Essential The Africa the Media Doesn't Tell You About

[Poitier]

I AM SO HYPE FOR THIS:

CHECK OUT THIS DOCUMENTARY ABOUT MOROCCO'S FEMALE BIKER CLIQUES
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by Evan Siegel




A new documentary is premiering at LACMA this May that captures the fascinating world of henna tattoo artists and female biker cliques in Marrakesh, Morocco. The work of artist Hassan Hajjaj, the doc was inspired by his previous photo series at the Taymor Grahne Gallery, 'Kesh Angels, in which he took portraits of Morrocco's colorful biker girl cliques. The film will follow a day in the life of a "Henna Girl" named Karima who, when not tattooing tourists, zips around the city on her scooter in eye-catching, patterned abayas and head scarves.

The idea for the series first came to Hajjaj after he worked on a fashion editorial that featured all Western products, models, photographers and clothes, relegating Morocco to the role of beautiful window dressing in the background. "It'd be great," he told Vice in a previous interview, "to present my people in their environment in their kind of way of dressing, and play with it on a fashion level." Hajjaj's art, however, is not simply a fashion editorial: it's both a commentary on gender roles and an exploration of general badassness.

Photos by Hassan Hajjaj from 'Kesh Angels series. Courtesy of Taymor Grahne Gallery

[Via GOOD]

 

[Poitier]

Damn shame.

 

[Kritic]

FACTS ABOUT AFRICA

1. The Gambia has only one university.

2. Equatorial Guinea is Africa’s only
spanish speaking country.

3. South Africa is the most visited
African country.

4. Nigeria has the richest Black people in Africa.

5. Samuel Eto’o is the highest paid Footballer of all time, he received about £350,000 weekly in Russia in 2011.

6. A person from Botswana is called
a Motswana, the plural is Batswana.
7. A person from Lesotho is called a
Mosotho.

8. A person from Niger is called a
Nigerien.

8. A person from Burkina Faso is called a Burkinabe.

9. Nigeria has won more football
cups than England.

10. Zimbabwe’s President, Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the world’s most educated President with 7 degrees, two of them are Masters.

11. Al-Ahly of Egypt is the richest club in Africa.

12. Didier Drogba is Chelsea’s
highest goalscorer in European competition.

13. Johannesburg, South Africa is
the most visited city in Africa.

14. Zinedine Zidane wanted to play
for Àlgeria, but the selector rejected him, saying they are already many players like him in the team.

15. President Jacob Zuma was given a special award by Fifa for refereeing on Robben Island during his years as a political prisoner.

16. President Robert Mugabe was
jailed for 11 years for fighting for freedom.

17. President Robert Mugabe is
Africa’s oldest Head of State and the world’s second oldest Head of State. He was born in 1924.

18. The Seychelles are the most educated Africans. Seychelles’ literacy rates (Adult: 92%, Youth: 99%) Zimbabwe is 2nd (Adult:
91.2%,Youth: 99%).

19. Rwanda is a better country for
gender equality than England and USA.

20. Somalia got its first ATM on
October 7, 2014.

21. South Africa has the most Grammy award winners in Africa.

22. Ethiopia has the most airports in
Africa.

23. Ethiopia’s economy is growing
faster than China’s.

24. Eritrea’s President, Isaias Afwerki is the least richest President in Africa.

25. Ethiopia is Africa’s oldest
independent country, it has existed for over 3,000 years without
being colonised.

26. Haile Selassie 1 was the 225th
and last Emperor of Ethiopia.

27. Nigeria has the most monarchs
in the world.

28. Angola has more Portuguese
speakers than Portugal.

29. President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos has ruled Angola since 1979.

30. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is Africa’s longest serving Head of State. He has ruled Equatorial Guinea since August 3, 1979 when he overthrew his uncle, Francisco Nguema. His son, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue is his Vice President and will succeed him if he
resigns. He started ruling Dos Santo

31. George Weah of Liberia is the
first man to win World, European and African footballer of the year
in the same year.

32. Swaziland is the only remaining
absolute mornach in the world.

33. The Gambia is the smallest country in Africa followed by Swaziland.

34. King Sobhuza ll of Swaziland took the longest time in reigning Swaziland, 62 years as he was crowned in 1921 and died in August 1982 at the age of 83 years.

34.1. King Sobhuza II of swaziland, married 70 wives, who gave him 210 children between 1920 and 1970.

35. Zimbabwe is the only country in the world were almost everyone was a billionaire at one point

https://www.facebook.com/Africa2poi...73391.293500594057923/813837598690884/?type=1

 

[Kritic]

they just built the light rail system in Addis Ababa and nikkas have already gone full ratchet.

