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Tag: Africa

  • Investing in Africa: The New Land of Opportunity

    Investing in Africa: The New Land of Opportunity

    Did you know that, as recently as 2019, the top five fastest growing economies in the world were in Africa?  It may be surprising, but it’s true that the overall African economy is growing at a rate of 2x faster than the global average, and is the only economy that is expected to grow by double digits in the next 5 years.  The challenges and needs in this region of the world has made it ripe with business and investment opportunities.  Investing in Africa is the latest startup trend.

    The top five areas for growth potential are in the sectors of healthcare, education, finance, energy, and agriculture.  

    Most people in Western society are fully aware of the health crises in Africa, but unfortunately a flood of ads for humanitarian relief has given us a somewhat narrow view of the African healthcare industry.  Africa is home to 16% of the global population and only 2% of the world’s doctors.  This is a devastating ratio, but it is sure to change as the need for progress has created an environment for the growth of healthcare tech and the industry is expected to reach over $37.1 billion by 2024.  

    Education is another area for growth and investment as more sub-Saharan children are finishing primary school than ever before, but 1 out of 5 is still bereft of access to education.  The COVID pandemic of 2020 saw a 97% increase in edtech usage, but just 28 million out of 450+ million children are currently receiving an education.  Education growth could have an astronomical effect on the growth of the African economy. For example, if all 15-year-olds in Ghana received a basic education, the Ghanan economy would grow by 3,800% and the overall South African economy would see an increase of 2,600%.  

    The third core area for growth is finance.  Eighty percent of the African population has access to mobile phones and the online transactions have now surpassed traditional banking. In 2019, mobile transactions in the sub-Saharan region reached $456.3 billion, and African banking revenue is projected to reach $129 billion by 2022.  

    Number four is the energy sector.  It might surprise you to know that many African countries are far more advanced in renewable energy usage than the US and Europe.  For example, Kenya sources 13% of its energy from geothermal and 50% from hydroelectricity.  The UK and the US, on the other hand source only 11% of their energy needs from renewable energy sources. 

    The fifth core area is agriculture.  Sixty percent of the world’s arable land is in Africa, but challenges with infrastructure and food storage have stymied the growth of this valuable sector.  Currently, 12% of African harvests are lost, and sub-Saharan Africa still imports $15 billion in food crops annually. Investments in agricultural infrastructure and inputs could triple the economic growth of this industry.  

    The fact is that Africa is not the place of desperation which many Westerners perceive it to be.  In truth, it is a land brimming with potential and opportunities for growth and investment.  It’s time we re-educate ourselves to the realities of this beautiful continent and thriving economy. Investing in Africa is on the horizon – be a part of the movement today.

    Investing In Africa Infographic
    Via: EmpowerAfrica.com

  • Kristen Bell, Hubby Dax Shepard Lip-Synch Toto’s Song “Africa” While in Africa

    Kristen Bell and hubby Dax Shepard have put a capital “C” on the word cliche. The couple traveled to Africa prior to becoming parents, and while there filmed themselves lip-synching to Toto’s 1982 hit song, “Africa.”

    “This was our last trip before having kids. Our sole objective was to rage hard and honor Toto properly. Hope you enjoy,” the Parenthood star wrote alongside their YouTube video.

    Kristen Bell shared the video via Twitter on Wednesday of this week.

    Since posting the video, it has made the rounds on both the internet and TV. Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard might change careers based on the fan following their music video is swiftly gaining.

    All kidding aside, it’s fun to see that creativity prevails even when famous couples go on vacation.

    In March of 2012, Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell welcomed their first child–a daughter named Lincoln. Baby sister Delta followed in December of 2014.

    What’s your take on Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard’s music video? Should they keep their day jobs–at least for now?

  • Sierra Leone: The Battle Against Ebola Rages On

    More than half of Sierra Leone’s population is under quarantine as the Ebola outbreak continues to cause deaths in the country. The outbreak has claimed more than 1,400 deaths so far, forcing the health ministry to mandate a strict lockdown for hundreds of thousands of citizens in the area.

    The Tonkolili District was the latest area to be sealed shut, allowing no one to leave or enter without official papers from the local government. The country’s efforts to end the outbreak started in September and has now sealed more than one million people inside their respective homes and communities. From the northern part in Bombali to the southern district of Moyamba, residents of the 6 districts under the quarantine are currently struggling with what little support that they are being given.

    The local government is still concerned about individuals who choose to ignore the mandated quarantine. Last week, Aminata Bangura, a fifteen year old teenager died of suspected Ebola. While the rest of her family was told to stay indoors, some members were reportedly ignoring the quarantine, choosing to go about their normal routines like running a local hairdressing business and attending the mosque.

    Godfrey Kamara, a local headmaster who is now an anti-Ebola campaigner, continues to remind his community about the precautions that they need to consider. “I’ve been house to house telling them not to touch bodies, but they still do it,” he said. “It’s not working. When they’re quarantined people should stay around and have security. And they still wash the dead.”

