Toto : Africa | Official HD Video | Reupload

May 22, 2013 | Views on YouTube: 1,042,690,820

How Islamists Overran My Country, Lebanon – Brigitte Gabriel

May 13, 2024 | Brigitte Gabriel tells the story of how Islamists overran her country, Lebanon , with the aid of Islamic countries in the 1970s.

It's important to note that religion and thus religious extremism is dangerous and needs to be checked especially in Africa so that what happened to the Middle East won't take place on the [African] continent.

This is the reason why the enlightenment and advocacy towards naturalism needs to be intensified in Africa and the world.

How Africans Are Changing French — One Joke, Rap and Book at a Time

THE NEW YORK TIMES: More than 60 percent of French speakers now live in Africa. Despite growing resentment at France, Africans are contributing to the evolution and spread of the French language.

French, by most estimates the world’s fifth most spoken language, is changing — perhaps not in the gilded hallways of the institution in Paris that publishes its official dictionary, but on a rooftop in Abidjan, the largest city in Ivory Coast.

There one afternoon, a 19-year-old rapper who goes by the stage name “Marla” rehearsed her upcoming show, surrounded by friends and empty soda bottles. Her words were mostly French, but the Ivorian slang and English words that she mixed in made a new language.

To speak only French, “c’est zogo” — “it’s uncool,” said Marla, whose real name is Mariam Dosso, combining a French word with Ivorian slang. But playing with words and languages, she said, is “choco,” an abbreviation for chocolate meaning “sweet” or “stylish.”

A growing number of words and expressions from Africa are now infusing the French language, spurred by booming populations of young people in West and Central Africa. » | Elian Peltier | Photographs by Arlette Bashizi and Hannah Reyes Morales | Reporting from Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Dakar, Senegal; and Paris | Tuesday, December 12, 2023

Joshua Maponga:"Christianity and Islam Are BULLIES of African Culture." | #shorts

God in Islam and in Christianity is intolerant of culture. Listen to here.

U.S. Knew Saudis Were Killing African Migrants

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The United States was told last year that Saudi security forces were shooting, shelling and abusing groups of migrants, but it chose not to raise the issue publicly.

Last fall, American diplomats received grim news that border guards in Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. partner in the Middle East, were using lethal force against African migrants who were trying to enter the kingdom from Yemen.

The diplomats got more detail in December, when United Nations officials presented them with information about Saudi security forces shooting, shelling and abusing migrants, leaving many dead and wounded, according to U.S. officials and a person who attended the meetings, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity since they were not authorized to speak to journalists.

In the months since, American officials have not publicly criticized the Saudis’ conduct, although State Department officials said this past week, following a published report of the killings, that U.S. diplomats have raised the issue with their Saudi counterparts and asked them to investigate. It remains unclear whether those discussions have affected Saudi actions. » | Ben Hubbard and Edward Wong, Ben Hubbard reported from Istanbul and Edward Wong from Washington. | Saturday, August 26, 2023

Toto : Africa | Official HD Video | Reupload

Views on YouTube: 788,828,567

Toto : Africa | Official HD Video

Views on YouTube: 761,085,933

Travel Restrictions Multiply for African Countries over Fears of a New Variant

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Countries around the world moved to restrict travel from southern Africa on Friday in a frantic effort to keep a newly identified, and apparently significantly evolved, variant of the coronavirus from crossing their borders.

The European Commission proposed that its members activate the “emergency brake” on travel from countries in southern African and other countries affected to limit the spread of the new variant.

“All air travel to these countries should be suspended until we have a clear understanding about the danger posed by this new variant,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Union’s executive arm, said in a statement. “And travelers returning from this region should respect strict quarantine rules.”

In the past, governments have taken days, weeks or months to issue travel restrictions in response to new variants. This time, restrictions came within hours of South Africa’s announcement — at least 10 countries around the world had announced measures before South African scientists had finished a meeting with World Health Organization experts about the variant on Friday. » | Jason Horowitz, Lynsey Chutel and Mike Ives | Friday, November 26, 2021

Covid-19 en Europe : un premier cas du nouveau variant détecté en Belgique : La Belgique est le premier pays européen à détecter un cas du variant B.1.1.529. Le patient contaminé est revenu d'Égypte le 11 novembre dernier. »

Is Africa's Problem with Islamist Terrorism Getting Worse? | DW News

Jul 3, 2021 • African nations have a growing problem - countries across the continent are facing attacks by Islamist-inspired insurgents. The so-called Islamic State may have lost influence in Syria and Iraq - but now it's claiming vast territory across Africa, expanding and strengthening its influence together with affiliated armed groups.

