Story Archives of 'Africa'

Senegal’s President Abdoulaye Wade has proposed offering a piece of land to displaced Haitians who wish to return to the home of their ancestors. Wade says at least 50 Hatians have taken him up on his offer to resettle in Senegal. But the offer has created a stir in the streets of Haiti.

The West African country of Mauritania has become a transit point for African immigrants bound for Europe. Makeshift boats leave Mauritania’s coast and travel for 500 treacherous miles north to Spain’s Canary Islands. Many hopeful migrants never reach their destination.

The holidays are behind us, presents have been wrapped, resolutions have been made (and, just as often, dropped!), and yet, through it all, the weekly inculcation of awesome links we call Here's What's Awesome endures! Time to celebrate!

If you’ve ever driven down a narrow rural road marred by pot holes, or walked through a crowded street begging for a larger sidewalk, you might have wondered where all that economic stimulus money is going. Now there’s an app for that.

Arbitrary borders, ethnic conflict, and minimal infrastructure divided the pan-African movement of the past century, but one man hopes to bring disparate African nations together - with a board game.

It’s called Jekaben, meaning "Let's Unite and Decide Together" in the Bambara language. A Senegalese entrepreneur who created the game hopes it will inspire youth to make the United States of Africa a reality.

When William Kamkwamba, was 14, his family in Malawi couldn’t afford school fees. At the library, he saw a windmill in a book called Using Energy. He realized electricity would help people in his village pump water, light their homes, charge cell phones - William saw that "A windmill meant more than just power, it was freedom."

Ethiopia has the highest per capita rate of roadside fatalities in the world, and many of these deaths involve drivers high on khat (sometimes spelled chat or qat). Khat is a stimulant that consists of the buds and leaves of a flowering evergreen plant and when you chew it like tobacco, it is a strong stimulant.