And Nigeria stays taking Ls

shout out to ethiopia for doing they thing inhouse...


@12 billion dollar nigerian trains..

 

[Scientific Playa]

Ghana fights piracy in the textile industry
Ghana has stepped up efforts to halt the smuggling of pirated textiles from China. The quantity of pirated cloth sold cheaply has forced several local manufacturers out of business.


No Ghanaian market is complete without a wide range of colourful cloths and fabrics that tempt passers-by to part with their money. The famous art and textiles market in the capital Accra is no exception. Among the many designs on show is the famous Kente fabric popular among the Akan people. It is a silk and cotton fabric worn on special occasions. This and many other fabrics known collectively as African print are produced locally. However the textile industry in Ghana is increasingly facing competition from cheap copies smuggled in from abroad, especially from China.

John Amoah is the assistant brand protection manager at Akosombo Textiles Limited which produces African print. "We have a situation where unidentified people take the brand logo of the local manufacturers, send it outside, print it and then they smuggle it into the country," he told DW. Customers who see the label GTP or ATL think they are buying original material but in fact the textiles are fakes.


These examples of textile design are all genuine

Potential health risks

The influx of cheap fakes has hit local manufacturers hard and some have even been forced out of business. In response, the government has set up a taskforce to hunt down the fake textiles and remove them. The move is in line with World Trade Organization regulations but not all traders approve. Faustina Amoakwah, for example, points out that it is not only textiles that come from China.

"We are in Ghana, we import a lot of things, even in parliament we have chairs from China," she told DW. "So if you are telling us not to buy 'made in China' goods, then what are you telling us?"

Fellow trader Nora Asiedu thinks local textile producers should be given easy access to credit so they can boost production and increase their exports.

John Amoah says it is not just a matter of preventing the theft of local manufacturers' intellectual property, there are also health considerations.

"The Ghana Standards Authority is there to protect people - but who checks which chemicals have been used for the production of such [pirated] products?" he asks. "That is why it is so important that if a company produces this type of product, that company needs to identify that product so that if somebody buys it and there is a problem, the person can take that company on."


Officials raid a market to remove fake textiles which are then burnt

New technology identifies fakes

Critics of the government taskforce argue that confiscating the fake products and burning them is not the answer. That prompted a local technology company mPedigree, with the support of Premium African Textiles, to develop a new system called the GoldKeys technology to help traders and consumers determine which fabrics are not genuine.

A scratchable panel on the label of a fabric reveals a 12-digit code. That code is then sent as a text message to a toll-free number. According to Stephen Badu from Premium African Textiles, there is an instant response to say if the produce is genuine or a fake.

Stakeholders in the textile industry are showing interest in the system but it could still be some time before fake fabrics disappear from shops and markets throughout the country.

http://www.dw.de/ghana-fights-piracy-in-the-textile-industry/a-18389505

 

[Scientific Playa]

UL President, Dr. Emmet A. Dennis
UL Places 10,000 Students on Probation
Tue, 04/21/2015 - 23:54 admin
UL President, Dr. Emmet A. Dennis bemoans the high rate of students placed on single or double probation.
By:
C.Y. Kwanue
To streamline its academic activities in order to produce higher calibre graduates, authorities at the University of Liberia (UL) have with immediate effect, notified more than 10,000 undergraduate students that they have been placed on probation due to their “poor academic performance,” a UL Relations official has confirmed.

The probation list was released a few weeks after the UL announced the names of its “good academic standing list,” which showed that more than 1, 400 students acquired cumulative Grade Point Averages (GPA) of at least 3.0 and above, while 16 students had perfect GPAs of 4.0.

In a statement issued yesterday, UL authorities said the probation notice serves as a strong warning for students to perform better during the current semester.

“When grades are tabulated for the current semester, those on double probation will be suspended from school for one semester, while those in the category of three successive failures (semester GPA below 2.0) would lead to academic expulsion in keeping with the UL Student Handbook,” the UL statement stipulates.

The lists were compiled by the office of Enrollment Management. The first list showed that 5,349 students are on single probation after failing to maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 or scored grade “C” for the 2nd semester of academic year 2012/2013.

Names of students on probation are being concealed. Instead, the public will identify them by their identification numbers or their major courses of study that are already posted on the UL bulletin board.

According to the UL Student Handbook Chapter IX, “A student is placed on Probation…, if his/her GPA for any semester falls below 2.0 or scores “C” at the end of the semester.”

Therefore, for students on double probation, the Handbook says, “…he/she may remain at the university if the cumulative average is not less than 2.0 at the end of successive two semesters.”

