Tag Archives: Africa

News: Riots Rattle France, Wagner Troops In Africa

The Globalist Podcast, Monday, July 3, 2023: Riots continue to rock France and threaten to impede preparations for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, Russia expert Jenny Mathers examines the fate of Wagner troops in Africa.

Also, the future of local news in Canada as Meta and Google block content. Plus: film critic Karen Krizanovich on the latest in Hollywood and new space technology is put under the microscope. 

Cinematic Travel: ‘Five Elements Of Mauritania’ In Northwestern Africa

Timelab Pro Films (June 26, 2023) – Mauritania revealed itself to us like a symphony of nature’s elements. When we experienced the raw power of the earth, the gentle touch of the wind, the captivating dance of fire, and soothing embrace of water, it felt like there was an invisible force, a fifth element, giving meaning to everything that surrounded us.

Among the calm sand dunes, we met people who found their peace amidst the shifting sands, while others, along the shore, were braving the ocean. And in between, the wondrous Eye of the Sahara stood as a silent witness.

Like a celestial watching over the ever-changing life amid the timeless dunes, quietly keeping the secrets of the past. Immersed in the nature of Mauritania, we felt wonder and connection to the timeless history.

Author of the project: Andrew Efimov

Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to the north and northwest, Algeria to the northeast, Mali to the east and southeast, and Senegal to the southwest.

National Geographic Traveller – July/Aug 2023

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National Geographic Traveller Magazine (July/August 2023): The issue features the best-value safaris available, an off-road journey in Bolivia, three Camino de Santiago itineraries and a weekend in Czech Republic’s South Moravia.

This issue also comes with a free UK & Ireland guide — featuring 52 short breaks around Britain and Ireland, whether it’s cycling in the Peak District or exploring Edinburgh’s finest wine bars.

Also inside this issue:

Bolivia: An off-road take on the classic journey from the Atacama Desert to the Uyuni Salt Flat.
Florida: The show must go on in the Sunshine State, be it the Everglades or tropical Keys.
Sardinia: Hiking trails, colourful townsand resilient communities from coast to mountains.
Camino de Santiago: Retrace ancient pilgrim paths.
Jaipur: Art is all around you in Rajasthan’s largest city.
Perth: The capital of Western Australia beckons with revitalised public spaces.
South Moravia: Germanic villages, ancient forests and wine cellars in the Czech Republic’s south east.
Belém: Long overlooked as a culinary destination, this Brazilian city puts the spotlight on Amazonian ingredients.
Bali: Where to stay on this popular Indonesian island.

News: Iran’s Raisi Tours Latin America, Germany-NATO Drills, Zimbabwe

The Globalist Podcast, Monday, June 12, 2023: Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, embarks on a weekend tour to Latin America. How will this strengthen alliances and partnerships in the region?

Plus: Nato’s biggest air drills start in Germany, Zimbabweans face a currency crash and Chinese investors flock to Saudi Arabia for an annual business conference.

Travel: A Guided Tour Of Accra, Capital Of Ghana

DW Travel (June 10, 2023) – TV-host KMJ guides you through his city, Accra — from the old fishing district of Jamestown to the hip Osu Oxford Street. Of course, KMJ also shares tips on where to eat delicious food and shows you the best place in Accra for chilling by the sea.

Video timeline: 00:00 Intro 00:25 Labadi Beach Hotel 01:25 Legon Botanical Gardens 02:23 Azmera restaurant 03:50 Jamestown with the arts center 04:22 Osu Oxford Street

Accra is the capital of Ghana, on the Atlantic coast of West Africa. Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park honors Ghana’s first president, who helped lead the country to independence. The park contains Nkrumah’s mausoleum and a museum charting his life. Makola Market is the city’s vast, colorful bazaar. Popular seafront spots Labadi Beach and Kokrobite Beach offer golden sand and high-energy nightlife. 

Africa Travel: The ‘Ksars’ Of Djado, Northern Niger

FRANCE 24 (June 5, 2023) – A long trek across the desert of northeastern Niger brings visitors to one of the most astonishing and rewarding sights in the Sahel: fortified villages of salt and clay built on rocks, besieged by the Sahara sands.

Generations of travelers have stood before the “ksars” of Djado,  wandering their crenellated walls, watchtowers, secretive passages and wells, all of them testifying to a skilled but unknown hand.