    At Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, Ebola burial teams collect about 60 deceased bodies from their daily routes. They treat every death as a suspicious case even if the person died of an accident or through natural causes. The burial teams were dispatched to collect bodies as some residents are still following traditional funeral rites, which involves washing the dead bodies. It has been reported by BBC that at least 20% of the new cases stemmed from this practice, causing the outbreak to spread further.

    Another problem lies at the lack of doctors and nurses who are working to manage the outbreak. Just last week, Dr. Komba Songu-M’briwa of the Hastings Ebola Treatment Center tested positive for Ebola. He pointed out the poor conditions of the understaffed center where he and his co-workers continued to treat and diagnose patients even with limited supplies.

    The country only had about 130 doctors serving almost 6 million people. They had already lost seven doctors to the deadly outbreak leaving Dr. M’briwa praying that he gets well. “It’s not going to stop me. I am not going to relent,” he said in an interview.

  • Google Asks for Ebola Donations, Will Match 2:1

    If you opened up Google.com today, you may have noticed that Google is now prompting users to donate to the fight against Ebola.

    And for every dollar you donate through Google, the company plans to donate two until a goal of $7.5 million is met ($2.5 million in user donations and $5 million in matching). Google is making a $10 million donation regardless, and CEO Larry Page’s family foundation is making a $15 million contribution. That means, when it’s all said and done, Google will have given $30 million to the fight against the virus.

    According to Google, all donations will be given to a donor fund called Network for Good, who will then distribute the money evenly across four charities – Doctors Without Borders, the International Rescue Committee, Partners in Health, and Save the Children. Google says it’s chosen these four partners because “of their strong track record and existing response.”

    “These organizations are doing remarkable work in very difficult circumstances to help contain this outbreak, and we hope our contribution will help them have an even greater impact … Our hearts go out to everyone whose lives have been touched by this tragedy,” says Page.

    This move follows the one by Facebook, which prompted users to donate to the Ebola fight via a news feed banner. In addition, CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave $25 million of his own money directly to the CDC to help battle the disease in Africa.

    Images via Google

  • Google Wants To Watch You While You Work

    Google revealed that it wants to start going to people’s places of business, and watch them work. It says it wants to learn about how it can help you manage your sites easier.

    Google’s Gary Illyes talked about it in a Google+ update (via Search Engine Land).

    “We are looking for companies, agencies, and website owners willing to let us observe for a couple days (at most) how they are managing their sites’ content and infrastructure,” he said. “We would meet with & observe the developers, designers, content creators, SEOs, and decision makers, we would take notes and ask questions. If your site is managed by an agency, we want to hear about that, too! All this to create internal reports that we’ll use for improving our communication, support, and web-search related products like Webmaster Tools.”

    “This is for everyone! It doesn’t matter if your site is huge or small, we’re interested in all kind of sites,” he adds.

    Actually, it’s not quite for everyone. It’s for businesses in Europe and North Africa. These are the places Google is willing to cover with this initiative at its own cost, at least for now.

    At the end of its visits, Illyes says, Google will be happy to try and answer questions “within reason”.

    I guess that means you can’t expect them to give you any inside information about the algorithm. I wonder if you really have to wait until the end of two days to ask questions at your own business.

    Image via Google+

  • Ebola Travel Ban May Do More Harm Than Good

    Some US lawmakers are calling for a travel ban on people from West African countries most affected by the Ebola virus in the attempt to safeguard Americans from the disease. However, experts are advising against the Ebola travel ban, saying that it would make the disease harder to control in different ways.

    One proponent of the Ebola travel ban is Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, where two nurses have been infected by the virus after treating a patient with Ebola. “Air travel is, in fact, how this disease crosses borders and it’s certainly how it got to Texas in the first place,” said Perry.

    Experts from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claim that the Ebola travel ban could hurt efforts to control the disease in West Africa and prevent an outbreak in the US. “When some commercial flights stop going into those countries, our people are delayed going in, our people are delayed going out… it does not enhance our ability to stop the epidemic,” said Tom Skinner, spokesman for CDC.

    White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Thursday, October 16, that President Barack Obama was not considering an Ebola travel ban. Earnest said that people traveling from West Africa have been subjected to several screenings prior to travel and upon landing in the US.

    “Now, if we were to put in place a travel ban or a visa ban, it would provide a direct incentive for individuals seeking to travel to the United States to go underground and to seek to evade this screening and to not be candid about their travel history in order to enter the country,” said Earnest. He added that this would make it harder for authorities to monitor individuals who could potentially carry the disease and undermine efforts to contain the Ebola virus.

    Although President Ronald Reagan prevented people with HIV/AIDS from traveling to the US in 1989, a ban that was repealed in 2009 by President Obama, the US has not yet imposed a travel ban on people from a certain country due to an epidemic.

  • Chocolate Prices May Soar Due To Ebola Outbreak

    The price of chocolate is predicted to rise with the onset of the year’s biggest candy-consuming holidays: Halloween and Christmas. Because most of the world’s cocoa is produced in West African countries, chocolate production is being affected by the outbreak of the Ebola virus in Liberia and Guinea.

