africa

OECD and AfDB launch powerful tool to help African companies prevent bribery

New guidance from the AfDB and the OECD will help African companies of all sizes set up measures to prevent bribery and improve the quality of corporate compliance and anti-bribery policies.




 africa

Internship opportunities working on anti-corruption in the Middle East and North Africa region at the OECD

The OECD Anti-Corruption Division and Middle East and Africa Division offers short-term internships of 3-6 months for qualified students. These internships provide students with the experience of working in an international organisation on anti-corruption issues in MENA countries.




 africa

Africa: making growth more inclusive hinges on unlocking potential of local economies, says the African Economic Outlook 2015

With Africa’s population set to double by 2050, modernising local economies will be vital to make the continent more competitive and to increase people’s living standards, according to the African Economic Outlook 2015, released at the African Development Bank Group’s 50th Annual Meetings.




 africa

Africa: Economic transformation hinges on unlocking potential of cities, says the African Economic Outlook 2016

How Africa urbanises will be critical to the continent’s future growth and development, says the African Economic Outlook 2016 released today at the African Development Bank Group’s 51st Annual Meetings.




 africa

Africa Forum 2016: African Cities for Africa’s Development

The 2016 Forum will discuss the opportunities and challenges of the urbanisation process in Africa, looking into how to address informality in urban areas, the role of cities as drivers of economic transformation, and innovative ways to provide adequate and predictable financing for local governments and municipalities.




 africa

Sahel & West Africa Week

The Sahel and West Africa Week has become a key event for the region’s development stakeholders, fostering informal exchange, networking and partnership building. The 2016 edition of the Week takes place in Abuja, Nigeria.




 africa

How Aussie father with COVID-19 survived being stranded in West African hospital

Perth father and FIFO worker Gareth Jones feared for his live when he caught COVID-19 after flying into Western Africa.




 africa

South African, US astronomers use MeerKAT to solve mystery of 'X-Galaxies'




 africa

Culling only way to contain African swine fever: expert

Culling only way to contain African swine fever: expert




 africa

BioStruct-Africa: empowering Africa-based scientists through structural biology knowledge transfer and mentoring – recent advances and future perspectives

Being able to visualize biology at the molecular level is essential for our understanding of the world. A structural biology approach reveals the molecular basis of disease processes and can guide the design of new drugs as well as aid in the optimization of existing medicines. However, due to the lack of a synchrotron light source, adequate infrastructure, skilled persons and incentives for scientists in addition to limited financial support, the majority of countries across the African continent do not conduct structural biology research. Nevertheless, with technological advances such as robotic protein crystallization and remote data collection capabilities offered by many synchrotron light sources, X-ray crystallography is now potentially accessible to Africa-based scientists. This leap in technology led to the establishment in 2017 of BioStruct-Africa, a non-profit organization (Swedish corporate ID: 802509-6689) whose core aim is capacity building for African students and researchers in the field of structural biology with a focus on prevalent diseases in the African continent. The team is mainly composed of, but not limited to, a group of structural biologists from the African diaspora. The members of BioStruct-Africa have taken up the mantle to serve as a catalyst in order to facilitate the information and technology transfer to those with the greatest desire and need within Africa. BioStruct-Africa achieves this by organizing workshops onsite at our partner universities and institutions based in Africa, followed by post-hoc online mentoring of participants to ensure sustainable capacity building. The workshops provide a theoretical background on protein crystallography, hands-on practical experience in protein crystallization, crystal harvesting and cryo-cooling, live remote data collection on a synchrotron beamline, but most importantly the links to drive further collaboration through research. Capacity building for Africa-based researchers in structural biology is crucial to win the fight against the neglected tropical diseases, e.g. ascariasis, hookworm, trichuriasis, lymphatic filariasis, active trachoma, loiasis, yellow fever, leprosy, rabies, sleeping sickness, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, etc., that constitute significant health, social and economic burdens to the continent. BioStruct-Africa aims to build local and national expertise that will have direct benefits for healthcare within the continent.




 africa

Native bees prove resilient in competition with invasive African honey bees

The spread of Africanized honey bees across Central America has had a much smaller impact on native tropical bee species than scientists previously predicted...

