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Africa

The Cathedral of our Lady of Victories in Yaounde, Cameroon.

In Cameroon, religious freedom can’t be separated from politics

By Commentaries/Opinions

By R. Drew Smith, RNS — American religion and politics have been stubbornly connected — except where we pretend they aren’t. Despite constitutional separations between church and state, religion has been more closely tied to politics and politics more closely tied to religion than most care to admit. And yet, advocates for international religious freedom often treat religious freedom and political freedom as totally separate and distinct domains. This separation…

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Sudanese students protest in the capital Khartoum on July 30, 2019, a day after students were shot at a rally against shortages of bread and fuel in al-Obeid,

Sudan suspends all schools after students killed during protests

By News & Current Affairs

By Sharif Paget, Hande Atay Alam, Nada Altaher and Bukola Adebayo. (CNN) — Authorities in Sudan have suspended all schools beginning on Wednesday after street protests turned deadly, according to state news agency SUNA. “The Secretary General of the Federal Government Bureau, Siddiq Gumaa Babal-Khair, has directed the caretaker Walis (governors) of States to suspend education at all the school levels as of Wednesday,” SUNA reported, citing a directive of…

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A relief sculpture of the goddess Mami Wata on the wall of a voodoo temple in Benin.

Mermaids Have Always Been Black

By Editors' Choice

The uproar over Disney casting Halle Bailey as the Little Mermaid overlooks generations of Caribbean and African folklore. By Tracey Baptiste, The New York Times — As a young child growing up in Trinidad and Tobago within sight and walking distance of the Caribbean Sea, I was gripped by the intrigue of mermaids. I was introduced to one version of a mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen, whose tale of a magical girl…

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Mansa Musa, the king of Mali, approached by a Berber on camelback; detail from The Catalan Atlas, attributed to the Majorcan mapmaker Abraham Cresques, 1375

Africa’s Lost/Forgotten Kingdoms

By Reparations

By Howard W. French, NYR — There is a broad strain in Western thought that has long treated Africa as existing outside of history and progress; it ranges from some of our most famous thinkers to the entertainment that generations of children have grown up with. There are Disney cartoons that depict barely clothed African cannibals merrily stewing their victims in giant pots suspended above pit fires.1 Among intellectuals there is…

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"It is transnational corporations, the stand-ins of yesterday's British empire—often aided by an enthusiastic national bourgeoisie—that have robbed the Ghanaian people of sovereignty over their resources, their wealth, and their future," writes Celina della Croce.

98.3 Percent of Ghana’s Gold Remains in the Hands of Multinational Corporations

By News & Current Affairs

The disproportionate focus on corruption of national leaders distracts from the systemic theft of national wealth by multinational corporations By Celina della Croce — Every year, the vast majority of Ghana’s natural wealth is stolen. The country is among the largest exporters of gold in the world, yet—according to a study by the Bank of Ghana—less than 1.7 percent of global returns from its gold make their way back to the Ghanaian…

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NNPA President and CEO, Dr Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., (far right) invited Kettie Kamwangala (far left) and other Malawian women leaders for an open discussion while the ballots were being counted after a historic voter turnout across Malawi.

Women Play Key Role in Ensuring African Democracy

By News & Current Affairs

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA — Throughout this southeastern African nation of nearly 20 million residents, the strength and resiliency of women is on display 24 hours each day. The sustainability of democracy in any nation can be evaluated by the inclusive leadership roles performed by women in its social, political and economic life. According to statistics from the World Population Review, nearly half (49.1 percent)…

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A man takes a call as he stands between two billboards showing Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari and other party officials, in Kano, northern Nigeria, February 26, 2019

Facebook Busts Israeli Campaign to Disrupt Elections in African, Asian and Latin American Nations

By News & Current Affairs

Dozens of accounts, pages and groups operated by private firm peddling fake news were deleted, tech giant says. The Associated Press — Facebook said Thursday it banned an Israeli company that ran an influence campaign aimed at disrupting elections in various countries and has canceled dozens of accounts engaged in spreading disinformation. Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy, told reporters that the tech giant…

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