    According to NPR, half of the world’s cocoa, a key ingredient in chocolate, is produced in Ivory Coast and Ghana, which are next door to Liberia and Guinea. Since Ivory Coast has shut its borders to human traffic from the Ebola-affected countries, migrant workers from Liberia and Guinea are unable to cross the border and take part in the harvest season for cocoa, which lasts from October to March.

    Normally, chocolate companies send agronomists during this time of the year to West Africa to count trees and pods and use mathematical modeling to predict the output of cocoa for the year, which sets prices. However, due to the Ebola virus, many of the pod-counters chose not to go to the region this year.

    “The speculators who agree to set prices for raw cocoa don’t know how the Ebola epidemic is going to affect the harvest and production of it,” said Virginia Whetstone, owner of Whetstone Chocolate, in an interview with FOX 31 in Denver.

    The chocolate industry had already been experiencing a decline in supply due to the waning productivity of West African cacao trees in recent years. The spread of the Ebola virus in the region has reportedly put even more pressure on chocolate production.

    The current price of cocoa is at $3,118 per metric ton, but, according to Financial Post, an executive from World Cocoa Foundation recently told reporters in Copenhagen that it could more than double to $6,000 or $8,000 if cocoa farms don’t start producing more. Thus, chocolate companies are reportedly participating in various efforts to stabilize the supply of cocoa to meet the steadily increasing demand for chocolate all over the world.

  • Ebola And Chocolate: Why Do Americans Care More About Sweets Than People?

    On the surface Ebola and chocolate have nothing in common. One causes fear and death while the other brings both happiness and pleasure.

    However, the two are linked in ways the average American didn’t realize until now.

    Did you know that more than three quarters of the world’s cocoa is produced in West Africa?

    This happens to be the SAME area of the continent experiencing a terrible Ebola epidemic.

    Sadly, wealthy nations such as the United States have reportedly been slow to offer any sort of aid in the fight against this deadly disease. It was even revealed that an Ebola vaccine was shelved by American policy makers.

    Were the American people outraged? Not really. At least not until Ebola became a domestic problem.

    The previous indifference of United States citizens may have only served to hurt us as we find ourselves bracing for a possible Ebola epidemic of our own.

    Chocolate factors into our concerns in an entirely different way.

    Accoring to Politico, the dessert food that many U.S. citizens use to comfort themselves could be about to get expensive.

    VERY expensive.

    Especially if Ebola is continued to allowed to ravish Western Africa without much effort or assistance.

    American companies Nestlé, Hershey and Mars have all reportedly responded to pleas by the World Cocoa Foundation to offer support to affected cocoa farmers.

    While the American government has pledged millions of dollars in aid, it seems that the American people have found something that they can care about outside of domestic Ebola fears—The loss of chocolate.

    The very real fear some have attached to losing out on this sweet food or having to pay more says a lot about American citizens.

    And NONE of it is very flattering.

    Are you more concerned about catching Ebola or the potential loss of chocolate?

  • Second Ebola Infected Patient Arrives in Atlanta

    A North Carolina missionary who contracted Ebola while working in Liberia was transported to the United States Tuesday to begin treatment, just days after Dr. Kent Brantly was moved in a similar manner.

    Nancy Writebol, who is affiliated with the North Carolina-based Christian relief groups Samaritan’s Purse and SIM, arrived at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in a private jet converted into an “air ambulance.” Writebol departed from Monrovia, Liberia, riding inside of an Aeromedical Biological Containment System installed inside a modified Gulf Stream jet.

    Writebol was then transported to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta to be quarantined in a special isolation unit constructed at Emory, which was set up in tandem with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Writebol and Brantly are the first confirmed Ebola patients to be treated on U.S. soil, and both were said to have received an experimental dose of a drug called ZMapp, while still in West Africa.

    Three frozen vials of ZMapp were flown to Liberia last week, but the dose was only enough for one person. Brantly initially refused the medication so it could be administered to Writebol, and opted for a blood transfusion from a 14-year-old patient who survived a bout with Ebola, but his condition continued to deteriorate. The doctor said he felt like he was dying at one point while gasping for air, and was given a dose of ZMapp.

    Within hours, Brantly’s breathing improved, and a rash he developed disappeared. He was able to take a shower on his own the following day, and was seen walking into Emory University Hospital when he arrived in Atlanta. Writebol required a stretcher when she arrived at the hospital.

    The transport of Ebola-infected patients into the country has been controversial, as some have feared it might lead to a domestic outbreak. Though, Emory said in a statement, “Emory University Hospital physicians, nurses and staff are highly trained in the specific and unique protocols and procedures necessary to treat and care for this type of patient. The standard, rigorous infection control procedures used at Emory protect the patient, Emory health care workers and the general public.”

    Here is a clip describing precautions taken while medevacing an Ebola patient:

    While the ZMapp medication has shown promise, Emory doctor Bruce S. Ribner points out that supportive care is likely the key component in combating Ebola. “We depend on the body’s defenses to control the virus. We just have to keep the patient alive long enough in order for the body to control this infection.”

