Activists in South Africa wins important victory on mining rights

Last month activists in Pondoland in South Africa won an important victory., The Guardian reports. A court decided that before the government grants mining rights to someone, they must first have the consent of the local community. Local residents have formed the Amadiba crisis commitee because they are afraid mining could the ecology in the region and that people could lose their land. The mining company wants to find materials that could be used for golf clubs, laptop computers, bicycles, watches, just to mention a few things.


Protesting against mining rights in South Africa can sometimes have a lethal outcome, according to the Guardian.

A Moroccan who helpted to find the Higgs boson particle

As I have mentioned earlier I will sometimes talk about scientists from the African continent. This time I would like to mention Rajaa Cherkaoui El Moiursli, a Moroccan woman who in 2015 was awarded A Loreal Unesco for Women in Science Award. She gor it for her part in finding the Higgs boson particle, so it´s no small contribution to science.

What exactly did Rajaa Cherkaoui El Moursli do? She "contributed to the simulation and construction of the electromagnetic calorimeter in the ATLAS detector".

ATLAS is "one of two general-purpose detectors at the Large Hadron Collider" at Cern.


Click here for a video about her scientific work.

Netflix turns to Africa!

Netflix has announced it will now start to make African original series. The first one will be "Queen Sono", a story about a secret agent.

“It’s going to change the game for every artist on this continent”, stated South African actress Pearl Thusi (who plays the lead role), according to Variety.

Gandhi statue removed in Ghana

A statue of Mahatma Gandhi has been removed at a university in Ghana. The reason is that people are complaining that Gandhi was racist towards Africans.

Gandhi lived for a long time in South Africa and it is at this time people say Gandhi showed what he really felt about Africans. Find out more about this topic here and some more about Gandhi here.

Trevor Noah shows South Africa

South African Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show, recently published a Youtube video where he travelles back to South Africa. In the video he talks with his grandmother about apartheid and Trevor´s upbringing.

Successful Swedish singers of African descent

Recently BBC made an interview with Swedish singer Cherrie who is of Somalian descent. But she is not the only Swedish singer with at least one parent from the African continent. Other artists who have had success in recent years include Seinabo Sey (of Gambian descent), Madi Banja (of Gambian descent) and Sabina Ddumba (of Ugandan descent).

Cherrie.

Madi Banja.

Seinabo Sey.

Sabina Ddumba.

Africa´s influence on Western music

African music has had a history of influencing Western music. The influence from Africa on the Americas in history is well known. But it is also common that many artists today are influenced by Africa.
One such example is Vampire Weekend. Here you can find an article on Pitchfork where a person of African descent discusses Vampire Weekends borrowing from African music, including aspects of influences, appropriation etc.

Beyoncé has been influenced by African music and culture on numerous occassions. She recently also performed in a concert in South Africa to honour Nelson Mandela.

The most well known example of African influence is of course Paul Simon´s album "Graceland" where he travelled to South Africa to record music.

Nigeria are champions and Cameroon loses event

A lot has happened in African football recently. On Saturday Nigeria became champions in the Women´s African Cup of Nations by beating South Africa on penalties in the final. Both nations are through to the World cup next year together with Cameroon who grabbed the last World cup spot by finishing third after a 4-2-win against Mali.

When it comes to the men´s edition of the competition, Cameroon have been stripped of hosting the event. This is because of delays in the preparation for the competition. According to BBC, Morocco, South Africa and Egypt are now candidates to host the tournament next year.

Moonchild Sanelly

Recently I have started to listening to South African Moonchild Sanelly. Listen to her music below and read an interview with her in this article.

Strikes are nothing new - just ask the Ancient Egyptians

Did you think labor strikes is a new phenomena? Then you are wrong. Pharaoh Ramses III had to face a strike during his reign. The first recorded strike in human history occured in Ancient Egypt during the new kingdom (1570-1069 BC), after the wages were starting to come in late for the tomb-builders and artisans. The strike came as a surprise for the authorities since everyone are suppose to respect his or hers place in Egyptian society according to the philosophy ma´at. Read more here about the strike.