The double probation list shows that the Business College, with an enrollment of 11,242 students, has 1,955 or 17 percent on probation.

The College of Agriculture and Forestry with an enrollment of 3,551 accounts for 755 or 21 percent on double probation; while out of the 8,000 in the Science College, 1852 or 23 percent of them are being placed on double probation. Liberia College has a total enrolment of 5,524, but 598 or 10.8 percent of them are on double probation.

As for Teachers’ College with 1, 993 students, there are 186 or 0.9 percent on double probation.

A further breakdown by departments shows the double probation affects 819 representing 15.33 percent of students from the Accounting Department; General Agriculture has 342 students, representing 10.14 percent; Biology Department has 533 students representing 10.35 percent, and Geology Department shows 532 students or 9.9 percent.

However, based on the rules, students on the double probation list are likely to be suspended for one semester, but after serving the suspension, they will have the opportunity to apply for re-admission.

Additionally, the Handbook states that a student is dropped from the university when at any time following the readmission after serving the suspension, his/her cumulative GPA remains less than 2.0 at the end of the semester. That student will be dropped permanently from the university.

The UL statement, signed by the vice president for UL Relations, Noris Tweah, added that presently, the university has more than 35,000 students on five campuses. Following the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease, the university reopened on March 17.

http://www.liberianobserver.com/columns-education/ul-places-10000-students-probation

 

[Poitier]

Africa and commodity prices
No longer the kiss of death
Apr 23rd 2015, 16:45 BY C.W. | LONDON

IN 2014 commodity prices tumbled. Many economists feared the worst for Africa. For decades the continent has been hopelessly dependent on commodities to power economic growth. When prices crashed, economies would go into tailspin. This time around, though, things seem different. The continent is holding up well.

The map above looks at how forecasts from the International Monetary Fund for African growth in 2015-16 have changed in the past year. Compared to what they were predicting in April 2014, the IMF now expects economic growth to fall in most African economies. For instance, the IMF now expects Nigeria to grow by 10% over the next two years, whereas in April 2014 it had predicted growth of 14%. Thus growth expectations have fallen by 4 percentage points, as the map's colouring shows.

Some countries, especially those that are still very dependent on commodities, have seen bigger downgrades. But overall the situation is positive. Only two economies, Sierra Leone (a commodity-dependent economy which has also been hit by Ebola) and Equatorial Guinea (an oil-soaked kleptocracy), will see their economies contract over the next two years.

Some African economies have been upgraded. Lower oil prices are a boon for Kenya, which is a big importer of the fuel. And the Kenyan government is also embarking on big fossil-fuel hungry rail and energy projects.

What explains Africa’s solid performance? We discussed this in detail at the beginning of this year, but a few things stick out. Manufacturing output in the continent is expanding as quickly as the rest of the economy. Growth is even faster in services, which expanded at an average rate of 2.6% per person across Africa between 1996 and 2011. Tourism, in particular, has boomed: the number of foreign visitors doubled and receipts tripled between 2000 and 2012. All this means that even if income from commodity production slips, other parts of the economy can take up the slack.

Better fiscal policy also plays a role. Until a few years ago, nearly all African economies spent freely when their economies were hot, only to rein in spending when things cooled down. That is the opposite of what most economists would advise a finance minister to do. But in recent years, according to a report from the World Bank published in January, fiscal policies in many African countries have become more sensible. These days a fair number of African economies save money during the good times, in order to spend it in the bad ones.

Even so, the casual observer should not be fooled. Africa is still too dependent on commodities. And its politicians need to adopt more policies to reduce their reliance on the sector for economic growth. But things are a lot better than they used to be.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/free...es?fsrc=scn/tw_ec/no_longer_the_kiss_of_death

 

[Poitier]

This Woman Wants to Prove That Somalia Is Serious About Democracy
by Mark Hay

January 5, 2015

Fadumo Dayib is an accomplished woman. The 42-year-old mother of four spent 12 years as a healthcare and development specialist with organizations such as the European Union and United Nations, tackling problems like forced migration, gender issues, and HIV/AIDS prevention. And as of this September, Dayib, both adoctoral candidate at the University of Helsinki and fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, is also angling to become Somalia’s first female president. In her candidacy, she acts not an isolated individual, but also as the apotheosis of Somalia’s female and diaspora populations’ ballooning political heft.

