Ethiopia is in mourning today after news of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s death spread across the country. Few details about Prime Minister Meles’ death have been released, but a spokesman for the country said the 57-year-old leader died abroad after suffering from a “sudden infection.” Ethiopia’s Council of Ministers shed little light on Meles’ death in a statement:…
President Jacob Zuma called yesterday’s violent clash between miners and police in South Africa “tragic” and announced that his administration will be investigating the events. Yesterday’s violent confrontation at the Lonmin Marikana platinum mine, nearly 60 miles from Johannesburg, came after a week of contentious protesting. During the riot, 34 people were killed and at…
Helen Kinuthia will attempt to do something few have done before: climb Mount Everest. The Kenyan climber recently beat out 150 other competitors to earn a spot scaling Everest for a charity climbing expedition in 2014. Kinuthia won her spot by climbing Mt. Kenya, Africa’s second-tallest mountain. Jezebel gives more details on Kinuthia’s historic attempt:…
During Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s seven-nation tour of Africa to try to convince our African allies that the U.S. would be a better trading partner than China, South African foreign minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane threw a dinner in her honor. During the celebration, Sec. Clinton danced along side singer Judith Sephuma, showing she isn’t afraid…
Ghana’s third president John Evans Fifii Atta Mills, Ph.D., died Tuesday afternoon in an Accra hospital after suffering from an unknown illness. According to Reuters, the president’s office sent a statement to the media confirming his passing. “It is with a heavy heart … that we announce the sudden and untimely death of the president…
Africa is on the rise and women on the continent are poised to be among Africa’s leaders. Recently, South Africa’s Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma narrowly beat incumbent African Union Chairman Jean Ping to take over leadership of the collective. Although voting has been contentious and largely split among linguistic lines, with Dlamini-Zuma earning most of the votes…
The last time the world heard about Uganda it was through the Kony 2012 viral video. The film, which aimed to make war criminal Joseph Kony “famous” and lead to his arrest, was viewed by millions of people all over the world. At the time, people were both critical and inspired by the Kony 2012…
The Israeli government began its controversial plan to round up and deport thousands of African immigrants this week. According to Reuters, this move is to ensure the safety of the “character” of Jewish state and stem the tide of immigration from neighboring African nations. As with most developed countries, illegal immigration is both a help…
There has been a lot of talk about Africa lately. Yesterday we shared a few of the ignorant things we’ve heard others say about Africa. And while many are afraid of “the dark continent,” others see it as ground zero for the next boom in technology, telecommunications, and business. Recently, the New York Times ran…
After we ran Demetria Lucas’ article Not African Enough In Africa, the comments section (predictably) opened up some old wounds and divides. While many–from all over the Diaspora–understood Lucas’ experience of feeling “foreign” in a land she hoped, perhaps naively, would feel like “home,” others read her piece as yet another example of Americans exerting…