The situation for LGBT rights in Africa

Recently a lot has been written in media about the situation for LGBT rights in Tanzania. But how is the situation in the rest of Africa? According to Amnesty, it´s legal to be gay in only 21 countries. Here you can see in detail how gay people can be punished in each country where it is illegal.

Let´s hope people are more free to love whoever they want in the future, in the countries where it is now illegal.

ZImbabwe one year after Mugabe

It´s little more than a year ago that Robert Mugabe lost power over Zimbabwe. But what has happened since then? Well, you could find some answers in this article and in the video below.

And what about Mugabe himself? He now needs medical treatment,

The Africans who fought in World War I

Some ceremonies were held in Africa this weekend in memory of the end of World War I. Speaking of this, today we might not talk so much about the Africans who had to sacrifice their lives the World wars. This BBC article talks about the war in Kenya. But African soldiers were recruited from all over the continent. France recruited West Africans to the "Tirailleurs Sénégalais" (Senegalese riflemen) and they were not just Senegalese as the name will have you believe, they came from all over West Africa. France recruited 192 000 people to the Tirailleurs Sénégalais, 134 000 fought in Europe and 30 000 died in World War I. 

The first from the continent to score in the European cup

Earlier this year South African football player Johnny Hubbard passed away. The winger played for Glasgow Rangers between 1949 and 1959 and became the first man born on the African continent to score in the European cup, while scoring a penalty against Nice in the 1956/1957 season. In total he scored 104 goals in 238 appearences between 1949 and 1959 while at Rangers. Rangers website describes him as "a talented and immensely popular player" at the club.

On his personal values, in Johnny Hubbards autobiography "The penalty king" you can read the following statement that his background had an impact on his life:
"Although I was raised in a system of segregation, I was raised to respect black people, so when I arrived in Glasgow, I treated people alike, whether Catholic or Protestant. I think it becomes a question of personal values and I was brought up to respect everyone. By giving that respect, I have also received it from others. It is a good way to live".

A smart technology invented in Namibia

Today I will talk about a technology originating in Namibia. Scarcity of water can be a problem in some countries. But in Namibia a technology has been invented to turn sewage water into drinkable water - and they have been doing it for fifty years. You can say it´s a smart way to recycle water. This is done in the Goreangab facility outside the capital Windhoek. The recycling of water is made possible thanks to bacteria.

"Everything is done biologically, by the organisms", says process engineer Justina Haihambo to pri.org.

Didier Drogba retires from football

Former Chelsea and Ivory Coast forward Didier Drogba has decided to retire from football, according to BBC. He played his last football game for the team Phoenix rising in the American second division. He will be most remembered for his days at Chelsea where he, amongst other titles, won the UEFA champions league once and four Premier league trophies.

France might return art objects to Africa

France might soon return some of the art objects taken from African states during the colonial era, items which are now in French museums. At least that is the recommendation in a new report which will be given to French president Emmanuel Macron, written by French historian Bénédicte Savoy and Senegalese economist and writer Felwine Sarr. About two thirds of 90 000 African objects would be affected if the suggestions in this report would be a reality. Emmanuel Macron has also promised earlier to look into ths question.

"We are dealing with the case of a continent which has almost nothing left of its history when we have it all. The aim is not to empty Western museums to fill up the African ones, but to invent a new relationship based on ethics and equity", says Bénédicte Savoy according to theartnewspaper.com.

What is actually happening in Cameroon?

The recent tensions between the English-speaking Cameroonian people and the French speaking Cameroonian people traces it´s roots back to the colonial era, where one part of the country were run by the French and one part were run by the British. The Francophone people have most power and the Anglophone people feel marginalized. If you want to find out more, read this article which explains the situation in a simple way.