    Image via YouTube

  • FIFA World Cup: Is Nigeria The Last Hope For Africa?

    The African continent has yet to produce a World Cup-winning team. Many nations have tried, but all have failed.

    Even worse, most that qualify for the event are eliminated within the groups stage of competition.

    It was a sad fact that even when the games came to South Africa in 2010, the only African nation that made it to the knockout stage was Ghana.

    Ghana was then knocked out after a controversial match against Uruguay.

    Four years later, the pattern appears to be repeating itself.

    Yesterday saw the heart-breaking and absolute last minute elimination of the Ivory Coast due to a late penalty. Cameroon, a team that failed to win any of its three games or even draw, was officially eliminated a week ago.

    Of the three remaining African nations still fighting for a spot in the final 16, Nigeria has the best chance.

    If Nigeria can defeat Argentina, the team will not only qualify for the next stage, but finish at the top of the Group F table.

    Losing will not eliminate the Nigerians, but they must hope that Iran either draws or loses to Bosnia and Herzegovina. If Iran wins with more than 2 goals, Nigeria is out.

    Algeria can also qualify with a win or draw against Russia.

    Meanwhile Ghana’s advancement is dependent on both defeating Portugal and hoping that the United States fails to defeat or draw with Germany.

    Though these nations represent the strongest chances of having an African team in the knockout stage, it’s too soon to say whether or not their chances of qualifying are especially good.

    The Ivory Coast needed a draw or win to advance. At certain times during play, it seemed like they could get either.

    And then everything went badly.

    These teams must take nothing for granted this week, as what stands before them is a last gasp at glory…or a plane ride out of the World Cup.

    Image via YouTube

  • Diamond Embargo On Ivory Coast Lifted By UN Security Council

    The UN Security Council lifted the diamond trade ban against the Ivory Coast on Tuesday and reduced its arms embargo.

    In 2005, the diamond embargo was declared because the stones were being used for funding the rebel group “Forces Nouvelles”. The Ivory Coast government controls the south of the country, while the rebel group controls the north. In 2007, rebel leaders were brought in to the country’s administration as a result of a peace deal. However, the country still remains divided.

    According to UN experts, the ban was not able to stop illicit trafficking of diamonds. The UN also said that the illicit trade of diamonds in the Ivory Coast is valued between $12 million to $23 million per annum. Figures from the European Union show that the country extracts 50,000 to 300,000 carats of diamonds each year.

    In 2002, the rebel group staged a coup against former president Laurent Gbagbo, but the coup failed. In 2010 to 2011, the country was again facing turmoil, which almost resulted in a civil war when President Alassane Ouattara defeated Gbagbo in the elections.

    At present, The Kimberley Process is being used by the Ivory Coast’s diamond trade. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was established in order to prevent conflict diamonds from making their way to the rough diamond market.

    With the easing of the diamond and arms embargo, the UN Security Council will no longer prevent the “importation by any state of all rough diamonds from Cote d’Ivoire” based on the nation’s adherence to The Kimberley Process.

    What is the Kimberley Process?

    The Security Council stated that Ivory Coast’s government should now take the initiative to equip and train their security forces. They also urged the country to hold a Kimberley Process review of their diamond industry, which must be done within 9 months.

    Image via YouTube

  • Ebola Outbreak Confirmed to Have Spread to Liberia

    The World Health Organization (WHO) this week confirmed that an outbreak of Ebola haemorrhaggic fever in Western Africa has entered Liberia. According to the Liberian Ministry of Health, two cases of the Ebola virus have been confirmed in the country. One of the patients confirmed to have the virus, a 35-year-old woman, has died.

    News of a rapidly-spreading ebola outbreak in neighboring Guinea shocked the region last week. As of March 28 there have been a total of 112 confirmed cases of ebola in Guinea this month. Seventy deaths have been attributed to the virus in the country – a shocking 62.5% fatality rate for this outbreak.

    In Liberia health officials are now coordinating with neighboring nations to control and prevent the spread of the virus. The country has also put together a task force to lead its response to the virus. The task force includes partners such as the International Red Cross, the WHO, and UNICEF.

    Healthcare workers in Liberia are receiving training to contain ebola and awareness campaigns are ongoing. The country is also strengthening infection control at Foya Hospital, including extra personal preventive equipment for health workers and supplies for quarantining patients.

    In Guinea two healthcare workers have become ill with suspected cases of ebola. As a response, the WHO is recommending strengthened infection control at Guinea medical facilities.

    The ebola outbreak has also spread to nearby Sierra Leone. That country has confirmed two cases of ebola, and each of those patients has died. All of the patients diagnosed with or suspected to have ebola in both Sierra Leone and Liberia had traveled to Guinea before their illness.

    Despite the worrying cases of ebola, the WHO is not yet recommending travel or trade restrictions for any of the countries affected by the outbreak. Response teams in each of the countries are carrying out assessments and implementing response plans. Close contacts of those diagnosed with ebola are being identified and follow-ups monitoring of hundreds has begun.

