Wanderlust

Tag: africa

  • US-Africa: Bolton unveils plan to counter Russia and China influence

    Vladimir Putin and John Bolton in Moscow in October 2018 Symbol copyright Reuters Symbol caption John Bolton met Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in October

    The United States has accused China and Russia of using “opaque” and “corrupt” practices to amplify their influence in Africa.

    US National Safety Adviser John Bolton said the two international locations had been “deliberately and aggressively” attempting to acquire an financial merit over the united states on the continent.

    He stated the Trump management’s new strategy for Africa may take care of business and countering terrorism.

    He warned the united states may no longer fund “unproductive” peacekeeping efforts.

    “Beneath our new means, every choice we make, every policy we pursue, and each buck of aid we spend will further US priorities within the area,” he said in a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington.

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    He accused China of the usage of “bribes, opaque agreements and the strategic use of debt to carry states in Africa captive to Beijing’s needs and calls for”.

    He highlighted China’s influence in Djibouti, which he mentioned used to be not just having a direct affect on the united states’s military base there but may soon shift the steadiness of trading energy in the area towards the east.

    Russia, he mentioned, was once trying to build up its influence in Africa via advancing “its political and financial relationships with little regard for the rule of law or responsible and clear governance”.

    He stated Russia was proceeding to “promote palms and effort in trade for votes in the United Nations” and extracting “natural resources from the region for its own receive advantages”.

    The BBC’s Anne Soy says Mr Bolton’s speech may cause disquiet amongst Africans already concerned that their continent is getting used as a platform to strengthen the time table of world players.

    The United States technique may be considered through some Africans in the course of the related lens the Trump administration is the use of to evaluate China and Russia’s intentions in Africa, she notes.

  • Why India’s sanitation obstacle wishes greater than bathrooms

    Indian residents arrive to defecate in an open field in a village in the Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh. Image copyright AFP Image caption Greater Than 500 million Indians defecate in the open

    While Top Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech, vowed to do away with open defecation, India took realize.

    finally, it was once odd for a prime minister to use the bully pulpit in India to exhort folks to end this appalling follow and construct more toilets.

    A incredible 70% of Indians dwelling in villages – or some 550 million people – defecate in the open. Even THIRTEEN% of urban households achieve this. Open defecation maintains to be high despite a long time of sustained financial expansion – and despite the obvious and obvious well being hazards.

    The scenario is so bad that open defecation is extra common in India than in that are poorer international locations comparable to Bangladesh, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Burundi and Rwanda.

    However building bogs won’t be sufficient to finish open defecation in India, a brand new examine has discovered.

    Image copyright AFP Symbol caption India needs a big campaign on bathroom use

    “Construction bathrooms is not sufficient. What you need is a common motivation and information campaign,” says Dr Bindeshwar Pathak of Sulabh, a non-profit supplier which has constructed 1.3 million household bogs in villages.

    MP and creator Shashi Tharoor says Indians even have a cultural downside while it comes to sanitation: “we’re a country filled with people who reside in immaculate houses where we bathe twice an afternoon, however think not anything of littering public areas, spitting on partitions, dumping garbage within the open and urinating and defecating in public, as a result of those areas don’t seem to be ‘ours’.”

    So how do you advertise behavioural and cultural modification?

    India, researchers say, “wishes a massive campaign to change sanitation preferences” and advertise toilets by means of linking sanitation behaviour with health. one in every of the techniques it may well be done is by elevating a military of sanitation staff and campaigners in the villages to spread the message.

    Punishment too can help, is fairly: In a component of Haryana the place Sulabh has constructed ONE HUNDRED household bathrooms a village council leader fines other folks stuck defecating in the open.

    Resourceful designs can also help: Sulabh has designed an open roof toilet to incentivise males who feel claustrophobic in the confines of a rest room, although it isn’t clear how this may occasionally work in bitter winters or monsoons.

    Women might be able to be persuaded to help with training efforts – studies display that they are most probably to use toilets more than the men.

    “i do know of women in villages who not sleep all night time to take their daughters to defecate out of doors,” says Dr Pathak.

    Mr Modi has introduced plans to construct more than 100 million bathrooms within the united states of america to finish a shameful apply. But many consider the money is not going to be well spent unless it is accompanied by way of a big consciousness marketing campaign, involving the federal government, non-benefit teams and electorate.

  • Italian deputy PM Salvini confronted over girls’ picture

    Salvini looking curious Symbol copyright Getty Photographs Symbol caption Mr Salvini is each Italy’s interior and deputy high minister

    Italy’s populist deputy PM Matteo Salvini has been confronted after he shared an image of three young feminine protesters on Facebook.

    Former parliamentary speaker Laura Boldrini demanded that Mr Salvini dispose of the publish.

    She asked him how he could “divulge the three underage ladies” to grievance and abusive feedback from his supporters.

