For years, Kenyans freely used and disposed of plastic bags. The bags were ubiquitous mdash;in the markets, in the gutters and in the guts out of 3 out of every 10 animals taken to slaughter. Nakuru, a town northwest of Nairobi, was a particular eyesore, with a poorly managed dump site that left bags strewn across the roads. It drove Nakuru resi ...

Ten new investors mdash;Burkina Faso, C ocirc;te d 39;Ivoire, Denmark, the European Commission, Germany, Japan, Laerdal Global Health, the Netherlands, Qatar and an anonymous donor mdash;have joined since the launch of the Global Financing Facility replenishment. They join existing funders the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation, Can ...

DR Congo's Katanga Mining said Tuesday it had temporarily suspended cobalt sales from its Kamoto mine after detecting the presence of radioactivity from uranium, making the cobalt unsafe for export. Katanga, which is owned by Swiss mining giant Glencore, said cobalt sales and exports from Kamoto would be halted until further notice. The pres ...

Niger is turning to drone technology to help protect a Saharan antelope and other endangered species in Africa's largest terrestrial park. The Termit and Tin Toumma reserve in the southeast of the West African desert state is at threat from poaching, deforestation, over-grazing and armed conflict. French conservation group Noe -- its name mea ...

Is France guilty of amnesia when it comes to the role of African troops who fought in World War I? The organisers of an exhibition on colonial fighters near Paris think so. A collection of photos has been shown since mid-October in the town hall of Bondy, a multiracial suburb of the French capital best known as the home of French football star ...

Grand firework displays, giant screens and chartered helicopters -- leading contenders in Madagascar's elections on Wednesday have been battling to outdo each other with extravagant campaigning in stark contrast to the deep poverty of voters. In the capital Antananarivo, former president Andry Rajoelina flies to his campaign headquarters, which ...

Allegations of vote-rigging have mired elections in both Zimbabwe and Cameroon, and risk overshadowing upcoming polls in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Vote fraud appears to have become a trend across the African continent, begging the question of whether democracy is really working for Africa. Although elections are not working particularly ...

Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi has used his first state-of-the-nation address to openly attack his predecessor Ian Khama in an unprecedented clash in a nation that prides itself on stability. Masisi, who was hand-picked by Khama, took power in April when Khama stepped aside after serving the maximum 10 years in office. But the two men h ...

As one of the world's richest men and most active philanthropists, Bill Gates usually has his hands full. Just not with poop. So it came as a surprise when the founder of Microsoft brandished a jar of human waste at a forum on the future of the toilet in Beijing on Tuesday. The stunt was an effort to draw attention to a problem affecting deve ...