The post Native bees prove resilient in competition with invasive African honey bees appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




 africa

Skeletal casts of early hominin ancestor from Africa donated to National Museum of Natural History

A. sediba was discovered in 2008 in the Malapa Cave at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site located outside Johannesburg.

The post Skeletal casts of early hominin ancestor from Africa donated to National Museum of Natural History appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




 africa

190-million-year-old dinosaur nesting site discovered in South Africa

An excavation at a site in South Africa has unearthed the 190-million-year-old dinosaur nesting site of the prosauropod dinosaur Massospondylus–revealing significant clues about the evolution of complex reproductive behavior in early dinosaurs.

The post 190-million-year-old dinosaur nesting site discovered in South Africa appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




 africa

Penguins once thrived in Africa; one endangered species lives there today

Africa isn’t the kind of place you might expect to find penguins. But one species lives along Africa’s southern coast today, and newly found fossils […]

The post Penguins once thrived in Africa; one endangered species lives there today appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




 africa

Book Review: Double Exposure: photos of African American History & Culture

Photographs, by virtue of their static nature, not only allow us to look back to a fixed point in time, but also give us a […]

The post Book Review: Double Exposure: photos of African American History & Culture appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.





 africa

Smithsonian team examines African remains from a colonial burial site in Maryland

Forensic anthropologists from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History discover African remains at a Colonial burial site in Maryland. Follow them as they study the remains, reconstruct the face and body, and share what they learn about the African experience in the Chesapeake in the 1600s.

The post Smithsonian team examines African remains from a colonial burial site in Maryland appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




 africa

Video: On the hunt for 251-million-year-old insects in South Africa

Paleoecologist Conrad Labandeira travels to the Karoo Basin of South Africa to find leaf fossils from the Permian-Triassic boundary, the time of the Earth's largest mass extinction. What can bug bites on leaves tell us about our own uncertain times?

The post Video: On the hunt for 251-million-year-old insects in South Africa appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




 africa

PBS Newshour interview with Lonnie Bunch, African American Museum director

Gwen Ifill sat down with Lonnie Bunch, the director of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture, which is due to open this […]

The post PBS Newshour interview with Lonnie Bunch, African American Museum director appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.



  • History & Culture
  • Meet Our People
  • Video
  • National Museum of African American History and Culture



 africa

Smithsonian staff rally to support African American History Museum after noose incident

Smithsonian staff gathered on Thursday, June 1 outside the National Museum of African American History and Culture to show their support and listen to Director […]

The post Smithsonian staff rally to support African American History Museum after noose incident appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.



  • History & Culture
  • Video
  • National Museum of African American History and Culture


 africa

Caught on camera: Despite hard shells pollen sticks to South African beetles

Smooth and shiny, the tough body of the South African beetle Pedinorrhina trivittata, a flower eater, appears to be a non-inviting surface for pollen grains […]

The post Caught on camera: Despite hard shells pollen sticks to South African beetles appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




 africa

Dash, Ankerpay to expand DASH payments network in Sub-Saharan Africa

Digital currency provider Dash has partnered with South...




 africa

Browsing antelope turned ancient African forests into grassy savanna ecosystems

Millions of years ago, Africa's savannas were covered with thick, ancient forests, which disappeared and turned into the grassy ecosystems that they are today.

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  • Paleontology & Archaeology

 africa

Genetics of African KhoeSan populations maps to Kalahari Desert geography

Geography and ecology are key factors that have influenced the genetic makeup of human groups in southern Africa, according to new research discussed in the journal GENETICS, a publication of the Genetics Society of America. By investigating the ancestries of twenty-two KhoeSan groups, including new samples from the Nama and the ≠Khomani, researchers conclude that the genetic clustering of southern African populations is closely tied to the ecogeography of the Kalahari Desert region.

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  • Paleontology & Archaeology

 africa

Countries across Africa, Asia-Pacific vulnerable to Zika virus, new study finds

Parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific region may be vulnerable to outbreaks of the Zika virus, including some of the world's most populous countries and many with limited resources to identify and respond to the mosquito-borne disease, a new study says.

