Africa

World News

Gabon Rocked By Deadly Protests After Opposition Alleges Election Fraud

7:41am September 02, 2016

by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

A contested election in the African nation of Gabon that saw the incumbent re-elected, turned violent after the opposition alleged fraud. Government forces met opposition protests with force.

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Protesters set the National Assembly building in Libreville, Gabon, on fire after President Ali Bongo was declared the winner of last weekend's election.

World News

Deadly Protests Shake Gabon After Allegations Of Election Fraud

3:56pm September 01, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

After official results were announced showing the incumbent president had won, protesters called for a vote recount and set fire to parliament. The military retaliated, killing at least three people.

The Great Elephant Census shows that savanna elephant populations in 18 countries declined by 30 percent. Most of the animals counted were in protected areas.

African Elephant Population Declines By 30 Percent

6:28pm August 31, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

A census of African savanna elephants in 15 countries between 2007 and 2014 found the population decreased by 144,000 animals.

World News

In 36 Hours, More Than 10,000 People Are Rescued In The Mediterranean

4:11pm August 31, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

The Italian navy and aid groups rescued 3,000 people coming from Libya on Tuesday and nearly 7,000 on Monday. Italy is struggling to handle the load.

Pepe Julian Onziema, a transgender activist in Uganda, won a GLAAD Media Award last year for outstanding talk show episode. He was honored for an interview with John Oliver on HBO's Last Week Tonight. Asked, "Are you safe in Uganda," Onziema said, "Not re

Health & Safety

When The U.S. Backs Gay And Lesbian Rights In Africa, Is There A Backlash?

6:26pm August 30, 2016

by Gregory Warner

For the past four years, the U.S. government has engaged in an ambitious campaign for LGBT rights around the world. But American support can be a double-edged sword.

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Jollof rice likely originated in Senegal. But Senegal's as-good-as-national dish is thiebou dieun, a mix of rice, fish and vegetables that — except for red rice — bears little resemblance to what the rest of West Africa calls jollof. This tempting-loo

Jollof Rice: West Africans Dish It Up With A Hefty Serving Of Smack Talk

5:54pm August 30, 2016

by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

Jollof rice is a celebration dish in West Africa. Each country in the region has its own take — and the rivalry over which version reigns supreme is constant fodder for a delicious war of words.

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School children in Jos, Nigeria run across a field.

Health & Safety

#IfAfricaWasASchool, Who Would Be The Nerd? Jock? Most Popular?

4:18pm August 30, 2016

by Malaka Gharib

A trending hashtag on Twitter invites people to personify countries in Africa with various schoolyard archetypes.

World News

1 Day, 40 Boats, Thousands Of People Rescued Trying To Get To Europe

3:30pm August 30, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

In 24 hours, the Italian navy and aid groups rescued 6,500 people from wooden and rubber boats off the coast of Libya. The migrants did not have enough fuel to reach Europe.

Displaced women at the Muna informal settlement outside Maiduguri. They're among more than 2 million people driven from their homes by Boko Haram attacks during northeastern Nigeria's 7-year insurgency.

Health & Safety

They're Caught In A Crisis That Isn't Hitting The Headlines

5:56pm August 29, 2016

by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

The number of malnourished people in northeastern Nigeria could be as hlgh as half a million. Boko Haram shoulders much of the blame.

This illustration depicts a yellow fever victim in a Jefferson Street home in Memphis. It's from a series of images entitled "The Great Yellow Fever Scourge — Incidents Of Its Horrors In The Most Fatal District Of The Southern States."

Yellow Fever Timeline: The History Of A Long Misunderstood Disease

5:50pm August 28, 2016

by Susan Brink

An outbreak in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo has raised concerns about the infamous and fearsome disease — once a scourge of the U.S., Panama and Spain.