Great Zimbabwe

Have you ever heard anything about African history besides the slave trade and colonialism? The fact is Africa has a rich pre-colonial history that more people should know more about. One of those examples is the structure Great Zimbabwe.

One of the first things I was told when studying African history was how the legacy of Great Zimbabwe had been mistreated by the Europeans. They simply didn´t believe Africans were capable of building a structure like Great Zimbabwe and many different explanations for the structure were offered. In Rhodesia the official politics was that it was built by non-blacks. Modern research point to that it was a Shona speaking group who were the builders begind Great Zimbabwe. Find out more about Great Zimbabwe - and it´s real legacy - in the BBC documentary below.

Hailu Mergia and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in Stockholm!

Very soon two famous people from the African continent will attend events in Stockholm. The Ethiopian musician Hailu Mergia will have a concert at Fasching on November 25 and the world famous Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie will speak at Kulturhuset on Novermber 26.

Time for the Women´s African Cup of Nations!

On saturday it´s time for the Women´s Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana. Eight teams will compete for the honour of calling themselves the best national team on the continent. The final will be played on december 1. The top three teams advance to the World cup next year.

The eight teams are divided into two groups.
Group A
Ghana, Algeria, Mali, Cameroon
Group B
Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea

Nigeria are defending champions and have won the competion ten times! Only Equatorial Guinea has also managed to win the tournament (two times). One of the most shining star players of this year´s tournament is Asisat Oshoala who has been named Africa´s best player multiple times.

Fast and luxurious trains in Africa

Yesterday the fastest train in Africa was inaugurated in Morocco. The train will go between Casablanca and Tangiers. Present during the inauguration was Moroccan king Mohammed VI and Emmanuel Macron, the president of France.

Speaking of trains, two train journeys in Africa are listed here by CNN as two of the most luxurious train journeys in the world. Click here to find out where in Africa you need to go to experience this. 

A visit to Robben island

Nelson Mandela should have turned 100 years old this year. Last winter I made a visit to Cape town and of course took the boat out to see Robben island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. I really recommend a visit here, since they have former Robben island political prisoners as guides, who tell their own story of how it was like to be at Robben island prisoner during the apartheid era. When I was there, one of the guides spoke with such intensity that it was impossible not to be moved.

What is Kirsty Coventry doing now?

Do you remember the Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry? She is the most decorated olympian from the African continent ever with two gold medals, four silver medals and one bronze medal.

She is now involved in Zimbabwean politics as she in september was appointed as the minister of youth, sport, arts and recreation.

When Ethiopia won the war against Italy

During the scramble for Africa, Ethiopia managed to resist colonization by defeating Italy in the first Italo-Ethiopian war betwenn 1895 and 1896. Why did Ethiopia won? If you like history, watch the video below that in a very informative way explains just this.

Antibiotics made some Africans feel better over 2000 years ago

I found this story from 2010 about a scientific discovery that suggests some Africans may have known about antibiotics more than 2000 years ago, a long time before the modern discovery. Analysis from  mummies from the ancient Nubians, who lived south of ancient Egypt in modern day Sudan, have shown that they drank beer which contained tetracycline, a type of antibiotics. The question is if the Nubians knew what they were doing?

"Given the amount of tetracycline there, they had to know what they were doing. They may not have known what tetracycline was, but they certainly knew something was making them feel better", biologival anthropologist George Armelagos told the site www.abc.net.au.

African contributions to the Swedish champions

Today the football championship in my home country Sweden was decided. Stockholm team AIK finished first in the table and there were a few African contributions to this league victory.

Ghanaian Enoch Kofi Adu was an integral part of the team´s performance and played nearly every game as a midfielder.
Congolese-born Swedish winger Heradi Rashidi scored one goal during the season.
Swedish player Henok Goitom, who is of Eritrean descent and has played for the Eritrea national team, contributed a lot by scoring twelve goals.