  • Ebola Outbreak In Guinea, At Least 59 Dead

    Ebola Outbreak In Guinea, At Least 59 Dead

    An outbreak of the ebola virus has spread to Guinea. According to UNICEF, at least 59 people in Guinea have died from the virus. Reports indicate that this is the first outbreak detected in humans in the South African nation.

    Symptoms of the virus were first noticed last month. These symptoms include fever, vomiting, and diarrhea.

    Overall, there have been 80 cases reported, including the 59 deaths. Most of the people affected by the virus were from prefectures near Liberia and Sierra Leone. However, there were also two deaths reported in Guinea’s capital, Conakry.

    An outbreak, such as the ebola virus, can be devastating for a country with a weak medical infrastructure, UNICEF representative Dr. Mohamed Ag Ayoya stated. UNICEF has been hard at work in order to alert staff and show the locals how to avoid getting the illness.

    According to the Guinean Health Ministry, the virus can spread from objects that belong to the dead, consumption of animal meat from the bushes, and from coming in contact with people who have been infected.

    Dr. Esther Sterk, one of the advisers for Doctors Without Borders, said that they have noticed that most of the people that have died were linked with each other. “We see that there is a transmission chain in families.”

    Guinea has been treating patients free of charge, and Doctors Without Borders has already put up an isolation area in order to prevent the virus from spreading further. Locals have been instructed to report all incidents to authorities, wash their hands, and stay calm amidst the outbreak.

    Medecins Sans Frontieres, a medical charity, has announced that they will be sending 33 tons of equipment and medicines in order to give aid to Guinea.

    Officials have yet to determine how the ebola virus was transmitted to a human, but it most likely resulted from contact with an infected monkey or bat.

    How Does The Ebola Virus Spread?

    Image via YouTube

  • Elephants are Acute Listeners of Human Voices

    The 1967 Disney classic, The Jungle Book, provided the American populace (and unfortunately the Republican party) with one of our most favorite adages: “An elephant never forgets.” Despite championing this particular phrase multiple times throughout the movie, the writers also consistently mock the quotation, turning the elephants into cantankerous old fools. If only the writers knew how correct they were in their initial assessment.

    A new study released by scientists at the University of Sussex in England does indeed support the popular adage. Study author Karen McComb and fellow scientists traveled to Amboseli National Park in Kenya, where hundreds of elephants live alongside human populations, in order to study whether or not elephants have a discerning ear for human voices. The results were overwhelmingly yes.

    In order to test said hypothesis, McComb and researchers recorded two different Kenyan tribes saying the phrase, “”Look over there. A group of elephants is coming.” The two tribes were the Maasai and Kamba. The Maasai are a nomadic tribe who often come into contact with elephants and compete with the animals for resources such as water and grazing lands. On the other hand, the Kamba are a farming tribe who rarely come into contact with the elephants.

    When the elephants heard the recordings of the Maasai men, they reacted defensively in a two to one margin. The adult elephants would gather closer together to protect the calves and would raise their trunks in the air to smell for potential danger. When the elephants heard the recordings of the Kamba men, however, almost no threat response was recorded.

    “We knew elephants could distinguish the Maasai and Kamba by their clothes and smells, but that they can also do so by their voices alone is really interesting,” stated Fritz Vollrath, a zoologist at the University of Oxford.

    “They’re using vocal information from another species – us – and they’re using that to discern threat. That takes really advanced cognitive abilities. … These are subtle differences these elephants are attending to,” study co-author Graeme Shannon reported.

    In order to test the validity of the experiment, the scientists decided to expose the elephants to voices of Maasai and Kamba women and young boys as well. For all of the non adult and male recordings, the elephants had virtually no defensive response.

    The scientists even attempted to trick the elephants by digitally distorting the female voices to make them more masculine and the male voices to turn them more feminine. While the researchers thought their antics clever, the elephants were not deceived.

    “It’s not so much that they can tell male from female voices, but that they tell the two languages apart and are not fooled by digital manipulation of the voice, which suggests that they use different gender cues than we do — or probably do,” says Frans de Waal, an animal behaviorist at Emory University.

    The scientists attribute the ability to distinguish between threatening and non-threatening human voices to an elephant’s excellent memory. Some elephants can live up to 60 years. This, in combination with the fact that elephants have a massive, 10.5 pound brain, helps an elephant remember more things than most other mammals. This fantastic memory is most likely an evolutionary adaptation which “comes from desert-adapted elephants, where the matriarchs remember where reliable water can be found and are able to guide their herds to water over very long distances, and over the span of many years. This is a pretty clear indication that elephants have a great ability to remember details about their spatial environment for a very long time.”

    The study conducted by the scientists at Amboseli National Park corroborates the adage that “An elephant never forgets.” Elephant families led by a matriarch of 42 years or older never fled when hearing the voice of a Maasai boy, but 40 percent of elephant families led by matriarchs younger than 42 years old did flee at the sound of a non-threatening figure. “Even though spearings by Maasai have declined in recent years, it’s still obvious that fear of them is high. This is likely down to younger elephants following the lead of their matriarchs who remember spearings from long ago,” states McComb.

