Category: Africa,

The deadly ambush Donald Trump hasn’t yet acknowledged

On By peanutgallerynhIn Africa,, Domestic Affairs,, Military,Leave a comment

It’s been nearly two weeks since U.S. forces were ambushed in Niger, an attack that left four American servicemen dead. 

…The Pentagon has not provided a detailed accounting of the ambush by 50 ISIS affiliated fighters which left four US soldiers dead and two wounded and has said the incident remains under investigation. But CNN has talked to half a dozen US officials who describe details of the chaos and confusion which led to the troops being left on the ground for nearly an hour before help could get to the remote area of southwestern Niger where they were operating.

…When four American servicemen are killed, it’s not unrealistic to think the president who routinely tweets random passing thoughts would at least briefly acknowledge their sacrifice.

The deadly ambush Donald Trump hasn’t yet acknowledged | MSNBC

hmmmm

United Nations peacekeepers in Central African Republic

On By peanutgallerynhIn Africa,, Military,Leave a comment

Amnesty International is urging the United Nations to take swift action on allegations that one or more of its peacekeepers drugged and raped a 19-year-old woman in Central African Republic last month.

United Nations peacekeepers in Central African Republic

Rape is violence. It is the opposite of peace. Peace keeps who engage in violence like rape should be punished as harshly as the militaries they belong too will allow. Not only are they abusing the citizen they are there to protect, they are working against the mission they serve. Flagrant disobedience is the enemy of any well disciplined fighting force. Jail is the very least the offenders should receive.

Trump Praises Africa for Making “So Many Friends” Rich 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Africa,, Domestic Affairs,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

…Naturally, his praise quickly took on a vaguely colonialist tone.

“I have so many friends going to your countries to get rich,” he actually said to them, adding that “six of the world‘s 10 fastest growing economies are in Africa.” Perhaps getting himself a little too worked up about all the ways in which Africa poses an opportunity for his close personal friends to further enrich themselves, the president referred to a country called “Nambia,” which has the unique distinction of not existing.

…In fairness to Trump, we should probably award him partial credit for refraining from telling the group “I love Africa. Great colonialism. Excellent mineral extraction opportunities,” which we can only assume was how the first draft of his speech began.

Trump Praises Africa for Making “So Many Friends” Rich | Vanity Fair

Jeezus….

Human History ‘To Be Re-Written’ After Controversial 5.7 Milllion-Year-Old Discovery

On By peanutgallerynhIn Africa,, Europe,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

Controversial new study could change the entire history of the origin of mankind after a footprint was discovered in Crete.

Human History ‘To Be Re-Written’ After Controversial 5.7 Milllion-Year-Old Discovery

Not sure it really changes the origins of mankind theory as much as it adds to or refines it. Crete and Morocco aren’t exactly on the opposite ends of the earth after all…

Zim’s first family

On By peanutgallerynhIn Africa,Leave a comment

The sons were sent to study in Dubai, in part to prevent them from misbehaving in Harare. That ended in controversy, with some media reporting in 2016 that they were asked to leave. So they were moved again, this time to Johannesburg.

…It is a potential bolt-hole in case the Mugabes are no longer welcome in Zimbabwe. Grace is setting up her own R45‑million home in Sandhurst.

…she is not exactly a [stabilizing] influence. She burst into the headlines again this week when she was accused of assaulting Gabriella Engels, a 20-year-old model, in a hotel room rented by her sons. Grace allegedly beat Engels repeatedly with the plug on an extension cord as her bodyguards watched.

..Her reputation precedes her. There’s the lavish spending; one day in 2003 she reportedly dropped £75 000 on luxury goods during a shopping trip in Paris. There’s the obvious disconnect from the reality of everyday life; the day she donated a bag of men’s size 13 shoes to an orphanage, posing for a photograph with the orphans as their tiny feet struggled to balance in the enormous, impractical footwear.

And there’s the violence.

Zim’s disgraceful first family | News | Africa | M&G

oy….

Kenyan Opposition Leader Continues To Spread Voter Fraud Claims After Election

On By peanutgallerynhIn Africa,Leave a comment

Kenya’s presidential challenger is digging into his claim of massive voter fraud during this week’s election. Election monitors have praised the polls as free and fair. Kenyan election officials dismiss the allegations of vote rigging as unfounded. But the claim is stirring deadly tension in the East African nation.

Kenyan Opposition Leader Continues To Spread Voter Fraud Claims After Election : NPR

hmmm

Kenyan election IT head Chris Msando found dead 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Africa,Leave a comment

Chris Msando was in charge of the [computerized] voting system in next week’s election.

“There was no doubt he was tortured and murdered,” said the commission’s chairperson, Wafula Chebukati.

