Tag: Africa
Chester zoo unveils £28m ‘Africa’ facility – complete with chilly giraffes
Nine-hectare site home to 57 species including rhino, zebras and ostriches in UK’s biggest such development “Although we are trying to replicate Uganda and Kenya we are actually in Cheshire so the weather is slightly different,” admits Chester zoo boss, Jamie Christon, on a fresh and very grey Monday morning. But ignore the chilliness and…
Trump names pro-Israel media activist as US ambassador to South Africa
Leo Brent Bozell III, founder of a conservative media group, is president’s nomination amid rising diplomatic tensions Donald Trump has nominated a conservative, pro-Israel media activist as US ambassador to South Africa, at a time when the relationship between the two countries is at a nadir. Leo Brent Bozell III founded the Media Research Center…
‘My Africa’ field notes: Portraits of hope for Africa’s elephants
Editor’s note: On April 20, Conservation International will release its new virtual reality film, “My Africa,” at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, with a world release on April 30. The film tells the story of a young Samburu woman in Kenya whose community is working to save elephants, reknitting an ancient coexistence between…
Hope for endangered penguins as no-fishing zones agreed off South Africa
Deal will restrict fishing near colonies on Robben Island and Bird Island for 10 years, after long debate between industry and conservationists Efforts to stop the critically endangered African penguin from going extinct took a step forward on Tuesday after South African conservationists and fishing industry groups reached a legal settlement on no-fishing zones around…
Ancient DNA Shows Stone Age Europeans Voyaged by Sea to Africa
Ancient DNA Shows Stone Age Europeans Voyaged by Sea to Africa Roughly 8,000-year-old remains unearthed from present-day Tunisia held a surprise: European hunter-gatherer ancestry By Ewen Callaway & Nature magazine Stone Age people might have crossed the Mediterranean on wooden canoes, navigating from island to island by sight. Join Our Community of Science Lovers! Thousands…
News spotlight: A unique poaching crisis takes root in South Africa
When you think of “wildlife trafficking,” you probably think of exotic animal products — ivory, rhino horns, shark fins. You probably don’t think of succulents. Yet these unique plant species have been at the center of a growing poaching problem. An arid region along South Africa’s western coast — the aptly named Succulent Karoo —…
Drone attacks killing hundreds of civilians across Africa, says report
Calls grow to control military use of unmanned aerial vehicles which, despite claims of precise targeting, are claiming civilian lives Almost 1,000 civilians have been killed and hundreds more injured in military drone attacks across Africa as the proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles continues unchecked on the continent, according to a report. At least 50…
Internet shutdowns at record high in Africa as access ‘weaponised’
More governments seeking to keep millions of people offline amid conflicts, protests and political instability Digital blackouts reached a record high in 2024 in Africa as more governments sought to keep millions of citizens off the internet than in any other period over the last decade. A report released by the internet rights group Access…
US suspends aid to South Africa after Trump order
President’s decree claims white South Africans being unjustly discriminated against and orders end to foreign aid The state department has ordered an immediate pause on most US foreign assistance to South Africa, according to a cable seen by the Guardian, officially implementing a contentious executive order by Donald Trump. The directive, issued on Thursday, implements…
Nearly half of women in Africa will be obese or overweight by 2030 – study
Stigma, lack of treatment and disproportionate rise of the disease in women draws comparisons with HIV epidemic An alarming rise in obesity in Africa has been compared with the HIV epidemic, with stigma and lack of treatment having a disproportionate impact on women. Almost half of women in Africa will be obese or overweight by…
World Food Programme to close office in southern Africa after Trump aid cuts
UN food agency received half its budget from US last year and is accelerating merger plan as a result of funding cuts The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) is closing its southern Africa office in the wake of the Trump administration’s aid cuts. In a statement, a spokesperson said the office in Johannesburg would close…
US shutdown of HIV/Aids funding ‘could lead to 500,000 deaths in South Africa’
USAid cuts to clinics dispensing antiretroviral drugs will be ‘death sentence for mothers and children’, expert warns Sweeping notices of termination of funding have been received by organisations working with HIV and Aids across Africa, with dire predictions of a huge rise in deaths as a result. After the US announced a permanent end to…
‘Trump and Musk are gaslighting’: anti-apartheid artist on how US president and his billionaire ally are attacking South Africa
Ahead of a career retrospective, Sue Williamson tells how the US pair are dragging her country ‘through the mud’ For more than 50 years, Sue Williamson’s art has been shining a light on South Africa’s problems – first to campaign against the apartheid state, and then to question how far the country has progressed in…
Muhsin Hendricks, world’s ‘first openly gay imam’, shot dead in South Africa
Police say motive for killing of Hendricks, who ran a mosque for LGBTQ+ Muslims near Cape Town, is unknown Muhsin Hendricks, considered the world’s “first openly gay imam”, has been shot dead near the southern city of Gqeberha, South African police have said. The imam, who ran a mosque intended as a safe haven for…
Sudan says plan for first Russian naval base in Africa will go ahead