The now ruined city Djado is located on the southern end of the Djado Pleateau in the Sahara in northern Niger. It is not clear who built the complex of fortified mud buildings (ksars). The city was a part Trans-Saharan trading network of the Kanuri people whose Kanem-Bornu Empire was founded before 1000 CE and at its greater extent covered what is now Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria, southern Lybia and Eastern Niger.

It is not clear what caused the abandonment of the city after the 1860s: increased desertification, conflict or even a mosquito infestation have been proposed as possible causes. Since then it has been used by Toubou nomads for the cultivation of dates. The site also contains rock drawings and carvings from 12,000 to 6,000 BCE, depicting the fauna that roved the prehistoric Sahara. The Djado Plateau was added to the UNESCO Tenative List in 2006.

Niger or the Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, Benin and Burkina Faso to the southwest, Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest.

#Niger #lostcity #Sahara

Travel: Khan el-Khalili Street Market in Cairo

LADmob Films (June 4, 2023) – Khan el-Khalili (Arabic: خان الخليلي) is a famous bazaar and souq (or souk) in the historic center of CairoEgypt. Established as a center of trade in the Mamluk era and named for one of its several historic caravanserais, the bazaar district has since become one of Cairo’s main attractions for tourists and Egyptians alike.

It is also home to many Egyptian artisans and workshops involved in the production of traditional crafts and souvenirs. The name Khan el-Khalili historically referred to a single building in the area; today it refers to the entire shopping district.

Travel: An Aerial Tour Of Angola, Southwest Africa

Clairmont Films (May 31, 2023) – Angolacountry located in southwestern Africa. A large country, Angola takes in a broad variety of landscapes, including the semidesert Atlantic littoral bordering Namibia’s “Skeleton Coast,” the sparsely populated rainforest interior, the rugged highlands of the south, the Cabinda exclave in the north, and the densely settled towns and cities of the northern coast and north-central river valleys.

The capital and commercial centre is Luanda, a large port city on the northern coast that blends Portuguese-style colonial landmarks with traditional African housing styles and modern industrial complexes.

Angola

Angola at the beginning of the 21st century was a country ravaged by war and the related effects of land mines and malnutrition, and it was often dependent on the international community for the basics of survival. It is a country that is nevertheless rich in natural resources, including precious gems, metals, and petroleum; indeed, it ranks among the highest of the oil-producing countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Travel: Inside A Datoga Tribe Village in Tanzania

Ella McKendrick Films (May 21, 2023) – A journey into a Datoga tribe village in the lake Eyasi region in northern Tanzania.

The Datoga tribe are pastoralists who originally journeyed to Tanzania from Sudan, chasing better grazing for their cattle. But finding their place in Tanzania was far from easy. They are also renowned for their blacksmith abilities, crafting jewelry, and arrowheads out of scrap metal.

Previews: The Economist Magazine – May 20, 2023

Business | May 20th 2023 Edition

The Economist – May 20, 2023 issue:

Joe Biden’s global vision is too timid and pessimistic

The president underestimates America’s strengths and misunderstands how it acquired them

In the 1940s and early 1950s America built a new world order out of the chaos of war. For all its shortcomings, it kept the peace between superpowers and underpinned decades of growth that lifted billions out of poverty. Today that order, based on global rules, free markets and an American promise to uphold both, is fraying. Toxic partisanship at home has corroded confidence in America’s government. 

China and the West take a step to ease Africa’s debt crisis

A deal for Ghana is the first test case for a new approach

A man holds a 100 cedis, the Ghana currency, note in Accra, Ghana, on December 1, 2022. - Ghana is battling its worst economic crisis in decades.The government on December 14, 2022 signed a $3 billion bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund in a bid to shore up its public finances, but economic stability is still a way off.Once applauded as a haven of economic stability and security in a region plagued by coups and jihadist wars, Ghana has steadily lost investor confidence as its economy slipped into crisis. (Photo by Nipah Dennis / AFP) (Photo by NIPAH DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Ghana made history when it led the wave of sub-Saharan African countries that won independence more than six decades ago. It may now be making history again, as the first test case for a new approach to debt relief. China and Western governments may have overcome one barrier to restructuring the billions of dollars owed by countries with unsustainable debts.