Video footage purports to show Boko Haram fighters pledging allegiance to the Islamic State in West Africa Province. If genuine it would herald a disturbing development for Nigerian security forces. For years the two militias have been fighting each other. That came to a head last month when notorious Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau reportedly killed himself in a battle with IS fighters. It has fueled fears that the so-called Islamic State is consolidating control of the insurgency in northeastern Nigeria.

That's at the heart of a string of conflicts involving various extremist groups from Mauritania to Chad. Now there are warnings IS activity is growing in the horn of Africa and northern Mozambique. They came as the global coalition against IS met in Rome to discuss the resurfacing of the terror group, sometimes called Daesh.

The Italian foreign minister wants to sharpen the focus on the continent. At the end of the first in-person meeting in two years, the global coalition added three new African countries to their ranks. And these propaganda images of former foes burying the hatchet in Nigeria only serve to underline the urgency of the situation.

Are We Seeing a Repeat of the Indian COVID Tragedy in Africa? | COVID-19 Special

Jun 25, 2021 • South Africa, the worst-hit country in the African continent, has entered a third COVID wave. New daily cases more than doubled over the past two weeks. In the province around Johannesburg, hospitals are already reaching their capacity. Despite the rising numbers and low vaccination rates, the country still only has rather relaxed lockdown regulations in place.

More than a dozen nations are reporting the worst levels of infections. In Uganda, hospitals are already reaching capacity and oxygen is in short supply. The situation is becoming dire in many regions - are we seeing a repeat of the Indian tragedy in Africa?

As Trump Struggles to Pronounce "Namibia," Meet One of the Country's Best-Known Journalists

The African nation of Namibia found itself in the news last week after President Trump mispronounced its name during a speech at the United Nations. Trump’s reference to the nonexistent Nambia left many observers confused as to whether he was referring to the Gambia or Zambia or Namibia. White House officials later clarified to say Trump meant to say Namibia. During that same speech, Trump congratulated African leaders for helping make his friends rich. We find out more from one of Namibia’s best-known journalists, Gwen Lister, who is in Paris to speak today at UNESCO. She is the founding editor of the independent newspaper The Namibian, which reported critically on the apartheid South African regime. During the 1980s, she was jailed twice, and her newspaper’s office was destroyed by arson. The building was later firebombed in the 1990s after Namibia became independent. Gwen Lister has since become a leading advocate for press freedom. She is a founding member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which gained fame for publishing the Panama Papers, which exposed how the world’s rich used tax havens to hide their wealth. Gwen Lister is speaking today here at UNESCO to mark the International Day for the Universal Access to Information.

Inside Story - Will More Troops Protect the Sahel Region of Africa?

Emmanuel Macron has been president of France for just two months - and already has made his second visit to Mali, where French troops and UN peacekeepers are fighting armed groups.

Vladimir Putin: Terrorists Use Money Made in Turkey to Launch Attacks against West and Africa

THE TELEGRAPH: Russian president says God is punishing the ruling elite of Turkey by taking away their sanity after the deaths of Russian servicemen when Turkey shot down its warplane

Vladimir Putin has launched another scathing attack on Turkey, vowing not to forget its shoot down of a Russian plane, as he opened his annual state of the nation address to parliament, discussing security and Syria.

The Russian president pulled no punches and claimed God was punishing Turkey's leaders by "stripping" away their insanity [sic].

"We will not forget this complicity with terrorists. We always considered and will always consider treachery to be the ultimate and lowest act. Let those in Turkey who shot our pilots in the back know this," Mr Putin told politicians in his address.

Mr Putin told the country that Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) was a "barbaric ideology", suggesting the group were like Nazis that the world must come together and fight against.

"In the 20th century, when people were not willing to join forces to fight Nazism they had to pay for that with tens of millions of innocent lives. Today we face this barbaric ideology, and we should set aside our differences and unite in one anti-terrorist front under international law and the United Nations."

He added: "Terrorists in Syria pose a special threat. They receive money and weapons, build up their forces, and if they win there sooner or later they will come back to Russia and we will have to fight them here.

"Our forces fight in Syria for Russia - for the security of our people, first and foremost. In fighting terrorism Russia is acting with extreme responsibility."

Mr Putin then addressed the escalating war of words with Turkey, claiming yet again that Ankara let Isil terrorists sell oil, an allegation Turkey denies strongly.

