A.M. Edition for June 30. WSJ Africa Deputy Bureau Chief Gabriele Steinhauser on how the region is dealing with a surge of the more-transmissible Delta variant.
Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi is set to begin trading today in the U.S. And, differing stances on vaccine passports. Marc Stewart hosts.
In Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park, water is hard to come by in the dry season. Without it, animals like buffalo will die. And so they’ll do anything for a drink – even take on a pride of hungry lions.
In stunning footage of an exciting chase, we show you lions’ hunting techniques – and how it’s possible even for these experienced predators to make mistakes. Who will be the winner in the end?
Tanzania is an East African country known for its vast wilderness areas. They include the plains of Serengeti National Park, a safari mecca populated by the “big five” game (elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino), and Kilimanjaro National Park, home to Africa’s highest mountain. Offshore lie the tropical islands of Zanzibar, with Arabic influences, and Mafia, with a marine park home to whale sharks and coral reefs.
In 2019, Cyclone Idai devastated Mozambique’s port city of Beira. Many died and entire neighborhoods were flooded. The city is now setting up large green areas designed to absorb future floodwaters. But entire fishing communities need to relocate.
Prepare to be mesmerized by these stunning wildlife videos, featuring everything from wildebeest to clownfish.
Cape Town is a port city on South Africa’s southwest coast, on a peninsula beneath the imposing Table Mountain. Slowly rotating cable cars climb to the mountain’s flat top, from which there are sweeping views of the city, the busy harbor and boats heading for Robben Island, the notorious prison that once held Nelson Mandela, which is now a living museum.
“Some of the largest and most wonderful creatures in Africa have become very dear to me over the years,” Schmeisser writes. His book of portraits carries two messages. “It [is] a homage and warning at the same time—a visual message with the aim of sharpening our clouded view of the one, infinitely complex and vulnerable nature and to recognize which treasures we are about to irretrievably lose,” he writes.
There are exactly two black rhinos left in the world, a subspecies of the white rhino, the very last of their kind. In this deeply poignant tribute, photographer Joachim Schmeisser presents these rhinos as well as other wild animals in the Amboseli National Park in Kenya, where Maasai tribespeople ensure that nobody endangers them. With his breathtaking black-and-white images, Schmeisser brings us up close to these extraordinary and endangered creatures, creating a powerful document of nature’s splendor and fragility.
In Kenya’s Rift Valley, climate change has brought an unprecedented increase in annual rainfall over the past several years, drowning pastureland, farms, homes, schools, churches, clinics and businesses.
The Great Rift Valley is part of an intra-continental ridge system that runs through Kenya from north to south. It is part of the Gregory Rift, the eastern branch of the East African Rift, which starts in Tanzania to the south and continues northward into Ethiopia.[1] It was formed on the “Kenyan Dome” a geographical upwelling created by the interactions of three major tectonics: the Arabian, Nubian, and Somalian plates.[2] In the past, it was seen as part of a “Great Rift Valley” that ran from Madagascar to Syria. Most of the valley falls within the former Rift Valley Province.
Many millionaires live in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the world’s poorest countries. This film depicts some of those who have made fortunes amid the chaos, including musicians, mining bosses, entrepreneurs and preachers. The DRC is rich in raw materials, but only a few profit from its natural resources.
While 60% of Congo’s inhabitants live on less than $1.25 per day, businessmen, artists, former rebel leaders and evangelists are reaping the rewards of economic growth. In the capital, Kinshasa, these new rich live in safe and luxurious enclaves, while children toil in coltan mines in the eastern part of the country. Fally Ipupa has made his money with music.
Others rely on their business acumen, like Patricia Nzolantima, who founded a taxi company and aims to give more opportunities to women. With 3,000 mine workers, Cooperamma is the largest employer in North Kivu, in the east of the DRC. Managing director Robert Seninga says his coltan mines are extremely well-run, yet safety standards are poor. Coltan, a globally coveted mineral, is used in cell phones and other devices. It’s both a blessing and a curse for the Congo. It makes some rich, but for others it means death. The region still suffers from ethnic and factional conflicts, with money from illegal coltan smuggling financing new violence. It’s a vicious cycle.
Filmed in the Cape Floral Kingdom, South Africa.
Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2004, the property is located at the south-western extremity of South Africa. It is one of the world’s great centres of terrestrial biodiversity. The extended property includes national parks, nature reserves, wilderness areas, State forests and mountain catchment areas. These elements add a significant number of endemic species associated with the Fynbos vegetation, a fine-leaved sclerophyllic shrubland adapted to both a Mediterranean climate and periodic fires, which is unique to the Cape Floral Region.
The concrete jungle and the rat race suck up our time and energy. Our lives revolve around paying bills and staring at a computer screen. We feel stressed and anxious, and we don’t know what’s wrong. What we are truly lacking is a connection with the wild world and its rhythms. Grant takes us out into the Cape Floral Kingdom, where we kick off our shoes and walk barefoot on the earth, touch the bark of a tree, watch a spider spin a web, listen to the birds singing in the branches above. We reawaken our senses. So no matter where you live, get out there and be wild every now and then. You’ll find connection again.
Featuring Grant Hine – Ecotherapist and Guide (www.zenguiding.com)
Boomers Daily 