Soulful music from Benin

Today´s music recommendation is the song "Vi Deka" by Vincent Ahehehinnou from Benin. Even if I don´t understand what they are singing about, you can tell that it is a very soulful song with a lot of feeling. Read more about Vincent Ahehehinnou here.

What´s going on in Ethiopia?

Ethiopia´s prime minister Abiy Ahmed has out forward a lot of talked about reforms lately. He has promoted peace with neighbouring Eritrea and a lot of women has been appointed to minsters. Ethiopia has even got their first female president. So is everything going to be fine now or is it more complicated? The site www.democracyinafrica.org tries to give som in depth analysis on the recent events.

Bina Fernandez from the University of Melbourne discusses what the many apointments of women as ministers will mean for Ethiopia here 


Hamza El Guili from the University of Abdelmalak Essaadi of Tanger in Morocco reflects on the the peace deal between Ethiopia and Eritrea here.

Legendary African goalkeepers

When thinking about footballers from Africa, it´s often the offensive qualities that comes to mind. Players like George Weah, Samuel Eto´o, Didier Drogba and Mohamed Salah have all given rise to that picture of the continent. But Africa has also produced some great goalkeepers that should be mentioned.

Arthur Wharton

Born in Accra in Ghana in 1865, the goalkeeper Arthur Wharton was to become the first black professional footballer in the UK. Not only that, this very talented athete also set a record in cycling and became the fastest man in Britain.

The Cameroonian goalkeeper factory

In the modern era, Cameroon has undoubtedly produced most of the high class goalkeepers in Africa. One such figure is Thomas N´kono who cotnributed to Cameroon´s quarter final place in the World cup 1990 and had a notable career with Espanyol in Spain. Actually, Gianluigi Buffon was very much inspired to become a goalkeeper after watching Nkono in the World cup. Other notable keepers from Cameroon include Joseph-Antoine Bell, Jacques Songo´o and Carlos Kameni.

Essam El Hadary

At 45 years old, the Egyptian became the oldest World cup player in history in 2018. He is a legend in his home country and has won the Africa cup of nations four times and the African champions league four times.

Do you know anyone that should be mentioned in this list?

Albertina Sisulu turns 100

A lot of men behind the anti-apartheid movement are famous, like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. But of course there have also been many women who have contributed to the rise of democracy in South Africa. One such woman is Albertina Sisulu who should have turned 100 years old this year.

She was a nurse and one of her first experiences of racism in South Africa was when black patients weren´t allowed to be treated in the "European" rooms,but instead had to lay on the floor. Albertina Sisulu was involved in a lot of political activities and was married to Walter Sisulu, another anti-apartheid activist. Click on this link to find out more about Albertina Sisulu.

An iconic African film

When most people think of film, Africa might not be the first that comes to mind in a westernern´s general view of the world. But there are of course a lot of movies from the continent that deserve more recognition.

Recently the Senegalese movie "Touki Bouki" was included in BBC´s list of the 100 greatest foreign language movies of all time. The film, directed by Djibril Diop Mambéty, is about  Mory and Anta who dream of a new life in France. The movie has also been noticed by Beyoncé and Jay Z, who made a reference to the film during their tour.

The famous American director Martin Scorcese is an admirer of "Touki Bouki".

Hopes for peace in South Sudan

A new peace deal was celebrated in South Sudan recently, which is meant to put an end to the civil war in the country. But the hopes for peace are fragile ones.
Read more here: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/oct/31/south-sudan-celebrates-new-peace-accord-amid-joy-and-scepticism

South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011 and a civil war has taken place since 2013.

Another milestone for women in Ethiopia

Recently Ethiopia got their first female president. Now Meaza Ashenafi has been appointed as the first woman to be president of the supreme court in Ethiopia. Read more here: https://www.google.se/amp/www.africanews.com/amp/2018/11/01/ethiopia-supreme-court-gets-its-first-woman-head-meaza-ashenafi/.

Below you can see an interview with her made a couple of years ago.