    Moral of the story: Don’t piss an elephant off. It will remember all your distinguishing characteristics.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Nigeria Gay Arrests, Torture and Prison?

    On Monday, Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan signed the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act that criminalizes gay marriage, gay organizations and anyone working with or promoting them. This has lead to a mass arrest of dozens of men who are gay or even suspected gay.

    The bill, which is widely condemned by the international community and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, enforces penalties of 14 years in jail for gay marriage and up to 10 years for membership or encouragement of any gay organizations.

    Four men were first arrested then were tortured until they named others, which then led to an all out “witch hunt” for the named men, according to human rights activists who warned that such persecution will rise under the new Nigerian law.

    It is unknown exactly how many arrests were made in Nigeria’s Bauchi state, and a local law enforcement official denied that anyone was tortured.

    All of this hostility began after an unfounded rumor that the United States had paid gay activists $20 million to promote same-sex marriage in this highly religious and conservative nation.

    The severity of this “witch hunt” can be seen in the actions of the local police officials. The trickery involved in trying to make these arrests saw an officer pretending to be a gay man that joined a group being counseled on AIDS, just to get information and names of those involved who are gay, according to Dorothy Aken’Ova, executive director of Nigeria’s International Center for Reproductive Health and Sexual Rights.

    The police have arrested 38 men to date and are still on the hunt for 168 others, according to Aken’Ova, whose organization is helping provide legal services to the men. The AIDS counselor said he has helped secure bail for some of the 38 detainees. Many of the 168 men being “hunted” have fled the country.

    Shawn Gaylord of Human Rights First, a Washington-based organization, said he was alarmed by the reports of torture and arrests.

    “When discriminatory bills like this are passed, we are always concerned that they set the stage for violence and ill-treatment in society even when they are not enforced,” Gaylord said in a statement. “But the fact that this law is being enforced so quickly and forcefully demonstrates the full extent of Nigeria’s human rights crisis.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Nigeria’s Anti-Gay Bill Becomes Law Thanks To President Goodluck Jonathan

    On Monday it was announced that Nigeria’s president Goodluck Jonathan signed into law a bill that criminalizes “amorous relationships” between same-sex couples, setting the stage for civil rights movement protests.

    “Persons who enter into a same-sex marriage contract or civil union commit an offence and are each liable on conviction to a term of up to 14 years in prison,” the law says.

    The Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, bans membership of gay rights groups, clubs and societies, and was passed by parliament last May but the president delayed signing it into law until Jan. 7 of this year.

    Existing Nigerian federal laws already bans sodomy but the new law presents a much broader crackdown on lesbian and gay activities. Even before passing of the law, same-sex relationships were mainly underground because of the prevalence of anti-gay sentiment and persecution of homosexuals in much of sub-Saharan Africa.

    Many see President Jonathan’s move as largely political. The law is considered popular in Nigeria given the cultural and religious inclinations of its citizens.  The enactment of the law is also likely to help President Jonathan win re-election in 2015. Some Nigerians have criticized the president and questioned his priorities.

    Some analysts view this as an anti-West move as some European and North American countries are largely tolerant of same-sex relationships. Recently, France offered same-sex couples the same rights enjoyed by heterosexuals and President Barrack Obama has in the recent past traversed the African continent urging for gay tolerance.

    Now, Britain and other western countries threatened to cut foreign aid to countries such as Uganda and Malawi that have passed similar legislation. However, they will have little impact over Nigeria because the country’s budget is mostly funded by its oil.

    Local and international groups that fight AIDS and Tuberculosis have warned that the move will jeopardize the fight against AIDS because access to HIV services for gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual people will be severely affected.

    United States, Canada and Britain have condemned the new law and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says it “dangerously restricts freedom of all Nigerians.”

    Image via Wikipedia

  • 10 Countries With The Shortest Life Span

    10 Countries With The Shortest Life Span

    When observing the lifespans of groups of people by country, the statistics can get quite cumbersome. But this study mostly observed socioeconomic factors and diet, the other big factor in lifespan, be it long or short, appears to be the access to good quality medical care and medicine.

    When listing some of the shortest-lived people on our planet, it is important to note that the data was gathered by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) which deciphers similarities in the countries with the shortest life expectancy.

    Here are the 10 countries with the shortest life expectancy, according to the CIA’s 2013 estimates:

    The list is by country, and the number age to which the majority are expected to reach:

    Chad – 49.07
    South Africa – 49.48
    Guinea-Bissau – 49.5
    Swaziland – 50.01
    Afghanistan – 50.11
    Central Africa Republic – 50.9
    Somalia – 51.19
    Zambia – 51.51
    Namibia – 52.03
    Gabon – 52.15

    What is most shocking is that every country listed above, except Afghanistan is in Africa.

    It is startling when you look at the American life expectancy – it is 78.64 years. If you are lucky enough to be born in America and not Africa, you can expect to live up to 30 years longer.