Although she currently resides in Finland, Dayib was born in Somalia, but fled during the African nation’s atrocious civil war in the 1990s, living in a Kenyan refugee camp for a time before finally making her way to Scandinavia. But likemany members of the Somali diaspora, she has remained deeply engaged with her country. And, despite the countless warnings about how dangerous Somalia is for women, Dayib has decided to channel that engagement into political participation at the highest level. Set to return to her native country early this year, she will campaign on a platform of education, minority protection, and youth employment.

For those not up to date on Somali politics, although the country is currently run by a democratic, federal government which replaced a series of transitional governments in 2012, the country actually has yet to hold full elections. (Members of parliament voted in the first president.) The country’s upcoming 2016 elections will be their first (hopefully) free and fair political contest since 1967, when the young Somali Republic elected President Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke. The assassination of Sharmarke two years later precipitated the dictatorial regime ofMohamed Siad Barre, who in turn laid the ground for decades of civil war after his 1991 ouster.

Given this turbulent history, there exists an unsurprising skepticism among many Somalis regarding whether the 2016 elections will actually happen. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud outlined plans for election logistics, monitoring, and oversight in an internationally sponsored conference in 2013, hellbent on creating a new constitution that would secure a voice for all. Butwithout the buy-in of autonomous regions like Puntland and Somaliland in the north, both of which have their own functional governments, and under continued threat from al-Shabaab, (a dangerous militant religious organization), he may not have the easiest time delivering on these promises.

Yet despite the menace to Somalia’s democratic ambitions, diaspora Somalis have rushed to participate in the new government from day one. This is just the latest in a long trend of Somalis abroad backing their kin in the Horn of Africa—every year 1.5 million Somalis around the world remit $1.3 to two billion dollars to their relatives back home, significantly propping up the local economy. And according toDr. Laura Hammond of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, diaspora returnees have historically been involved in social services, professional and developmental work, and local politics in Somalia. Dayib herself returned in 2006to work in Bossaso, Puntland, on HIV/AIDS-related programs for UNICEF.

Over the past few years though, Somali women, long discouraged from taking part in social and political affairs, have struggled to overcome longstanding local taboos. Dayib maintains that as women tend to manage family budgets and maintain important, visible roles in society, it’s only right that a Somali woman ought to take a turn at running the government. Somalia proper now has 35 female members of parliament—two women in the president’s cabinet and a female foreign minister. (Although this only comes out to 14 percent of the 275-person parliament, far short of the Somali constitution’s 30 percent female quota.)

However positive this engagement by returnees and women might seem from the outside, it can rub locals the wrong way. Hammond tells of Somalis expressing concern that members of the diaspora were taking the best jobs and most prominent political seats away from Somalis with greater need and more direct, local experience. The diaspora politicians, in return, easily grow frustrated with clan politics and intrigue, as well as the culture shock of being treated as foreign interlopers by their own kin and countrymen. As for the challenges faced by women, Foreign Minister Fawzia Yusuf Adam describes receiving threats on her life everyday from radical Islamists and traditionalists.

But when returnees and women build local coalitions and support bases, evidence shows they become strong, constructive links in Somalia’s political chain. If Dayib can develop successful ties with Somalia’s diverse and complex communities, her administration would be a powerful sign to her fellow diaspora members, Somali women, and the world at large that the nation has developed a robust, united, and progressive democratic front.

 

[Poitier]

Conflict-hit Mali's economy returns to strong growth: IMF

By Serge Daniel



Christian Josz, the IMF's mission chief in Mali, told reporters in the capital Bamako that the figure compared with weak 1.7 percent growth in 2013 and stagnation in 2012.

He praised the government for making "major efforts to strengthen the management of public finances, insisting on compliance with fiscal rules and reversals of markets" in the final months of 2014.

The recovery comes after the country was upended by a coup in 2012 which opened the door for an Islamist incursion and French-led military intervention in January 2013 to restore democracy.

In December last year the IMF lifted a block on aid to Mali, frozen for six months after the impoverished west African nation lavished $40 million on a presidential plane.

The IMF announced the resumption of disbursements under its $46 million credit for Mali, set in December 2013 to help the country as it emerged from a security and political crisis.


French troops patrol on October 30, 2013, in a desert near the village of Bamba between Timbuktu and …
Payments had stopped in May last year after the government bought the extravagant aircraft and issued a $200-million state guarantee that allowed a private company to buy supplies for the army.

Those deals raised questions about the authorities' commitment to good management of public finances, Josz told AFP at the time.

Under pressure, the government agreed to two independent audits that revealed shortcomings, and undertook other reforms that were strong enough to persuade the IMF to move ahead, the organisation said.

Josz said on Friday he considered that "the situation has been rectified, steps have been taken".