My African XI

it’s difficult to try to pick a team that is suppose to be the best of an entire continent. But I wanted to give it a try with my African XI consisting of players who are currently playing. It is not an ”all time xi”.

Goalkeeper:
Andre Onana Ajax/Cameroon

Right back:
Serge Aurier Tottenham/Ivory Coast

Central defender:
Mehdi Benatia Juventus/Morocco

Central defender:
Kalidou Koulibaly Napoli/Senegal

Left back:
Victor Moses Chelsea/Nigeria

Right midfielder:
Riyad Mahrez Manchester City/Algeria

Central midfielder:
Naby Keita Liverpool/Guinea

Central midfielder:
Victor Wanyama Tottenham/Kenya

Left midfielder:
Sadio Mané Liverpool/Senegal

Forward:
Mohamed Salah Liverpool/Egypt

Forward:
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Arsenal/Gabon

Bench: Carlos Kameni Fenerbache/Cameroon (gk), Eric Bailly Manchester United/Ivory Coast, Thomas Partey, Atletico Madrid/Ghana, Mohamed Elneny, Arsenal/Egypt, Alex Iwobi, Arsenal/Nigeria.

What do you think? Is someone missing?

The Nigerian with a milestone in robotics

Another great science mind from Africa is Nigerian-born Silas Adekunle who is making a name for himself in the world of technology. He is the man behind the first intelligent gaming robot named Mekamon. Read more here: https://thisisafrica.me/nigeria-adekunle-highest-paid-robotics-engineer/

Fatoumata Diawara in Stockholm

The Malian star Fatoumata Diawara will perform a concert in Stockholm on November 4th. Buy tickets here too see her show. https://www.konserthuset.se/en.

Morocco will have summer forever

The Moroccon fovernment has decided to keep summer time and will not turn back the clock in the future.

"Avoiding the switch would save an hour of natural light", Administrative Reform Minister Mohammed Ben Abdelkader told Maghreb Arabe Press, according to BBC.

As you can see when you click on this link, it´s very common in Africa that you just stick to winter time all year.

The new Biafra movement

In recent years the Biafra independence movement has been highlighted again. Why is this

happening? I decided to get in touch with Henrik Angerbrandt, a political scientist at the

Stockhollm university who is an expert on Nigeria. The following questions with answers is my

own translation of our conversation via e-mail.

When did this new Biafra movement start and why?

There has been a movement (MASSOB) that started after the transition from military government

in 1999. The movement that has mobilized lately was spurred by the 2015 elections when a

president was elected, who was in the civil war and that many in southeastern Nigeria view as

part of the power elite who they mean have marginalized the area in the national politics. Atrigger

for the current movement was also when one of the leaders for IPOB (a new separatist group)

who ran a pro-Biafra radio station in the UK was arrested. The authorities said the leader has

encouraged violence against the state, which is said to be the reason for the arrest

How strong is the movement that want Biafra as a state separated from Nigeria?

Even if the movement has succeded in mobilizing big protests in the street, I think the general

support is relatively weak, although many agree that the Igbo group has been marginalized.

Central political actors dont support this movement which is a difference from the 1960s. Many

people live in other parts of the country have their family spread out throughout the country. Most

people prefer more influence in Nigeria over having an own nation.

Can you tell us a little bit about Nnamdi Kanu, a leader of this movement?

The arrest of Kanu was the trigger for the recent mobilization. He was relatively unknown before

that and the movement has now centereda round him as a person. But he is cotroversial even in

Biafra because of his dual citizenship (also British) and not everyone view him as rooted in the

area. He has been lost for a few months and IPOB mean that he has been taken by security forces,

which is denied by the authorities. Recent pictures say that he is in Israel now, but the Israeli

authorities denies this claim. But this seems to undermine his position, because some mean that

he has fled instead of fighting for the cause.

