Topic: Africa

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Africa Monitor Why is Africa's healthcare so far behind the rest of the world?

As a continent, Africa won't achieve most of its health-related Millennium Development Goals. Cash and access continue to be major impediments to healthcare in the region.
A 'novel' idea for spreading literature in Africa: The cellphone

Publishers across the continent are increasingly targeting readers with mobile phone apps and other technologies that are far cheaper than either e-readers or traditional books.
Energy Voices Genel Energy capitalizes on Kurdistan, Africa oil finds

New and increased oil production in Northern Iraq and Africa has come as good news to Genel Energy. The latest feather in its cap is the securing of a rig contract for offshore drilling in its Africa portfolio.
Africa Monitor UK axes aid to South Africa, says it's time for partnership of equals

The UK will eliminate all aid to South Africa by 2015, the government announced this week. But some say Britain isn't done paying for history.
Donors pledge cash to Somalia to rein in terrorist threat

At a conference in London, international donors said they'd give $350 million to Somalia's new government. Most of the money would go toward beefing up the feeble security sector.
Terrorism & Security Attack in Nigeria underscores strength of Islamist militant group

A deadly and well-coordinated attack by Boko Haram on a military compound and prison in northern Nigeria this week follows 'unprecedented' April attack that killed some 200 people.
Change Agent Chris Bradshaw ships books to Africa to help make the impossible possible

The African Library Project has sent 1 million books overseas and built 1,000 libraries in nine different countries.
Global News Blog Good Reads: Oil's future, wealth in Africa, 'Occupy' failure, progress in Mexico, and the Tsarnaevs

This week’s round-up of Good Reads includes the question "What if we never run out of oil?", a profile of African wealth divides, the 'Occupy Wall Street' movement's failure to leave a lasting imprint, and a profile of the Tsarnaev family.
Stir It Up! Easy as, well, mango banana bread

Mangoes, in season April through June, are at their peak right now. Ripe mango and bananas, chopped walnuts, and vanilla create a flavorful, not-too-sweet dessert (or breakfast) bread. Substituting canola oil for butter lightens it up.
Opinion In Africa, the best 'charity' is aid for business

The traditional approach to solving Africa’s problems through aid has created a cycle of dependency. A better approach is to use donor subsidies to fund private, for-profit ventures. Those ventures create systemic and sustainable change in the community.
Change Agent Poverty-fighting 'elephant' boosts farmers in India

Hardy 'elephant' or Napier grass has proved to be a cheap and nutritious fodder for livestock in poor and drought-prone areas of India.
Decoder Wire Newest 'Most Wanted Terrorist': Should Assata Shakur make the list?

Fugitive Assata Shakur is the first woman named to FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list. A member of a black militant group, she was convicted of the 1973 murder of a New Jersey trooper. But some say the 'terrorist' label doesn't stick.
In Italy, racist taunts for footballers and ministers alike

The appointment of Italy's first black government minister has brought racist sentiment to the surface.
In time of trans-Atlantic austerity, US expands military presence in Spain

With its already small defense budget hit hard by the economic crisis Spain is leasing several bases to the US in exchange for access to better technology, intelligence, and training.
Change Agent Protecting land rights using Wikipedia-style maps

Building data bases of land ownership, Wikipedia-style, would be a cheap and easy way for poor, rural communities to compile a record of property rights and land use, reducing corruption and helping to lessen illegal land grabs.
Was Africa the motherland of dinosaur predecessors?

The ancestors of dinosaurs might have established themselves in present-day Tanzania and Zambia, suggest newly discovered fossils.
Poll shows how US Muslims are like Protestants – and how they're not

A worldwide Pew poll of Muslims charts opinions on issues from women's rights to which religion is the one true faith, and details how US Muslims fit into the American matrix.
Opinion Why civilian courts are best for terror trials, especially Boston bombing suspect

As more than 1,000 terrorism trials over the last decade show, the federal court system is well equipped to handle terrorism cases like that of Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. His trial may also help harmonize US counterterrorism efforts with those of its allies.
Blue helmet drones? UN prepares to send drones over Africa.

High-tech, unarmed drones in Central and West African states can track guerrillas and swing the intelligence battle; UN chief Ban Ki-moon favors the idea.
Global News Blog Switzerland shuts the door on EU migrants: A new 'us vs. them' in Europe?

News that Switzerland is capping residence permits for Western Europeans reached the Monitor's Europe bureau chief as she was having her own intolerable immigration experience.
Peacekeeping force for unsettled Mali gets unanimous UN vote

Resolution 2100 has French troops replaced by blue helmets and at least half the UN force will be from Africa. Al Qaeda-linked militants are still fighting in Mali's northern mountains.
Decoder Wire George W. Bush on the rebound? Nothing like a presidential library to help. (+video)

George W. Bush, his approval rating already on the rebound, opens his new presidential library to good reviews, and with all four other living presidents in attendance.
Ghana is rising, but so are its dump-yards of cast-off appliances

As Ghana's economy booms, its consumers no longer want used appliances shipped in from the West. Now that 'e-waste' is filling dumps and causing environmental woes.
Baby monkey: 'Big Bang' TV show supplies his name

Baby monkey, Big Bang: A new baby monkey at the Columbus zoo has been named after Dr. Sheldon Cooper of 'The Big Bang Theory.' No word yet how the cast of 'The Big Bang Theory' feels about the honor.
Ford's $1.6 billion earnings beat expectations

Ford says growth in US and China is making up for declines in Europe and South America. Ford quarterly revenue rises 10 percent and net income goes up 15 percent.