Africa.com Blog

Charles Taylor, Former Liberian Leader, Convicted to a 50-Year Sentence

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:43:10 UTC

Some of history\'s most brutal and twisted murders took place during Sierra Leone\'s lengthy civil war, which lasted from 1991 to 2002. As the former president of neighboring Liberia and a proponent of civil war in Sierra Leone, Charles Taylor was convicted of crimes against humanity and of war crimes.

Ecotourism in Ghana: Undiscovered Kyabobo

Tue, 29 May 2012 18:09:30 UTC

While most travellers already think of Ghana as pretty far off their radars, anyone in Ghana knows it is possible to stray even farther from the beaten path. Located in the northern part of the country’s Volta region, for example, right on the border of Togo, is Kyabobo National Park, one of the more remote places.

Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)’s Hidden Journeys: Dar es Salaam to Johannesburg

Fri, 25 May 2012 16:05:22 UTC

Millions of people fly every year completely unaware of the fascinating parts of the world they fly over. The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) aims to change this with the Hidden Journeys Project.

African Development: So Much More Than Oil

Thu, 24 May 2012 17:23:49 UTC

Sub-Saharan Africa has attracted a growing wave of media attention over the last two years, and with this attention, an inaccurate narrative has formed that has influenced discourse.

Other People’s Money

Wed, 23 May 2012 16:55:01 UTC

If any of you are familiar with the claims and counter-claims that have emanated from the financial crisis that hit Nigerian banks in 2009, this specific tidbit about taking unclaimed dividends seems no different, and in fact hardly stands out from some of the more egregious ones reported in the Nigerian dailies.

African Fashion

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:16:20 UTC

African Youth Journals is a blog written by students currently enrolled in the African Leadership Academy in Honeydew, South Africa. In this post, student Jessica Muganza of Rwanda writes about African fashion and what it will take to make African fashion a global cultural movement.

In Tanzania, What Love Looks Like

Tue, 22 May 2012 15:44:43 UTC

To get to Ndemno’s house and to the Matonyok School Project, we turn north off the single tarmac Moshi road in Arusha and 4-wheel-drive it 20 minutes out of town north towards the foothills of Mt. Meru.

Council on Foreign Relations: The State of Nigeria's Economy

Mon, 21 May 2012 17:28:36 UTC

Originally posted on the website of the Council on Foreign Relations, former ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, writes about Nigeria\'s finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and how the country\'s economy is affected by recent turmoil in the north.

Out of Africa: Trade, Technology, and Knowledge—Part 2, Mobile Wallet and Banking Revolution

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:42:27 UTC

Greater information technology share and investment through regional and South-South relationships is ushering the growth of an information technology revolution in Africa. This burgeoning African information technology revolution is not just limited to cyber cafes, media and online university level courses, but it is also allowing Africans to leap frog in the application and use of mobile phones.

Safari Totems

Thu, 17 May 2012 18:47:40 UTC

Animals have long played a role in mirroring human behavior and personality types. Indeed, every culture has its animal lore, from the Egyptian falcon to the coyote of Native Americans to the ox, dog and rat of the Chinese.

The Mali Refugee Crisis in Mauritania: An Interview with OAEMSD

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:50:21 UTC

Malian exiles have been settled in humanitarian camps in the far southeast of Mauritania. There, drought has produced desert-like conditions of wind, heat, thirst, and epidemics. To take stock of the situation of these refugees, we spoke with the head of a Mauritanian NGO that was the first humanitarian organization to provide assistance to the refugees fleeing northern Mali.

Notes from Tunis: Discovering its Identity Post-Revolution

Wed, 16 May 2012 17:07:10 UTC

Originally posted on the site of the Royal African Society, director Richard Dowden writes from Tunisia on that country\'s development after its energized revolution last year.

Background on Nigeria: How Health Achievements Can Help the Global Black Population

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:00:19 UTC

Each year, about 4,000 black Americans die of blood cancers, and exponentially more die worldwide. The new bone marrow registry and future cord-blood bank in Nigeria will benefit these affected black Americans, the millions of Nigerians that have blood cancers, and more.

Sierra Leone 2012: An Alternative Perspective on War and Child Soldiers in Africa

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:24:53 UTC

The Kony 2012 blitz followed by Charles Taylor’s recent war crimes conviction in the Hague brought me back to time spent in Sierra Leone. Not to build my own dated tale of warlords and child soldiers, but these news items reminded me of the importance of responsible reporting on Africa and remarkable stories of the continent’s audacity in moving forward.

Seun Adebiyi, a Nigerian Helping Cancer Patients Find Blood-Marrow Donors

Mon, 14 May 2012 17:32:47 UTC

On February 24, in Nigeria, the second national bone marrow registry in Africa was released, in part due to the efforts of Seun Adebiyi, a Nigerian-born graduate of Yale Law School. As a carrier of stem cell leukemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma, both of which are lethal blood cancers, Adebiyi struggled to find a bone marrow donor to match his blood type