"We know who it is who profits in Turkey by letting terrorists sell oil there. Terrorists use that money to plan attacks against us, France, Mali and others. It was in Turkey that terrorists from the north Caucasus used to find refuge, and some of them are still there." » | Roland Oliphant, Moscow | Thursday, December 3, 2015

Egyptian Sheikhs Lead Islamization Campaign in Africa: Jesus Is the Slave of Allah and His Messenger

Italy's Struggle To Process Swelling Tide Of Refugees

Human Tide: For the refugees fleeing the Middle East and Africa, their treacherous journey is only the beginning

Barack Obama Tells African States to Abandon Anti-gay Discrimination

THE GUARDIAN: Visiting his father’s Kenyan homeland, US president says ‘bad things happen’ when governments get into habit of treating people differently

The US president, Barack Obama, has launched an unprecedented defence of gay rights in Africa, telling Kenya’s president that the state has no right to punish people because of “who they love”.

Obama, visiting his late father’s homeland for the first time as US president, confronted Uhuru Kenyatta and millions of Kenyans watching on television with his “unequivocal” views. Homosexual acts are illegal in Kenya and surveys show nine in 10 people find them unacceptable.

Obama personalised the issue by comparing homophobia to racial discrimination that he had encountered in the United States. Never before has such a powerful foreign leader challenged Africans so directly on their own soil. » | David Smith in Nairobi | Saturday, July 25, 2015

Obama's Visit Sparks Debate on Gay Rights in Kenya, Africa

One particular issue has been gripping many Kenyans in recent days. Just what is Barack Obama going to say about gay rights? As in much of Africa, homosexuality is widely frowned upon in Kenya. Some MPs have warned the American president to avoid the matter. But Obama's reportedly said, he will indeed be raising the issue when he's here. CCTV's Kathryn Ogunde has more…

Islamic State Militants 'Smuggled to Europe'

Smugglers hide IS militants on boats filled with migrants,
Abdul Basit Haroun says

BBC AMERICA: Islamic State (IS) fighters are being smuggled into Europe by gangs in the Mediterranean, a Libyan official has told the BBC.

Government adviser Abdul Basit Haroun said smugglers were hiding IS militants on boats filled with migrants.

He based his claim on conversations with boat owners in parts of North Africa controlled by the militants.

He alleged that IS was allowing them to continue their operations in exchange for 50% of their income.

The UN estimates that 60,000 people have already tried to cross the Mediterranean this year. » | Sunday, May 17, 2015

Leptis Magna: War-torn Libya's Forgotten Ancient Roman City

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: As Libya's war keeps foreign visitors away, the Roman Empire's magnificent capital in Africa lies forgotten, with weeds growing among the cracks of the cobbled stones

For over 900 years Leptis Magna – once the pride of the Roman Empire in Africa – lay hidden, forgotten by man, beneath Libya’s sand dunes.

Now, excavated and magnificent on a promontory overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, Leptis Magna stands, once again, alone and almost entirely abandoned.

As political instability besets Libya, the theatre, parliament and wide, straight, cobbled roads of the “best preserved” Roman city in the world are devoid of tourists.

“We haven’t had any tourists since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011,” said Osama Krema, a Libyan tour guide working at the site. “Occasionally aid workers staying in the country come to visit. They factor in only half an hour initially. » | Ruth Sherlock, Leptis Magna, video by Sam Tarling | Monday, March 16, 2015

Gay and Lesbian Gambians Live in Fear of ‘Aggravated Homosexuality’ Law

THE GUARDIAN: Few havens available in west Africa for people forced to flee homophobia and harsh new legislation

The tipoff late one night wasn’t unexpected. Since the crime of “aggravated homosexuality” had come into force in the Gambia in October, Theresa had been living in fear. Then a friend who worked for the country’s notorious police force warned her she would be targeted in a raid in a few hours’ time. Theresa’s crime was being a lesbian.

“I wasn’t surprised, I was expecting it anyway because the president has said many times he will kill us all like dogs,” she said. “But I was really, really scared. My friend said, if you don’t go now, it will be too late.” By dawn, Theresa was on a bus out of the country with her best friend, Youngesp, both of whom agreed to speak only if their real names were not used. The two have joined a growing number of people whose lives have been upended by anti-gay laws that trample on an already marginalised minority in west Africa.

That they ended up seeking refuge in neighbouring Senegal, where being gay or lesbian is punishable with five-year jail terms, points to the particularly dismal situation in the Gambia. Its politicians have long and publicly railed against homosexuality, with the tone set by President Yahya Jammeh, who this year labelled gay people vermin. » | Monica Mark, West Africa correspondent | Thursday, December 04, 2014