Africa

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Iowan Dies of 'Frightening' Virus After Travel to Africa

Lassa fever is suspected in person's death; close contacts are being identified

(Newser) - Health officials are investigating the death Monday of an Iowa resident as a suspected case of Lassa fever, a frightening viral hemorrhagic fever rarely seen in the US , health officials said. The patient returned to the US from West Africa early this month, the AP reports. The person was not...

The Wire Star Idris Elba Is Moving to Africa

British actor aims to transform continent's film industry

(Newser) - One of Britain's biggest movie and TV stars is planning to move to Africa to support the continent's growing film industry. Idris Elba, who starred as Stringer Bell in The Wire, tells the BBC that he plans to make the move in the next five to 10 years....

The Hippo Slammed Into Their Canoe. It Wasn't Done

UK tourist says he's thankful to have survived attack in Zambia

(Newser) - Hippos are seeing somewhat of a popularity boost lately thanks to internet star Moo Deng , but one British tourist will probably be fine if he doesn't see one for a while. The BBC reports on a trip to southern Africa that Warwickshire resident Roland Cherry took in June with...

Cholera Is Simple to Treat, but Deaths Are Surging
Cholera Is Simple to Treat,
but Deaths Are Surging
new report
Sep 11, 2024 11:15 AM CDT

Cholera Is Simple to Treat, but Deaths Are Surging

They were up 71% in 2023, despite cases only being up 13%

(Newser) - The number of cholera cases rose 13% in 2023 compared to the year prior. But deaths surged 71%, with 4,000 confirmed, reports the World Health Organization in a new analysis . "For death rates to be rising so much faster even than cases are increasing, this is totally unacceptable,...

Mpox Sparks Another Global Health Emergency

WHO issues declaration over rapidly spreading form of virus

(Newser) - With mpox raging through Africa, and the possibility the virus will spread elsewhere, the World Health Organization on Wednesday declared a global health emergency. It's the second such declaration about the virus previously called monkeypox in three years, the CBC reports. The first one ended in mid-2003 when vaccination...

For the Serengeti's Maasai, a Bitter Irony Unfolds

'Atlantic' explores how they're losing land they've carefully tended in the name of conservation

(Newser) - On the surface, the news might please those with a conservationist bent—Tanzania setting aside more and more land for preservation. Look a little closer and what emerges is the brutal toll being exacted on the Maasai—pastoralists who are "among the lightest-living people on the planet"—in...

Champ Hits 60 Hours in Attempt at Chess Marathon Record

Tunde Onakoya raises money for education of poor African children

(Newser) - Tunde Onakoya broke the world record for the longest chess marathon—56 hours, 9 minutes, 37 seconds of nonstop play—and kept going. The Nigerian chess champion reached his goal of 58 hours early Saturday in New York's Time Square, putting him comfortably past the mark set by Hallvard...

This Guy Just Ran the Entire Length of Africa

Russ Cook is believed to be the first person to have accomplished the feat

(Newser) - A British runner—once described by Runner's World as an "extreme ultrarunner"—finished running the entire length of Africa on Sunday afternoon after having set off nearly a year prior. Russ Cook crossed the finish line in Tunisia, having run from the southernmost tip of the continent...

Cruise Ship Leaves 8 Passengers Behind in Africa
Cruise Ship Left 8 Behind,
Nightmare Commences
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 6, 2024 6:00 AM CDT

Cruise Ship Left 8 Behind, Nightmare Commences

Norwegian Cruise Line says they were late returning from an excursion

(Newser) - Eight passengers who were left behind when their Norwegian Cruise Line ship departed from the African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe are scrambling to meet back up with the ship and rejoin the cruise. Jill and Jay Campbell of South Carolina tell WPDE and WMBF that...

US Woman's 'Dream Adventure' With Elephants Turns Fatal

Gail Mattson, 79, was killed when a bull elephant flipped a safari vehicle in Zambia

(Newser) - An American tourist on a safari tour of Zambia's Kafue National Park died Saturday when an elephant charged the vehicle carrying her. The woman, whom KSTP identifies as 79-year-old Gail Mattson of Minnesota and Arizona, was staying at Lufupa Camp and had ventured out with five others for a...

