Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged a $30 billion investment in Africa on August 27, 2016, noting that his country has faith in Africa’s future. Abe was in Nairobi, Kenya, to attend the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). He said the $30 billion in public and private support for education, healthcare…
Chris and Erin McCurdy, American missionaries in Zambia, made a new friend in Lusaka who also loved baseball. While the three played a game of catch they noticed a young boy watching. They invited him over to play. Soon, other children joined in. Every Saturday more children showed up to play. February 2016, is when…
Five salons since 2012 have been offering more than just a beautiful head full of braids; these Conakry, Guinea, businesses are sharing information with their customers about contraception. This idea is new for many of their patrons. With Guinea women having an average of five children, and the lowest contraceptive use rates in the…
The Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) promotes high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and development partners. Japan proposed the conference to the United Nations in 1991 and held the first event in Tokyo in 1993. Subsequent meetings took place in 1998, 2003, 2008, and 2013 and most recently on Aug. 27-28, 2016.…
Unstoppable is the perfect word to describe the United States Women’s Basketball Team’s gold medal-winning performance at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. The Americans were unchallenged in the tournament, winning by an average of 40 points-per-game and eclipsing the 100-point mark in five of those victories. Some observers believe the gold standard was set by…
When news surfaced that the popular movie, Ghostbusters, was undergoing a remake with some interesting new characters, fans of the original were anxious to learn more. When the crew turned out to be a team of diverse yet hilarious women, not everybody was so excited any longer. Despite the fact that people had ill opinions…
African Models on the Rise Breaking into the seemingly glamorous world of modeling is no easy task, but models from African nations are taking the challenge in stride. Following in the steps of legends such as Iman and Alek Wek, a new generation is emerging on the international fashion scene. Amilna Estevao is just 17…
Dr. Satoshi Omura is a Japanese microbiologist who shared the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in developing Ivermectin, a highly effective and safe drug against parasitic worms in humans. It is a reformulated version of Avermectin, an equally successful drug that combats parasites in animals. He and Dr. William Campbell…
The Japanese African Business Initiative for Youth (ABE initiative) is a master’s degree and internship opportunity for young persons from Africa. Launched by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and introduced at the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development, the initiative began in 2013. It was created to develop human resources in Africa’s public and private…
Julian Assange, the controversial leader of Wikileaks, promised this week that his organization will continue its efforts to wreak havoc on the United States’ presidential election by releasing more emails that are reportedly damaging to Democratic nominee and former Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Assange, who remains holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in…
When Kenyan voters head to the polls this August to decide the political future of their nation, their votes could be cast on ballots printed by a Dubai firm alleged to have unclear ties with the powerful family of President Uhuru Kenyatta. Presidential candidate Raila Odinga of the National Super Alliance political party has filed…
Sunday’s BET Awards 17 did not disappoint during any moment, from the glamorous pre-show red carpet to the exciting live telecast held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Saturday Night Live star Leslie Jones was killin’ it as the hilarious hostess of the beautiful evening that celebrated African-American accomplishments in entertainment and sports. If there…
The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, winners of the Africa Cup of Nations, completed their participation in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup with a loss to the German National Football Team, the current World Cup champions. The match was played in Sochi, a Russian football town that has recently experienced a fair share of controversy as…
The world is mourning the loss of one of Africa’s greatest political leaders after the recent announcement that former President of Botswana Sir Ketumile Masire passed away on June 22 at the age of 91. Although Masire may not have been a household name in the West, history will remember him as the man responsible…