    The girls have been at a “No Salvini day” protest within the city of Milan earlier this month.

    Mr Salvini’s proper-wing and anti-immigration League party is in a coalition executive with the populist 5 Megastar celebration.

    Within The video, Mr Salvini defends his choice to criticise the protesters, stated by Italian media to be minors.

    He issues out that they have been holding placards relating to the Piazzale Loreto, the positioning where the body of Italy’s International Struggle Two dictator Benito Mussolini was put on show in April 1945.

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    Ms Boldrini tells Mr Salvini that she disagrees with the message, however urges him to be “accountable” after the young protestors had been topic to criticism and abuse on social media – with a few of the extra excessive feedback calling for them to “soak up prostitution” or “be raped”.

    This prompted others to speak up of their defence, with one commenter asking if Mr Salvini used to be conscious about the feedback on his post.

    “Do you fully grasp what your voters write approximately these women?” Rosa Pascale from the town of Ragusa in Sicily wrote. “As a father, they do not bother you? Don’t Seem To Be you involved approximately what could happen to them?”

    Ms Boldrini has taken the issue to parliament, asking Mr Salvini to a minimum of delete the comments from the publish, if now not the image itself.

    Mr Salvini and Ms Boldrini have clashed earlier than, with the previous parliament speaker incessantly criticising Mr Salvini’s policies.

    In 2016 Mr Salvini when put next Ms Boldrini to an inflatable sex doll at a Northern League birthday party rally, Ansa information company mentioned.

    By Tom Gerken & Mauro Galluzzo

  • Uganda birthday party boat capsizes on Lake Victoria, killing 29

    Symbol copyright Reuters Image caption Saturday’s coincidence occurred off Uganda’s Mukono district, near Kampala

    At Least 29 individuals are now known to have died after a cruise boat sporting party revellers capsized on Lake Victoria, Ugandan police say.

    The vessel used to be carrying close to ONE HUNDRED people whilst it sank on Saturday near Uganda’s capital, Kampala.

    Ugandan media named a bunch of well-identified other folks mentioned to be at the boat, including that the prince of a standard kingdom had survived.

    Lake Victoria sees regular accidents, regularly regarding overcrowded vessels.

    Scores of people died when a ferry sank on the lake off Tanzania in September.

    Image copyright Reuters

    Cries from the coastline

    The BBC’s Catherine Byaruhanga, at the scene

    The families and buddies of a few of the people involved accumulated through the shoreline. They sat below timber, looking through the twine fence and each time a body was once pulled out of the water, there were screams and cries as some folks acknowledged their liked ones.

    On the grass some non-public pieces had been laid out – footwear, sweaters, wallets, keys – anything else that could be used to identify the sufferers. Overhead the police deployed a helicopter to assist search for extra bodies that would have washed up by way of the shoreline – however they’ve given up hope that they are going to find any further survivors.

    Among those rescued was once Prince Daudi Kintu Wasajja, a brother of the king of Uganda’s biggest conventional kingdom, Buganda.

    Ugandan media stated musical artist Iryn Namubiru also survived.

    A choice of other fashionable artists and socialites have been believed to be on board.

    The boat was reportedly employed out for weekend parties.

    Many of these on board had no lifejackets.

    Local officers said small fishing boats that came to the rescue additionally was overloaded and sank.

    Five things about Lake Victoria

    Image copyright AFP With a floor house greater than Switzerland, Lake Victoria is the world’s second-largest lake and the most important in Africa Shared through Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, some 30 million people rely on its resources Challenges come with air pollution and falling water levels – biodiversity in Lake Victoria has dropped via 50% for the reason that nineteen eighties English colonialist John Hanning Speke named it after Britain’s Queen Victoria whilst he travelled there in 1858 Some have known as for the lake’s title to be changed – proposals include its Luganda-language identify Nalubaale, and Lake Jumuiya which means “togetherness” in Swahili

  • Nigeria Metele assault: President Buhari speaks of deep surprise

    Symbol copyright Reuters Image caption Muhammadu Buhari was once elected on a promise to defeat militant group Boko Haram

    Nigeria’s leader has vowed to close the “loopholes” which allowed militants to reportedly kill dozens of infantrymen at a base in north-jap Borno state.

    President Muhammadu Buhari addressed final Sunday’s assault publicly after the military stated it had taken place.

    It were reported that a minimum of 40 infantrymen died whilst an Islamist militant workforce focused the base in Metele.

    However the military refused to confirm the reviews till Friday, when they placed out a unlock disputing the dying toll.

    The military did not supply a special figure.

    But whilst the military has retaken most of the territory the militants as soon as managed, they are nonetheless able to perform fatal attacks.

    In an announcement, released on Friday night time, the army admits that it’s operating in “making an attempt times”, that is a unprecedented if veiled admission that the army is experiencing critical setbacks in the combat towards the jihadists, says BBC Africa editor Will Ross.

