Tag Archives: Africa

Morocco Jails Popular YouTuber For Insulting King

The BBC reports: A well known Moroccan YouTuber has been jailed for four years after being found guilty of insulting the country’s king. Mohamed Sekkaki [photo] was arrested earlier this month after criticising King Mohammed’s speeches and for calling Moroccans donkeys. He plans to appeal against the verdict. Rights groups are worried that personal freedoms are under increasing threat in …

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Gabon Is 70th Nation To Criminalize Homosexuality

Reuters reports: Gabon has passed a law against gay sex, becoming the 70th country to ban the practice, an official confirmed, as the global pace of reform falters. The central African country banned “sexual relations between people of the same sex” in a new penal code earlier this year, according to copies of the law online. A government official who …

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$1/Day Breakthrough Generic Drug For HIV+ Children

The New York Times reports: About 80,000 babies and toddlers die of AIDS each year, mostly in Africa, in part because their medicines come in hard pills or bitter syrups that are very difficult for small children to swallow or keep down. But on Friday, the Indian generic drug manufacturer Cipla announced a new, more palatable pediatric formulation. The new …

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Uganda Backs Off “Kill The Gays” Bill Under Pressure

Reuters reports: Uganda will not impose the death penalty for gay sex, a presidential spokesman said today, after major aid donors said they were monitoring a plan by the African nation to reintroduce a bill colloquially known as “Kill the Gays”. Uganda’s Ethics and Integrity Minister Simon Lokodo last Thursday said the government planned to re-introduce an anti-homosexuality bill in …

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State Department: We Stand With Uganda’s LGBTs

Reuters reports: Seven months after Brunei sparked international outcry over plans to impose the death penalty for gay sex, Uganda on Thursday said it would vote on a similar measure in parliament in the coming weeks. The European Union and the United States, which provide hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Uganda, said they opposed the death penalty …

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Former Zimbabwe Dictator Robert Mugabe Dead At 95

The New York Times reports: Robert Mugabe, the first prime minister and later president of independent Zimbabwe, who traded the mantle of liberator for the armor of a tyrant and presided over the decline of one of Africa’s most prosperous lands, died on Friday. He was 95. Mr. Mugabe, the world’s oldest head of state before his ouster in 2017, …

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TUNISIA: Gay Lawyer Launches Campaign For President

France 24 reports: For the first time, an openly gay candidate has thrown his hat in the ring for a presidential election in Tunisia. Mounir Baatour heads the country’s main LGBT rights group. His bid marks a test for post-revolutionary Tunisia’s fledgling democracy. Baatour, a lawyer at Tunisia’s highest court and the president of Shams, a group seeking the decriminalisation …

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AFRICA: Scientists Say Ebola Is Now Curable

The Guardian reports: Ebola can no longer be called an incurable disease, scientists have said, after two of four drugs being trialled in the major outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were found to have significantly reduced the death rate. ZMapp, used during the massive Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, has been dropped along with …

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BOTSWANA: Gov’t Seeks To Recriminalize Gay Sex

Reuters reports: Botswana’s government will appeal a high court ruling that decriminalized homosexuality, potentially resuscitating a law that punished gay sex by up to seven years in prison. Last month’s landmark court ruling, which was praised by international organizations and activists, meant Botswana joined a handful of African countries that have legalized same-sex relationships. But Attorney General Abraham Keetshabe said …

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BOTSWANA: High Court Decriminalizes Homosexuality

The Independent reports: Botswana has decriminalised homosexuality. The southern African nation’s High Court rejected sections of the penal code that criminalise same-sex relations and impose up to seven years in prison .Activists and rights groups cheered the unanimous ruling, which called the sections unconstitutional. High Court said in its ruling that penalising people for who they are is disrespectful, and …

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Kenya High Court Upholds Criminalization Of Gay Sex

The New York Times reports: Kenya’s High Court on Friday upheld laws that criminalize gay sex, declining to join the handful of former British possessions that have recently abolished a prohibition imposed by Britain during the colonial era. The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the court, announced in a courtroom packed with activists who wanted to see the …

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Ethiopian Airlines Crash Kills All 157 On Board [VIDEO]

The BBC reports: An Ethiopian Airlines jet has crashed shortly after take-off from Addis Ababa, killing all on board. The airline said 149 passengers and eight crew members were on flight ET302 from the Ethiopian capital to Nairobi in Kenya. It said 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, eight Americans and seven British nationals were among the passengers. The crash happened at …

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SOUTH AFRICA: Outcry Over Faked Raising From The Dead Spawns Viral “Resurrection Challenge” [VIDEO]

The BBC reports: A group of funeral directors in South Africa say they will sue a self-styled prophet who claims to have resurrected a dead man. A viral video of Pastor Alph Lukau shows him shouting “rise up” to a man lying down in a coffin who then jerks upright to cheers from worshippers. The funeral companies say they were …

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Canadian Catholic Group Blames Obama After Angolan Parliament Decriminalizes “Homosexual Perversion”

From the far-right LifeSiteNews: The national parliament of Angola has approved a new criminal penal code that omits penalties contained in the previous criminal code for “vices against nature,” that is, unnatural sexual acts including homosexual sodomy. It also prohibits discrimination based on “sexual orientation.” Homosexualist organizations are characterizing the repeal as a victory against “colonialism,” given that the legal …

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Angola Drops Anti-Gay Laws, Bans Discrimination

The Jurist reports: Angola’s parliament approved a new penal code Wednesday that drops provisions widely interpreted to criminalize homosexuality. The new penal code is Angola’s first since it gained its independence from Portugal in 1975. The prior code contained many holdover provisions from the colonial era, including a ban of “vices against nature,” which was understood to criminalize same-sex relationships …

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Denmark Suspends $10 Million In Aid To Tanzania After “Unacceptable Homophobic Comments” By Politician

The BBC reports: Denmark is withholding 65m krone (£7.5m; $9.8m) in aid to Tanzania after “unacceptable homophobic comments” from a senior politician, a minister says. Development minister Ulla Tornaes did not name the official but said she was “very concerned” by the comments. Last month, Paul Makonda, commissioner for the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, called on the public to …

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US Condemns “Escalating Attacks” Against LGBTs By Tanzania Government After Arrests Of Ten Gay Men

Via press release from the State Department: The United States government is deeply concerned over escalating attacks and legislative actions by the Government of Tanzania that violate civil liberties and human rights, creating an atmosphere of violence, intimidation, and discrimination. We are troubled by the continued arrests and harassment of marginalized persons, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and …

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EU Recalls Tanzania Ambassador Amid Threats To LGBTs

The Associated Press reports: The European Union has recalled its ambassador to Tanzania, citing “the deterioration of the human rights and rule of law situation” in the East African country where one regional official last week called for the outing and arrests of homosexuals. A statement emailed to The Associated Press Monday said the EU will be conducting a broad …

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State Department Issues Warning For LGBT Americans Living In Tanzania: Review Your Social Media Profiles

The Hill reports: The State Department is warning U.S. citizens in Tanzania of a crackdown against gay people in the East African country. The State Department said in a notice on its website that citizens should “employ sound security practices” and review their “internet footprint and social media profiles.” “Remove or protect images and language that may run afoul of …

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TANZANIA: Fearful LGBTs Go Into Hiding As Governor’s Call To Turn Them In Yields Thousands Of Messages

The Guardian reports: A Tanzanian official said he has received thousands of messages after ordering the public to report the name of any person suspected of being gay. Paul Makonda, regional commissioner for Dar es Salaam, made the request on Monday, pledging that a special team would “get their hands on them” next week. By Tuesday, he said he had …

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