    Thinking about Africa where disease is rampant, it stands to reason why they were the majority on the list, many people have no physician nearby, nor do they have access to medicines or vaccines that treat and prevent diseases such as malaria, cholera, typhoid fever and other such devastating and life robbing diseases.

    Part of the reason these diseases are so prevalent is the lack of access to clean running water, healthy food and water toilets. Insects cause most of these maladies and they are living in some of the worst hygiene conditions in the world.

    Another contributing factor is poverty. World poverty rates in Africa are significantly higher than anywhere else in the world. They are also some of the most malnourished.

    Added to that is the political and military instability in these countries. Civil conflicts and unstable leadership have led to constant fighting in many African countries, lives are taken much too early due to gunfire and other violent acts.

    If you’re living in the United States of America, you should be happy you were born here.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Boko Haram: Priest Kidnapped in Cameroon Set Free

    On Tuesday December 31, the Islamic militia of Boko Haram set free French priest Georges Vandenbeusch following a seven-week captivity.

    He arrived in France Wednesday, greeted by President Francois Hollande at an air base near Paris.

    Members of the radical Islamist group kidnapped the 42-year-old priest November 13 in Cameroon. The armed men then took him to northern Nigeria where he says he stayed  “under a tree for a month and a half.”

    Fortunately, Fr  Vandenbeusch was not harm but still experienced a lack of compassion the group had for other hostages within his environment.

    “The leadership (of Boko Haram) decided to release the priest on compassionate grounds and having benefited from his medical expertise,” a source said within the radical Islamic group.

    However, the French priest denied treating any hostages or rebels of the Islamist group.

    Initially, Fr Vandenbeusch’s abductors demanded money in return for his freedom, which the French government refused. Instead, they asked of his safe return since he holds a significant title of a clergyman.

    Fr Vandenbeusch was released on terms unknown. However, the French government and his captors have denied that his freedom involved a ransom.

    Hollande has stated that the French government terminated a previous policy of paying ransoms for captives. However, the release of previous hostages abducted by Boko Haram has been under suspicion.

    Six other French nationals still remain in captivity in Syria and Mali.

    Since 2009, The Boko Haram Islamic movement has terrorized and killed thousands of Christians. Recently 12 victims were killed in Christian Villages in Northern Nigeria.

    Although the country is predominantly a Muslim state, the group “desires to establish a separate Islamic state in Nigeria’s northern states where it can enact an ultra conservative interpretation of Sharia law.”

    Unfortunately, the Nigerian government struggles to control the violence perpetrated by Boko Haram and their brutal attacks continue daily in an effort to control the Nigerian government.

    Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told BBC News that the French government hopes violence would soon subside within the country.

    “We hope that all forms of violence, hatred and conflict in the tormented regions of Africa be stamped out, as well as elsewhere in the world.”

    Image via Youtube, Euronews

  • White Army Forces in S. Sudan Stand Down, Mostly

    Following more than two weeks of violent conflict that has killed almost 1,000 players and displaced thousands more, the 25,000 man-strong White Army militia has mostly disbanded and returned home, according to a government spokesman for South Sudan.

    Michael Makuei Lueth reported that the White Army, comprised of young men of the Nuer tribe, has been persuaded by Nuer tribal leaders and are beginning to stand down, stating, “They have listened to the reasoning and they have accepted to go back. Not all of them, of course. There are some who are resistant. It’s not clear if they will advance. The number which is left is negligible and they may not be able to proceed.”

    Lueth went on to report that “About 5,000 refused to abandon the march and they have proceeded with their advance on Bor. They then dislodged (government troops) from Mathiang, about 18 miles from Bor.”

    Bor is the capital of the Jonglei State in South Sudan and is a city of much importance. It first started as a city home to Christian missionaries and later became the administrative center for the Dinka tribe, to which current president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, belongs. Bor was also the center of the Second Sudanese Civil War and Bor massacre in 1991, fighting in which the White Army, led by former Vice President of South Sudan Riek Machar, killed an estimated 2,000 Dinkas directly and led to the death of approximately 25,000 more due to famine and displacement.

    While most of the members of the White Army (so named due to the ash the soldiers spread on their body to ward away insects) have decided to stand down, member-states of the United Nations are still worried, citing perpetual ethnic and tribal conflict in Africa as the cause of said concern: “South Sudan does not need another escalation of the crisis involving armed youth, pitching communities against communities. This can end in a vicious cycle of violence,” stated U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary General Hilde Johnson.

    Fighting in South Sudan started on December 15th when soldiers attacked Juba, the nation’s capital. At the time, many blamed former Vice President Riek Machar for the violence. Machar, who was ousted from the government by President Kiir this summer, denied the allegations, but has since retreated from the city in order to lead opposition forces against the government.

    Due to the severity of the violence thus far, and the fragile state of the globe’s newest nation, the UN and the nations of East Africa have called for a cease fire. Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, is leading the charge for Machar to cease hostilities, stating, “We gave Riek Machar four days to respond (to the ceasefire offer) and if he doesn’t we shall have to go for him, all of us.”

    When asked what he meant by “go for him”, Museveni simply responded, “to defeat him”.