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  • Health & Medicine

 africa

International crop breeding programme needed for African farming

Climate change poses a large threat to African agriculture, but there is little research on how to respond. A recent study indicates that traditional adaptation methods are not enough and international collaboration is needed in ‘planned adaptation’ by collecting and conserving certain crops for the future.




 africa

Recent evidence on climate change risks for African agriculture




 africa

Climate and land use change to affect malaria spread in tropical Africa

A recent study has projected changes in the spread of malaria caused by climate change and climate variability in Africa by including the effect of variations in land use on local climate. It concludes that the risk of malaria epidemics is likely to shift from the north to the south of the Sahel, and to highland areas previously free of the disease.




 africa

Benefits of a European-North African renewable energy supergrid

Connecting Europe and North Africa with a single, long-distance electricity ‘supergrid’ is technically possible and the cheapest option available to meet Europe’s renewable energy targets, according to new research. However, significant political challenges, such as minimising the perception of risk and attracting sufficient investment, need to be overcome.




 africa

Solar-powered irrigation improves food security in West Africa

Solar-powered irrigation that delivers water directly to plant roots could help ensure food security in Africa, say researchers. Their study in the Sudano-Sahel region of West Africa indicated that this irrigation method could increase both household income and nutritional intake, particularly during the dry season.




 africa

Risk of sleeping sickness in Africa spreads under climate change

By 2090, up to 76.7 million more people in Africa could be at risk of infection by the parasite that causes sleeping sickness, according to recent research. The study predicted which areas of Africa would be at greatest risk in future.




 africa

European migratory seabirds at risk from West African fishing

Conserving West African coastal waters is also important for conserving European seabirds, suggests new research. The study shows that both adult and juvenile northern gannets and Scopoli’s shearwaters migrate to coastal waters of West Africa for winter. However, they are at risk of death from unsustainable and illegal fishing activities in this region.




 africa

May Starts with Contract Wins in Africa and Asia

Here are some of the most popular downstream-related articles on Rigzone this past week.




 africa

Kids in England raise money to add solar power to African classrooms

Working with the nonprofit Solar Aid, students earn enough to bring electric light to a school in Kenya




 africa

Drought brings the Horn of Africa to the edge

Four severe droughts in 20 years have left many residents of the Horn of Africa on the edge of survival.



  • Climate & Weather

 africa

House of Mandela: Fair Trade wines from South Africa's famous family

The daughter and granddaughter of Nelson Mandela lead the Mandela family in sustainable wine making.




 africa

Clean drinking water in Africa may be a barrel spin away

Engineering students tackle two problems with one clever project — how to transport water and purify it at the same time.




 africa

How T-shirt sales changed an African boy's life

Watch how one man's donation contributed to surgery that enabled 3-year-old Congo native Loic Mbeze to walk.



  • Natural Beauty & Fashion

 africa

This African-American female scientist helped launch the space race

The movie "Hidden Figures" is the story of the African-American trailblazers who helped win the space race. Now NASA is naming a building after one of them.




 africa

Meet Hugh Whalan, a clean-tech entrepreneur making waves in Africa

Learn some of the lessons serial entrepreneur Hugh Whalan has learned in the 7 years he’s been working on renewable energy in the developing world.




 africa

Goodbye, kerosene: How solar could transform Africa

Kerosene lanterns are dangerous, polluting and unhealthy. That's why one charity aims to eliminate them by the end of the decade.




 africa

Monster African crocodiles found in Florida

Nile crocodiles are known for being maneaters, and now they've been accidentally introduced to Florida.




 africa

Can Africa's Great Green Wall combat climate change and mass migration?

The Great Green Wall is rooted in Africa's Sahel region on the southern border of the Sahara. Once completed, it will be the largest living structure on Earth.



  • Climate & Weather

 africa

What is African black soap?

Made from locally harvested plants and barks, this gentle soap leaves skin feeling soft and smooth.



  • Natural Beauty & Fashion

 africa

Smithsonian museum captures all sides of the African-American story

One of the most highly anticipated museums of the past decade, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture is finally opening.



  • Arts & Culture

 africa

IndyCar driver promotes solar for Africa

By funding solar lights in Africa, one IndyCar team hopes to offset its footprint and move the world forward.




 africa

Locusts swarm East Africa, Middle East with worst plague in decades

The locust plague already poses an 'unprecedented' threat to food security, and could still grow 500 times larger.



  • Wilderness & Resources