Africa Topics

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Africa

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  • Senegal-police-button

    Senegal Faces Runoff Election After Youth-Led Protests Against Abdoulaye Wade's Bid for Third Term

    Senegal appears headed to a runoff election after a heated first round of voting and a year of protests against President Abdoulaye Wade’s decision to seek a third term, despite a constitutional two-term limit. The protests are "the most bloody and blood-filled campaign that the country has ever known," says Arame Tall, a Senegalese analyst. Over the past year, a movement led by a number of Senegalese rappers has helped mobilize...
    Feb 28, 2012 | Story
  • Nigeria

    Supreme Court to Decide Whether U.S. Corporations Can Be Sued for Abuses Overseas

    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday on whether U.S.-based corporations can be sued in U.S. courts for human rights abuses committed overseas. The case involves nine Nigerian activists, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, executed for protesting Royal Dutch Shell. We’re joined by Marco Simons, legal director of EarthRights International, which filed a "friend of the court" legal brief in this case and has been a pioneer...
    Feb 24, 2012 | Story
  • Randyweston_showbutton

    Black History Special: Jazz Legend Randy Weston on His Life and Celebration of "African Rhythms"

    In a Black History Month special, today we spend the hour with the legendary pianist and composer Randy Weston. For the past six decades, Weston has been a pioneering jazz musician incorporating the vast rhythmic heritage of Africa. His most famous compositions include "Little Niles," "Blue Moses" and "Hi-Fly," and his 1960 album, "Uhuru Afrika," was a landmark recording that celebrated the independence...
    Feb 20, 2012 | Story
  • Nigerian_oil_spill4

    Oil Slick from Massive Spill in Nigeria Threatens Coastline, May Be Largest Spill in a Decade

    Communities along Nigeria’s Niger Delta have been put on alert following a major oil spill from the oil giant, Shell. The massive oil slick is making its way to the Nigerian coast, threatening local wildlife and massive pollution along the shore. Much of the available information about the spill comes from the company responsible for it, Royal Dutch Shell, which says less than 40,000 barrels have leaked so far. But Nigeria’s National...
    Dec 27, 2011 | Story

  • "Climate Apartheid." By Amy Goodman

    The U.N.‘s 17th “Conference of Parties,” or COP 17, negotiations were extended, virtually nonstop, through Sunday, in hopes of avoiding complete failure. But despite optimistic pronouncements to the contrary, many believe the Kyoto Protocol died in Durban.
    Dec 14, 2011 | Columns & Articles
  • Durban_climate_change_cop17

    Climate Activists: Durban Deal is "Very Weak" Agreement, Lacks "Ambition, Equity, Justice"

    The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, has ended with an agreement to start negotiations for a new legally binding climate treaty to be decided by 2015 — and to come into force by 2020. Negotiators also agreed to a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol and the initial design of a Green Climate Fund. Many environmental groups say the agreement does not do enough to deal with the climate crisis. "It...
    Dec 12, 2011 | Story
  • 2011_nobel_prize_winners

    Leymah Gbowee, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia Share Nobel Peace Prize with Yemeni Tawakkul Karman

    On Saturday, the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize was presented to three female activists and political leaders for "their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights." The trio of laureates follow only a dozen other women among 85 men, as well as a number of organizations, to have won the peace prize over its 110-year history. We play excerpts from their acceptance speeches. "The Nobel Committee cannot license...
    Dec 12, 2011 | Story
  • Wanjira_maathai_cop17

    Wanjira Maathai: U.S. Should "Shape Up or Get Out" at U.N. Climate Talks

    Wanjira Maathai is the daughter of the late Kenyan environmental activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai, and the international director for the Green Belt Movement. At the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Durban, Wanjira says of the United States: "Shape up or get out... The United States should be providing the leadership ... yet they’re really putting blocks on what would be for African nations a really life and...
    Dec 08, 2011 | Story
  • Nnimmo_bassey_foe_cop17

    At Durban Summit, Leading African Activist Calls U.S. Emissions Stance "A Death Sentence for Africa"

    We continue our week-long coverage from the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 17, in Durban, where negotiators from more than 190 nations are in their final week of key talks on fighting climate change. The future of the Kyoto Protocol is in doubt, as is the formation of a new Green Climate Fund. With the talks taking place in South Africa, special interest is being paid to how the continent of Africa is already being heavily impacted...
    Dec 06, 2011 | Story
  • Cop17_tar_sands_action

    Indigenous Activists from Canada Protest Tar Sands Oil at Durban Climate Change Summit

    This morning in Durban, South Africa, a group of youth and indigenous activists from Canada gave delegates to the U.N. climate talks mock gift bags containing samples of fake tar sands along with tourism brochures for Canada and Canadian flags. Kandi Mossett, one of the activists participating in the action, says Canada’s reliance on tar sands oil "is the largest catastrophic project that I am aware of on earth right now." Mossett,...
    Dec 06, 2011 | Story