Tension is high as the presidential election is expected to be a close race between incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta and long-time opponent Raila Odinga.

Kenyan election IT head Chris Msando found dead – BBC News

hmmmm

Inside Israel’s Secret Program to Get Rid of African Refugees 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Africa,, Middle East,, Race,Leave a comment

They were promised asylum somewhere closer to home. Then they were discarded — often in a war zone.

…None of the things Israeli authorities had promised the 12 Eritreans when they had agreed to relocate to Rwanda a few weeks prior. Instead, John offered to smuggle them into neighboring Uganda, which he told them was a “free nation.” “If you live here, you can’t leave,” Semene recalled John saying of Rwanda. “It’s a tight country. Let me advise you, as your brother, you need to go to Uganda.”

They would need to sneak across the border, since they had no proof of legal entry into Rwanda. (The Israeli laissez-passers had gone unstamped at the Kigali airport the night before, an oversight that now felt suspicious.) But John told them not to worry; he could easily get them into Uganda for a fee of $250. “I have everything,” he said. “Contacts with the government over there. Contacts with the Israeli government. If something happens, I call the Israeli government and they do something for you.”

The alternative, John said, was to remain in the Kigali house, where they would be under constant surveillance. They would have to pay rent, but without documentation, they would not be allowed to work. Semene and the others understood that John was not really giving them a choice. 

Inside Israel’s Secret Program to Get Rid of African Refugees | Foreign Policy

Disgusting but not so surprising from a government who seems to prides itself on how much more racist, opressive, and abusive it can get each year that passes.

Niger army rescues 92 migrants in Sahara Desert

On By peanutgallerynhIn Africa,Leave a comment

Troops in northern Niger have rescued 92 migrants who were on the brink of death in the Sahara Desert, an army statement has said.

Traffickers abandoned the group, which included women and children, without water and food, it added.

…Niger serves as a transit point for West Africans hoping to reach Europe to start a better life.

Every year, tens of thousands of migrants cross the Sahara to reach Libya. From the Libyan coast they board rickety boats to ferry them to Europe.

Many drown in the Mediterranean but, perhaps, less well known, are the dangers they face while crossing the Sahara.

Niger army rescues 92 migrants in Sahara Desert – BBC News

sigh…

Homo nadeli, just discovered in Africa, were walking around with humans

On By peanutgallerynhIn Africa,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

Homo sapiens had a rival cousin as recently as 236,000 years ago, according to discoveries made by a team of scientists in South Africa.

…Homo naledi also appear to have engaged in the relatively advanced practice of burying their dead.

…The discoveries have encouraged other scientists to rethink human evolution.

…the discovery should prompt people to question the familiar image of a stooped chimp-like creature evolving into an upright, modern human.

“We’ve had for so long this view that human evolution was a matter of inevitability represented by that march, that progress,” he told the paper. “But now that narrative of human evolution has become one of adaptability. There was a lot of evolution and extinction of populations and lineages that made it through some pretty tough times, and we’re the beneficiary of that.”

Homo nadeli, just discovered in Africa, were walking around with humans

It always boggles the mind that researchers have so much trouble entertaining theories based on what is in front of them, theories that make so much more sense than anything that came before.

‘I Dreamed of Africa’ Author And Conservationist, Shot In Kenya 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Africa,Leave a comment

…The Laikipia Nature Conservancy, has been the center of a bloody battle for weeks, as a large-scale drought has pushed cattle-herders to extreme measures to try and find grazing land.

…”You have nomadic herders who are moving into private wildlife conservancies with thousands of heads of cattle,” [NPR’s Eyder] Peralta said. “And in response, the Kenyan government launched a military-style operation to push the herders out. But what we’ve seen is an escalation of violence. Police have killed lots of cows. And the herders have responded by burning tourist lodges on the properties.”

…Members of the Pokot and Samburu tribes have long grazed on conservancy land in Kenya, but over the past few years things have changed. Herders have brought more and more cows, killed other wildlife, and begun to vandalize property. 

..”That is heavily politicized violence. And that is what’s much more worrying about this situation.”

[Gallmann’s daughter, Sveva Gallmann] added that she doesn’t think the herders even own many of the cows.

“There’s a lot of, actually, politicians, people within the police, people within the administration storing their wealth in cattle and laundering ill-gotten money through cattle,” she said.

…Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta’s office issued a statement warning politicians in the area not to inflame the situation with “reckless rhetoric.”

“Politicians encouraging invasions of privately-owned property or attacks on individuals can expect strong deterrent action in terms of the law,” Kenyatta’s spokesman, Manoah Esipisu, said.

‘I Dreamed of Africa’ Author And Conservationist, Shot In Kenya : The Two-Way : NPR

hmmm