    On Monday, a Boko Haram faction unswerving to the Islamic State group, referred to as the Islamic State West Africa Province, mentioned it had carried out the assault and placed the dying toll at a minimum of 40.

    President Buhari’s political opponents in the Senate stated FORTY FOUR infantrymen had died.

  • Nigeria admits soldiers had been killed in Metele ‘terror attack’

    Map showing location of Borno state

    Nigeria’s army has said for the primary time that infantrymen have been killed in a militant assault ultimate Sunday on a base in Borno state, within the north-east.

    It had been stated that at least 40 squaddies died when an Islamist militant team focused the base in Metele.

    The military disputes that demise toll however has now not given its personal figure.

    With just three months to move to presidential elections, the government are willing to turn they have the protection scenario beneath control.

    President Muhammadu Buhari, who is operating for a second time period, got here to power in 2015 after promising to defeat Boko Haram militants.

    The insurgents, who’ve brought about havoc in Nigeria through a wave of attacks, are fighting to overthrow the federal government and create an Islamic state.

    ‘Trying occasions’

    While the military has retaken such a lot of the territory the militants once managed, they are nonetheless able to perform deadly attacks.

    In a press release, released on Friday evening, the army admits that it’s operating in “trying instances”, that is an extraordinary if veiled admission that the military is experiencing severe setbacks within the struggle in opposition to the jihadists, says BBC Africa editor Will Ross.

    It introduced that “false casualty figures” and the sharing of faulty movies boost the “propaganda motive of the terrorists”.

    Reports of the deaths on the camp vary.

    Reuters information company quoted an army officer as pronouncing in advance this week: “The insurgents took us unawares. We lost approximately ONE HUNDRED soldiers. it is a huge loss.”

    On Monday, a Boko Haram faction dependable to the Islamic State staff, known as the Islamic State West Africa Province, said it had performed the attack and positioned the dying toll at at least 40.

    President Buhari’s political fighters within the Senate mentioned FORTY FOUR soldiers had died.

  • The village that’s eradicated FGM

    Video THREE:18 The village that is eliminated FGM

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  • Kofi Annan’s funeral: World leaders bid farewell to ex-UN chief

    Ashanti chiefs join local chiefs, politicians and extended family members to pay their respects to Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat and former Secretary General of United Nations who died on August 18 at the age of 80 after a short illness, at the entrance of Accra International Conference Centre in Accra on September 12, 2018 Image copyright AFP Image caption Funeral ceremonies in Ghana are usually elaborate affairs

    World leaders and royalty have paid their respects to one of Africa’s most famous diplomats, Kofi Annan, at his funeral in his home country of Ghana.

    It is the climax of three days of mourning which saw thousands of Ghanaians file past his coffin as it lay in state in the capital, Accra.

    Annan died on 18 August in Switzerland at the age of 80.

    He was UN secretary-general from 1997 to 2006, the first black African to hold the world’s top diplomatic post.

    He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 for helping to revitalise the international body, during a period that coincided with the Iraq War and the HIV/Aids pandemic.

    Africa Live: More updates on funeral The human side of a UN chief The lessons Annan learnt in boarding school Militaries guard the coffin of Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat and former Secretary General of United Nations who died on August 18 at the age of 80 after a short illness, at the Accra International Conference Centre in Accra ahead of his funeral on September 12, 2018. Image copyright AFP Image caption Mr Annan’s body lay in state after it was brought from Switzerland

    Speaking at the funeral, current UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said Annan was an exceptional leader who saw the UN as a force for good.

    “As we face the headwinds of our troubled and turbulent times, let us always be inspired by the legacy of Kofi Annan,” Mr Guterres said.

    “Our world needs it now more than ever,” he added.

    Presentational grey line

    ‘Irresistible aura’

    By Mayeni Jones, BBC News, Accra

    Media playback is unsupported on your device

    Media captionBBC Africa looks back at the career of the former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan.

    Mourners in traditional black and red attire filled the main hall of the Accra Conference Centre, which sits about 4,000 people. More are watching proceedings on a giant screen in an auditorium just outside the hall.

    There have been hymns and a performance by soprano and human rights campaigner Barbara Hendricks.

    Annan’s nephew Kojo Amoo-Gottfried read a eulogy, describing how he had led a hunger strike in his secondary school to protest against the quality of food in the dining hall.

    There were also a moving tribute by his wife, Swedish lawyer and artist Nane Maria Annan. She described how her husband was always excited to return home, and thanked Ghana for giving the world such an extraordinary man.

    She said her husband had an irresistible aura of radiant warmth.

    “His legacy would live on through his foundation and through all of us,” she concluded.