Two countries’ foreign ministers meet in Moscow and agree there are no obstacles to long-delayed plan A plan for Russia to establish its first naval base in Africa will go ahead, Sudan’s foreign minister has confirmed, after years of delays over the Red Sea military port. If the agreement is implemented, Russia would join the…
Trump and Musk Bring Vast Aid Machinery to a Halt in Africa
Trump Administration The collapse of U.S.A.I.D. at the hands of President Trump and Elon Musk is already leaving gaping holes in vital health care and other services that millions of Africans rely on for their survival. By Declan Walsh Reporting from Nairobi, Kenya For decades, sub-Saharan Africa was a singular focus of American foreign aid.…
Trump Orders Halt to Aid to South Africa, Claiming Mistreatment of White Landowners
Trump Administration The president ordered that all foreign assistance to South Africa be halted and said his administration would prioritize the resettling of white “Afrikaner refugees” into the United States. By Michael D. Shear and John Eligon Michael D. Shear reported from Washington, and John Eligon from Johannesburg. President Trump on Friday ordered that all…
Rubio accuses South Africa of ‘anti-Americanism’ and snubs G20 meeting
US secretary of state repeats remarks by Donald Trump about ‘expropriation of private property’ in African nation The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has accused South Africa of “anti-Americanism” and refused to attend a G20 meeting in Johannesburg later this month, as diplomatic ties sour between the two countries under Donald Trump’s administration. Rubio…
Trump says he will cut off funding to South Africa over land ‘confiscations’
Cyril Ramaphosa’s government ‘treating certain classes of people very badly’, says Trump, calling for investigation Donald Trump has claimed South Africa is “confiscating” land and “treating certain classes of people very badly”, announcing he is cutting off all future funding to the country pending an investigation. The US president’s intervention into one of South Africa’s…
Pause on U.S. Funding Spreads Fear of H.I.V. Spike Across Africa
Trump Administration Trump Administration Trump Administration Patients and health care advocates said the abrupt decision to halt U.S. funding for a lifesaving H.I.V. program led to widespread confusion. The backtracking didn’t help. By John Eligon Reporting from Johannesburg As he does every three months, Sibusiso traveled on Wednesday morning to a clinic in the capital…
Lloyd’s Register apologises for its role in trafficking enslaved people from Africa
Founded in 1760 as the Society for the Registry of Shipping by merchants and underwriters who met at Edward Lloyd’s coffee house in Lombard Street in London, the company provided classification for ships. The Wilberforce Institute at the University of Hull published the findings from its research focusing on records from 1764 to 1834. “Some…
Bodies recovered from illegal goldmine in South Africa where many feared dead
Fifteen bodies brought to surface amid claims 109 are dead and between 400 and 800 people still alive and trapped Fifteen bodies have been brought out of an illegal goldmine in South Africa and 44 people have been taken out alive since Monday, after police blocked supplies of food, water and medicine to the workers…
South Africa launches operation at illegal gold mine amid fears many dead
Phone video shared by mining NGO appears to show dozens of wrapped bodies in underground tunnel The South African government has launched a mission to bring to the surface potentially hundreds of people in an illegal mine who last year had supplies of food, water and medicine blocked by police in an attempt to force…
Court ruling on Belgium’s conduct in colonial Africa hailed as turning point
Verdict of crimes against humanity for kidnap of mixed-race children could pave way for wider justice, activists say A historic court ruling that found Belgium guilty of crimes against humanity during its colonial rule of central Africa has been hailed as a turning point that could pave the way for compensation and other forms of…
South Africa police find 26 naked Ethiopians held by suspected traffickers
Three people arrested after group escapes Johannesburg house by breaking a window and burglar bar South African police have rescued 26 Ethiopians from a suspected human trafficking ring in Johannesburg after the group broke a window and burglar bar to escape from a house where they were being held naked. Three people were arrested on…
Baby born on migrant boat crossing from Africa to Canary Islands
A baby was born on a crowded migrant dinghy which travelled from Africa to the Canary Islands this week, Spanish coast guards say. They have published a picture of the baby boy who was rescued on alongside his mother and scores of other migrants. The crowded inflatable raft was first spotted on 6 January off…
Baby born on crowded small boat crossing from Africa to Canary Islands
The boy and his mother as well as dozens of others were rescued off the coast of Lanzarote, Spain A baby boy has been born on a small, crowded boat carrying 60 people on the deadly Atlantic migration route from Africa to the Canary Islands. The boat was spotted off the coast of Lanzarote on…
In Africa, Danger Slithers Through Homes and Fields
Venomous snakes bite millions of people each year, killing at least 120,000. Many of them are poor people in rural areas of Africa without easy access to treatment. Venomous snakes bite millions of people each year, killing at least 120,000. Many of them are poor people in rural areas of Africa without easy access to…
The Nigerian watch-lover lost in time
Ticking is the predominant sound inside Bala Muhammad’s tiny watch-repair shop, tucked away on a bustling street in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna. It is like a time capsule from a different era with numerous clocks hanging on the wall and small tables at the entrance full of his tools and watches in various…