    The four day time limit expires today.

    Image via YouTube

  • South Sudan Coup Attempt Has Been Halted

    In 2011, South Sudan became the newest nation on planet Earth, splitting from Sudan after years of brutal civil wars. Since it gained its independence, South Sudan has struggled to implement a strong and effective government, mainly due to the same problems that plague many African nations – inherent political corruption, lack of economic resources, and constant warfare.

    Sunday, South Sudan faced its first official coup attempt in its fledgling existence as soldiers loyal to an opposition force started firing shots near Juba, the country’s capital. South Sudanese Foreign Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin stated that the insurrection began when soldiers raided the armory in barracks near the capital city’s center, leading to a gunfight between the dissenting forces and the South Sudanese military.

    However, the exchange did not last long as the governmental forces were able to push the rebels out of the city: “Your government is in full control of the security situation in Juba. The attackers fled and your forces are pursuing them. I promise you justice will prevail,” President Salva Kiir stated in a television address to the Sudanese people on Monday.

    To ensure the safety of its citizens, though, the government issued a curfew from 6 PM to 6AM.

    This coup attempt comes after a year of internal power-struggles. Former Vice President Riek Machar, the supposed leader of the coup, and many other members of Kiir’s presidential cabinet were ousted in July of this year following reports of in-party conflicts. Since that time, Machar has stated that he would run for president in 2015 and has argued that Kiir’s reign is totalitarian, opining that South Sudan cannot exist “one man’s rule or it cannot tolerate dictatorship.”

    The violence displayed Sunday night in Juba reflects tribal conflict which has existed in the Sudanese area since its inception. President Kiir comes from the majority Dinka tribe in South Sudan, while his rival Machar identifies with the Nuer tribe. These two tribes have been constantly warring throughout their existence, a feud which dates back to 1839 at the latest.

    South Sudan map

    Thus far, reports indicate that 7 people have died and over 100 people have been injured as a result of the coup attempt. Due to the importance of ensuring that South Sudan’s beginnings are not as rocky and violent as its past, the UN has voiced deep concerns over the impending political crisis and issued a statement expressing their wishes for peace: “As the special representative of the secretary general, I urge all parties in the fighting to cease hostilities immediately and exercise restraint,” stated UN Special Representative Hilde Johnson.

    Stability will be crucial for South Sudan as they attempt to move forward as a nation. Oil is the major export of the newly minted country, and it recently faced a 15 month cut-off due to conflict with Sudan. Because of having to sustain itself during a long drought of oil exportation, South Sudan now ranks as one of Africa’s poorest countries. In order to salvage its attempt at forming its own, independent nation, South Sudan needs to reach out to the UN and African Union to quickly regain a sense of peace, or it may just find itself entrenched in decades of civil war once again.

    [Image via Wikimedia Commons]

  • Mozambique Airlines Crash Found in Namibia; 33 Dead

    After delaying the search due to heavy rain Friday afternoon, the wreckage of a Mozambique Airlines flight has been found in Bwabwata National Park, near the borders of Angola and Botswana. “The plane has been completely burnt to ashes and there are no survivors,” stated Willy Bampton, deputy commissioner of the Namibia Police Force.

    On Friday, a Mozambique Airlines Embraer 190 aircraft took off from Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, and was headed toward Luanda, the capital of Angola, when it crashed near the border of Angola and Botswana. “We could see it on our radar, and we could see it was descending very quickly, at a rate of about 100 feet per second. We lost it from our screens at 3,000 feet above sea level,” reported Tobias Günzel, acting director of Namibia’s Civil Aviation Department.

    While one thinks it would not be hard to find a crashed plane, one has to take into account the geography of where the plane crashed. Bwabwata National Park is 2,422 square miles in area and is part of the Tree and Shrub Savannah biome, meaning it is one of the more wooded areas of the African plains. The park is home to diverse wildlife, such as elephants, lions, and wild dogs, and hence carries a low population-density.

    The park is also surrounded by rivers and has no paved roads, making access to the area extremely difficult. Namibian authorities called in helicopters to help with the search on Friday, but had to recall the search due to unfavorable weather conditions.

    Of the 33 people who died in the wreck, 6 were crew, 10 were from Mozambique, 9 were from Angola, 5 were from Portugal, and there was one citizen from each of France, Brazil, and China.

    Embraer, the Brazilian company who manufactures the plane model which crashed, has stated that “… a team of Embraer technicians is preparing to go to the scene of the accident,” in order to investigate the cause of the wreck.

    However, the fault may not lie with the plane manufacturer. In 2012, African airlines accounted for nearly half of the fatalities from Western-manufactured airplanes despite only being responsible for 3% of worldwide air traffic.

    Tony Tyler, the CEO of the International Air Transport Association, has gone on record as stating that “… the overall safety record for Africa remains a problem that we must fix.”

    Hopefully this crash, which resulted in 33 fatalities of people from multiple nations and destroyed part of a national park, will be the incentive Africa needs to improve its airline safety.

    Image via Mozambique Airlines’s Website