By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – A fast-moving fire that swept Brazil’s National Museum on September 2 incinerated priceless objects and reduced hundreds of African antiquities to ash, museum official are now saying. The museum’s permanent African exhibit was named Kumbukumbu – a Swahili word for the memory of people, objects […]
African Critics Warn of Dark Side to China’s ‘Charitable’ Loans
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – There are two sides to every coin and two widely opposing views on China’s offer of generous loans and grants to African countries announced at the recent China-Africa Cooperation Forum in Beijing. At the conference, with representatives from 53 of 54 African countries, sky-high numbers […]
South Africa Faced with Rising Suicides among Young and Old
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – South Africa’s rising suicide rate was in the spotlight as the World Health Organization marked World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10. 450 men take their lives every month with four out of five deaths being the result of suicide, according to the Men’s Foundation […]
Ugandan Leader Tarnished by Torture of Reggae Star Bobi Wine
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | KAMPALA (IDN) – Images of a popular reggae music star in a wheel chair holding crutches have raised questions of whether Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni ordered the arrest and torture of the star-turned-parliamentarian, Bobi Wine, who attended a rally of the opposition in the town of […]
Conference Comes to the Aid of Drought-Stricken, Boko Haram Terrorised Lake Chad Region
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN (IDN) – Foreign Minister Heiko Maas of Europe’s powerhouse Germany, which joins the UN Security Council next January as a non-permanent member for 2019-2020, has pledged 100 million Euros (116 million USD) in emergency aid until 2020 to lessen the sufferings of over 10 million people in Africa’s crisis-ridden Lake Chad […]
Kenya Signs Deal with U.S. to Finance Wind Power
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) – Kenya has signed agreements with a U.S. wind energy company, providing a major boost for wind power and food security. President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya said the ‘Big Four agenda’ projects – boosting manufacturing industry, promoting food security, providing affordable housing and universal healthcare coverage […]
Settlers Face Eviction in Kenya as Gov’t Plan to Save Trees
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | NAIROBI (IDN) – Some 40,000 settlers in the Maasai Mau forest in Kenya face imminent eviction by the Kenyan government which says it is protecting the forest in the name of conservation. Deputy President William Ruto said those who encroached on the forest should be flushed […]
Southern African Governments Pressed for Land Reform
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – The day of reckoning is arriving in Southern Africa for the hundreds of thousands of blacks whose lands were taken forcibly by white settlers – a crime that goes unpunished despite promises for land reform year after year. Pressure is growing on governments to take […]
A Glimmer of Hope for Zanzibar Seaweed Farmers
By Kizito Makoye PAJE, Zanzibar (IDN) – As the morning breeze sweeps Mwanamkasi Jumbe wade through knee-deep water, her gown flapping in the wind as she drags a pile of seaweed seedlings to her farm before it is too hot. Armed with a bundle of sticks, she hangs pieces of fresh seaweed haphazardly hooked on […]
Mozambique Imposing Hefty Fees on Local and Foreign Media
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Press freedom in Mozambique just got a lot less free. Under a new government decree, local and foreign journalists must now pony up thousands of dollars for the right to report in this Southern African country. The little dribble of news about Mozambique in the […]