Scientists Find 'Super Cool' Way to Spy on Insects
'Super Cool' Mapping
Tracks Down Tiny Invaders
NEW STUDY
Apr 2, 2024 2:11 PM CDT

'Super Cool' Mapping Tracks Down Tiny Invaders

Airborne laser mapping could speed tracking of invasive insects, study finds

(Newser) - Scientists in search of insects can spend 1,000 hours checking roughly 10,000 trees across 40 acres. Or, with a more convenient approach, they can do the same in about an hour. More and more, researchers are turning to remote sensing technology to ease the burden of searching landscapes...

We Talk Ukraine and Gaza, but Not This 'Living Hell'

International community's silence on civil war in Sudan speaks volumes, some note

(Newser) - There's been understandable outrage from all corners over the wars in Gaza and Ukraine , with media covering frantic aid negotiations and threats of famine . But when it comes to the nearly year-old civil war in Sudan, a continent away, there's been relative silence—silence now becoming deafening, according...

This May Be First Nation to Do a 180 on Female Genital Mutilation

Gambia advances bill to repeal its ban

(Newser) - Activists who've been campaigning for years to outlaw female genital mutilation around the world could face a major setback as Gambia risks becoming the first country to reverse a ban on the practice linked to infertility and death. The West African country banned female genital mutilation (FGM) or cutting...

Undersea Cables Fail, Knocking Out Internet Service to Africa

At least a dozen countries are affected by outages

(Newser) - Several subsea cables failed Thursday, operators reported, cutting internet service to west and central Africa. Ivory Coast, for example, was reduced to about 4% connectivity in the morning, according to NetBlocks, a tracker. In Liberia, basic internet service and social media access were unavailable in most of the country, the...

As Wars Rage, This 'Living Nightmare' Is Largely Ignored

Sudan civil war has killed thousands, forced 8M from their homes

(Newser) - With much attention on wars in Europe, the victims of Sudan's civil war are facing death and destruction largely without help. Eleven months after fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group broke out on the streets of the nation's capital,...

Horrific Cases of Femicide Spur Protests Across Africa

Brutal murders in Kenya, Somalia, and Cameroon have sparked protests

(Newser) - Recent acts of femicide and gender-based violence across several African countries—including Kenya, Somalia, and Cameroon—have prompted protests and calls for government action. The details are harrowing, and include beheadings, immolation, and mutilation, with the majority of cases involving intimate partners, the New York Times reports. Women's rights...

Drought Kills at Least 100 Elephants
Drought Kills
at Least 100
Elephants
Dec 19, 2023 12:00 PM CST

Drought Kills at Least 100 Elephants

El Nino blamed for lack of water killing pachyderms in recent weeks in Zimbabwe's largest national park

(Newser) - At least 100 elephants have died in Zimbabwe's largest national park in recent weeks because of drought, their carcasses a grisly sign of what wildlife authorities and conservation groups say is the impact of climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon. Authorities warn that more could die as...

Most French Speakers Don't Live in France

60% of those who use the language are in Africa

(Newser) - The New York Times has a story detailing how the French language is evolving in a relatively fast manner, with the twist being that most of this evolution isn't actually happening in France. The story has some surprising stats on the subject, starting with this one: Most speakers of...

UN Calls Food Crisis in Africa Unprecedented

Most people can't afford a healthy diet, report says

(Newser) - At least three-fourths of Africans can't afford a healthy diet, and a fifth are undernourished due to an "unprecedented food crisis," United Nations agencies said in a report released Thursday with the African Union Commission. The continent's 1.4 billion people are confronting high levels of...

'Mountains' of Plastic Waste Grow Across Africa

New analysis, church leaders warn of harm before negotiations begin on treaty

(Newser) - Africa's plastic waste problem is increasing faster than in any other part of the world, an analysis of data by the charity Tearfund says—with enough plastic being burned or dumped in sub-Saharan Africa every minute to cover a football field. A United Nations conference is being held next...

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