    Presentational grey line A boy dances as drummers in traditional dress perform at the Accra International Conference centre where the body of the late Kofi Annan has been laid in state in Accra, Ghana, 11 September 2018 Image copyright EPA Image caption Drumming echoed through the funeral venue as Ghanaians celebrated Mr Annan’s life

    The former queen of the Netherlands, Princess Beatrix, and her daughter-in-law Princess Mabel, who were close friends of Annan, were among the mourners.

    The king of Ghana’s Asante people, Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II, awarded Annan the title Busumuru in 2012 to honour his role as an international diplomat.

    Busumuru is one of the swords attached to the monarch’s Golden Stool, or throne.

    Paramount chiefs' magnificent ceremonial umbrellas at Annan's funeral Image copyright Ayo Bello/BBC Image caption Ghana’s traditional rulers came with magnificent ceremonial umbrellas to pay their respects

    The Anglican bishop of Annan’s home city of Kumasi in central Ghana, the Most Reverend Daniel Sarfo, said: “Today history is being made in Ghana. One of our illustrious sons is lying here.

    “But we are grateful that God used him over the years to work for humanity, for peace. Today, as he lies here, he has finished his work.”

    Local chiefs, politicians and extended family members wait to pay their respects to Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat and former Secretary General of United Nations who died on August 18 at the age of 80 after a short illness, at the entrance of Accra International Conference Centre in Accra on September 12, 2018. Image copyright AFP Image caption Ghanaians were extremely proud of Mr Annan’s achievements

    All pictures subject to copyright

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  • ‘Oldest known drawing’ found on tiny rock in South Africa

    The oldest-known drawing, painted in ochre pigment on a small stone Image copyright Reuters Image caption The drawing dates back 73,000 years

    Scientists say they have discovered humanity’s oldest known drawing on a small fragment of rock in South Africa.

    The drawing is about 73,000 years old, and shows cross-hatch lines sketched onto stone with red ochre pigment.

    Scientists discovered the small fragment of the drawing – which some say looks a bit like a hashtag – in Blombos Cave on the southern coast.

    The find is “a prime indicator of modern cognition” in our species, the report says.

    While scientists have found older engravings around the world, research published on Wednesday in the journal Nature says the lines on this stone mark the first abstract drawing.

    Image copyright Reuters Image caption Scientists found the stone fragment in Blombos Cave, 300 kilometres (185 miles) east of Cape Town

    Humanity has used ochre, a clay earth pigment, for at least 285,000 years.

    The drawing was “probably more complex” in its entirety, archaeologist Christopher Henshilwood told Reuters.

    “The abrupt termination of all lines on the fragment edges indicates that the pattern originally extended over a larger surface,” he said.

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    Mr Henshilwood works at Norway’s University of Bergen and South Africa’s University of the Witwatersrand and led the research into the drawing.

    He told Reuters that while the team would be “hesitant to call it art”, it almost definitely had “some meaning to the maker”.

    There have been numerous other artefacts found in Blombos Cave, 300 kilometres (185 miles) east of Cape Town, including beads covered in red ochre, engraved ochre fragments, and a paint-making kit dating back around 100,000 years.

    Modern man, known as homo sapiens, is first known to have appeared more than 315,000 years ago in what is now Africa.

  • Migrant trouble: Ratings drown off Libyan coast

    Migrants are seen in a rubber dinghy as they are rescued by Libyan coast guards off the coast of Libya, 15 January 2015 Image copyright Reuters Image caption Over 1,500 migrants have died crossing the Mediterranean to this point this yr

    more than ONE HUNDRED migrants died in a shipwreck off the Libyan sea coast earlier this month, an help agency says.

    According to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) two rubber boats set off on 1 September, however one in all the vessels deflated and sank.

    The 276 survivors had been ultimately taken to the Libyan port town of Khoms, round ONE HUNDRED km (SIXTY TWO miles) to the south-east of the capital Tripoli.

    MSF says the group is now being held in “arbitrary detention”.

    The survivors, together with pregnant ladies, kids and infants, were treated by means of MSF for pneumonia or burns from leaked fuel.

    Why is Libya so lawless? How Libya holds the key to solving Europe’s migration problem ‘Used as a slave’ in a Libyan detention centre

    Over 1,500 migrants have died whilst trying to cross the Mediterranean up to now this year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

    Many more have been rescued, although Italy, a prime destination for migrants traveling from Libya, has just lately started to refuse access to migrant ships.

    Concerns remain for folks who are lower back to Libya through the country’s Coast Shield, with reviews rising late closing yr of sub-Saharan African migrants being abducted for ransom or sold as slaves within the northern African country.

    Libya is still volatile for the reason that overthrow of lengthy-time period chief Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

    Hundreds of migrants held in detention had to be moved after deadly clashes broke out within the Tripoli in late August, even as gunmen also attacked the National Oil Supplier on 10 September.