- 'Determined to fight impunity' -

Mali's economy posted growth of 7.2 percent in 2014, the International Monetary Fund said (AFP P …


Finance Minister Mamadou Igor Diarra told reporters the government was "determined to fight the culture of impunity... and buckle down to maintaining a successful economy for the development of Mali".

Mali's democratically-elected president Amadou Toumani Toure was overthrown in a March 2012 military coup led by army captain Amadou Sanogo.

The chaos following the mutiny opened the way for the Tuareg separatist National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) to seize the towns and cities of Mali's vast northern desert with the help of several Islamist groups.

The MNLA was then sidelined by its one-time allies, extremists who imposed a brutal version of Islamic shariah in the region and destroyed historic buildings and artifacts in the fabled desert city of Timbuktu.

The Islamists pushed south toward Bamako, prompting France to deploy troops in January last year who pushed them back into the country's mountains and vast desert, and Mali returned to democracy with the election in August of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

The country remains deeply divided, however, with the impoverished north home predominantly to lighter-skinned Tuareg and Arab populations who accuse the sub-Saharan ethnic groups that live in the more prosperous south of marginalising them.

The Malian government and a coalition of armed groups from the north known as the Platform have signed a peace accord brokered by Algeria under UN auspices over the past eight months.

But the main Tuareg rebel alliance, known as the Coordination for the Movements of Azawad, has said it will not sign without an amendment recognising "Azawad", the name used by the Tuareg for the northern part of Mali, as a "geographic, political and juridical entity".

https://news.yahoo.com/conflict-hit...l?soc_src=mediacontentsharebuttons&soc_trk=tw

 

[Poitier]

Air Cote d'Ivoire to spend $200 million over two years

People are silhouetted past a logo of the Airbus Group during the Airbus annual news conference in Colomiers, near Toulouse January 13, 2015. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau
ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's national airline is to invest a total of $200 million (131.78 million pounds) in the next two years and acquire three of Airbus's A319 short-haul jets in its bid to become a regional hub operator, managing director Laurent Loukou told Reuters on Friday.As part of its spending plan Air Cote d'Ivoire this month also signed a deal with Canada's Bombardier Inc for two of its Q400 turboprop aircraft. The company opened for business two years ago and serves 20 destinations in West and Central Africa. The Ivorian government owns a 65 percent stake, while Air France holds 20 percent and private Ivorian investor Goldenrod holds 15 percent. "We want to consolidate our position and be the company of reference in west and central Africa in the next two years," he said.Turnover is expected to rise to 70 billion CFA francs ($116 million) this year from 50 billion francs in 2014 and to 100 billion francs in 2016.

(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Greg Mahlich)

https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/27327216/air-cote-divoire-to-spend-200-million-over-two-years/

 

[The D-List Vet]

@cook can this thread and the other thread about the Beauty of Africa be sticked?

 

[KOohbt]

This def needs a sticky

@kp404

 

[DMGAINGREEN]

Let American media continue to give the wrong perception of Africa , they don't need their approval it's not going to prevent them from rising to the top . I rather them keep it confidential so cacs don't tainted black excellence and try to capitalize hard body .

 

[Sauanaffe Tustunnagee]

I AM SO HYPE FOR THIS:

CHECK OUT THIS DOCUMENTARY ABOUT MOROCCO'S FEMALE BIKER CLIQUES
twitterpinterestfacebookemail
by Evan Siegel




A new documentary is premiering at LACMA this May that captures the fascinating world of henna tattoo artists and female biker cliques in Marrakesh, Morocco. The work of artist Hassan Hajjaj, the doc was inspired by his previous photo series at the Taymor Grahne Gallery, 'Kesh Angels, in which he took portraits of Morrocco's colorful biker girl cliques. The film will follow a day in the life of a "Henna Girl" named Karima who, when not tattooing tourists, zips around the city on her scooter in eye-catching, patterned abayas and head scarves.

The idea for the series first came to Hajjaj after he worked on a fashion editorial that featured all Western products, models, photographers and clothes, relegating Morocco to the role of beautiful window dressing in the background. "It'd be great," he told Vice in a previous interview, "to present my people in their environment in their kind of way of dressing, and play with it on a fashion level." Hajjaj's art, however, is not simply a fashion editorial: it's both a commentary on gender roles and an exploration of general badassness.

Photos by Hassan Hajjaj from 'Kesh Angels series. Courtesy of Taymor Grahne Gallery

[Via GOOD]

@ these sand cacs invaders being snuck in this thread

 

[Poitier]

@ these sand cacs invaders being snuck in this thread

Berbers are indigenous to the land dumbass