted out to suspected homosexuals in Africa, Senegal has added a new form of degradation: the desecration of their bodies. Madieye Diallo's body had only been in the ground for a few hours when the mob descended on the cemetery with shovels. They yanked...

Patent Fight Over Miracle Food for Malnutrition

Competitors say they can save millions with cheaper alternative to French peanut paste

(Newser) - A peanut paste that has been hailed as a miracle food for treating malnutrition is the subject of a patent battle, the BBC reports, with competitors charging the patent prevents millions of desperately ill children from receiving treatment. The French company that makes Plumpy’nut, which one competitor says is...

Ritual Sacrifice of Children on Rise in Uganda

Mutilated bodies likely victims of ceremonial murder

(Newser) - Ugandan police don't know who killed Caroline Aya, but they think they know why she was killed. The eight-year-old was found with her tongue cut out, a likely sign that she had been used in a ritual killing designed to bring wealth or happiness. The practice of human sacrifice is...

US Navy Captures 5 Pirates, Mothership

Exchanged fire, sank skiff near Seychelles

(Newser) - US naval forces say they've captured five pirates after exchanging fire with them, sinking their skiff, and confiscating a mothership. The USS Nicholas came under fire early today from pirates in an area west of the Seychelles. The US Africa Command said the five pirates seized would remain in US...

Geldof Enraged by Report That Live Aid Paid for Weapons

95% of donations siphoned to rebel weapons, says BBC

(Newser) - Live Aid founder Bob Geldof is furious about a BBC report that said 95% of the Live Aid money his organization raised for Ethiopian famine relief in 1985 was diverted to buy weapons for rebel fighters. It's possible that "some money was mislaid, but to suggest it was on...

Madonna's $15M School Ousts 200 Malawi Villagers

 Madonna's $15M 
 School Ousts 
 200 Malawi 
 Villagers 
celeb humanitarianism
Feb 12, 2010 8:19 AM CST

Madonna's $15M School Ousts 200 Malawi Villagers

Residents must relocate, but singer did compensate them

(Newser) - Madonna wants to help Malawi with her $15 million girls’ school so much that she’s ejecting villagers to make it happen. Residents didn’t want to leave the school site just outside the capital, but the government handed the land over to Madonna and told 200 Malawians they must...

British Pirate Captives Beg for Help

Death looms without ransom

(Newser) - A British couple abducted by pirates as they sailed off Africa are pleading for help before they're killed. Rachel Chandler, seized three months ago and held separately from her husband, Paul, in Somalia, begged for aid in a phone call to British TV after the pirates vowed to kill them...

Al-Qaeda Linked to 'Air Cocaine' Network

Rogue trans-Atlantic aviation set-up sparks security fears

(Newser) - A rogue aviation network with links to al-Qaeda has security analysts seriously worried. The network, believed to consist of at least 10 aircraft, including several Boeing 727s, transports huge amounts of cocaine from South America to West African smugglers who slip it into Europe. Islamic militant groups in Africa reap...

Nigerians Call on Prez to Prove He's Alive

Adua, abroad for medical treatment, mum on Xmas bomb attempt

(Newser) - Some Nigerians suspect their president, who split the country in late November, complaining of chest pains, and has not made a public appearance since, could in fact be dead. Umaru Yar’Adua has failed to weigh in on critical state decisions, and was even mum on the Christmas terror attempt...

Human Rights Watch: UN Supports Atrocities in Congo

Mission provides logistical support to brutal national army

(Newser) - Women and children beaten to death with clubs, hacked up with machetes—or, if they're "lucky," gang-raped and left alive. Such shocking acts are sadly commonplace in the conflict that has consumed Congo, perpetrated by both Rwandan rebels and their enemies in the Congolese army. The army, however,...

Developing Countries Boycott Climate Talks
 Developing Countries 
 Boycott Climate Talks 

COPENHAGEN SUMMIT
Dec 14, 2009 9:23 AM CST

Developing Countries Boycott Climate Talks

Refuse to participate unless rich countries cut more

(Newser) - A group of 125 developing countries, including China and India, boycotted the climate change talks in Copenhagen today, accusing developed countries of trying to ditch the Kyoto protocol, and the penalties it imposes on them if they don't meet emissions limits. The Africa-led move created chaos at the talks, which...

To Battle Climate Change, Look Toward Africa

Fallout from changes in weather patterns threatens hard-won gains

(Newser) - A quarter-century after the Ethiopian famine crisis, another catastrophe threatens Africa: climate change. But this time, the First World stands to gain from improving the lot of the Third World. "The inefficiencies of the hydrocarbon economy will be replaced by clean, cheap renewables," pop star and activist Bob...

Guinea Leader Survives Attack by Renegade Troops

Camara shot, wounded in attack blamed on former aide

(Newser) - The leader of Guinea's ruling military junta has survived an attack on his convoy by a renegade faction of his presidential guard. Moussa Dadis Camara was shot and wounded but his life is not in danger, a regime spokesman said. The attack was blamed on Lt. Toumba Diakite, a former...

100M Years Ago, Africa Was Crocodile Central
 100M Years Ago, Africa 
 Was Crocodile Central 
PALEONTOLOGISTS SAY
Nov 20, 2009 1:12 PM CST

100M Years Ago, Africa Was Crocodile Central

3 new species unearthed from Sahara include DogCroc

(Newser) - The universe of diverse prehistoric crocodile species keeps expanding, suggesting crocs were one of the dominant forms of life 100 million years ago. Paleontologists have just unearthed three new species in the Sahara desert: the 20-foot BoarCroc, which likely fed on dinosaurs; the 20-foot PancakeCroc, a flat-bodied fish-gobbler; and the...

China Offers Africa Billions in Aid, Debt Forgiveness

Beijing gives back amid flak over greed

(Newser) - Chinese premier Wen Jiabao today pledged $10 billion in low interest loans to African nations over the next three years and said Beijing would cancel the government debts of some of the poorest of those countries. The Asian powerhouse, at the start of a two-day China-Africa summit, looked to deflect...

Desert Rift Creating New African Sea—Slowly

Crack created by volcanic eruption will eventually meet with Red Sea

(Newser) - Africa is getting a new ocean—in a million years, give or take. It's starting with a 35-mile rift in the Ethiopian desert caused by the eruption of a volcano in 2005. The rift will eventually meet with the Red Sea, allowing the waters to spill in, say scientists. The...

Famed Man-Eating Lions Not That Hungry: Scientists

Kenyan duo credited with 135 kills ate just 35 humans

(Newser) - The Tsavo lions, reputed to have consumed 135 railroad workers in Africa at the turn of the last century, were not quite as ravenous as legend would have it. The lions—whose stuffed carcasses are enshrined at Chicago’s Field Museum—actually dispatched a mere 35 souls, new research shows....

Swine Flu Crisis Is Fake —Just Like AIDS in Africa

Those dang Africans are just fishing for relief cash, says Limbaugh

(Newser) - What do H1N1 and HIV have in common? They’re both money-making schemes! At least according to Rush Limbaugh, who yesterday took a fairly reasonable critique of swine flu hysteria off the rails and into crazy town, by saying it was being purposely hyped “for many of the same...

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