Biafra failed to form a state 50 years ago. What meaning does this have for the current

movement,do they see this as a revenge or is the movement weakend by the attempt 50 years ago?

The recent movement is living off the legacy of the movement in the 1960s. But it is a new

generation who is running this agenda. They use the same symbols, so in some way you can call

it a rebirth of the same struggle, so you could also call it an attempt at revenge. But in this area

people are also familiar with that war means suffering. That makes people look for other

solutions, such as more inclusion into the Nigerian state.

African born historian makes history in the UK

I have said earlier that I want to talk about scientists and social scientists from Africa who makes an impact in the world. One such person is historian Olivette Otele who was born i Cameroon. She has now become Britain´s first black female professor in history, after receiving a professorship at Bath Spa University.

According to the site OkeyAfrica, her new book "Afro-Europeans - a short history" will be the first academic text to take a deep look into the history of people of African descent in Europe.

She is a specialist in colonial and postcolonial studies and in the video below you can see her opinions on how these subjects are adressed in today´s world.

The female power in Africa

Today it was announced that Sahle-Work Zewde has been selected by the parliament as Ethiopia´s first ever female president, a position that is only ceremonial. The political power is in the hands of prime minister Abiy Ahmed.

Sahle-Work Zewde is best known for her work in the UN. She is now one of only two female heads of government or state in entire Africa, along with Namibias prime minister Saara Kuugongelwa. The best known female president in the modern era in Africa is probably Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia who was president between 2006 and 2018. She was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2011.

Africa has a rich history of powerful queens. In the video below you can get to know some of them.

A catchy song from Sierra Leone

Today I would like to recommend the song "Let me love you" by the Sierra Leonean singer Bunny Mack, who passed away three years ago. Can a song get any catchier than this?

Eliud Kipchoge´s marvellous world record

Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge set a fantastic world record at the Berlin marathon last september. With two hours, one minute and 39 seconds he came very close to the magical 2 hours limit, seen by many as an "impossible" limit to cross.

In the documentary below, you can follow Eliud Kipchoge´s career and his progress towards the world record.

Africa´s oldest president wins election in Cameroon

Paul Biya has once again been declared winner of the elections in Cameroon. The 85-year-old has been president of the country for 36 years. The opposition disagrees with the results and some people are even scared to go out and vote, according to The Guardian.

In The Economist Democracy Index for 2017, Cameroon is listed as an authoritarian regime.

One of the most famous women from antiquity

The city Alexandria in northern Egypt was once home to the famous library where a lot of the known knowledge of the mediterranean world was gathered. This was really the centre for knowledge and science in the ancient world. Not many women are famous from this period, but one such celebrity is the philosopher and mathematician Hypatia.

The documentary below talks both about the scientific advancements in Alexandria, the melting pot that ancient Alexandria was and about who Hypatia really was.

Algeria bans niqab in public sector

Algeria´s government has banned women working in the public sector from wearing niqab. The argument is that it makes it easier for identification. However, not that many women in Algeria wear niqab. If you do not know, the difference between hijab, niqab and burqa, watch the video below.

Uncertain future for Caster Semenya

Athletics South African star Caster Semenya´s future is still uncertain. The International Association of Athletics Federations has postponed the the new testosteron rules for five months. The new rules say that female competitors cannot have more than a certain level of testosteron in their body. But due to complaints from Caster Semenya, the most high profile of competitors affected, the IAAF has decided to delay the implemenatation of the rules. While some think the new rules are more fair to

other female athletes who don´t have such high levels of testosteron, others argue that this is unfair to athletes such as Caster Semenya.

Ethiopia introduces new peace ministry

The Ethiopian government has announced that it will create a new peace ministry in the country.
"The main problem in this this country is the lack of peace. This ministry will be working hard to ensure it prevails", prime minister Abiy Ahmed said, according to the Guardian.

One task for the minstry will be to downgrade the security and intelligence forces. Prime minister Abiy Ahmed has been known for his reforms in Ethiopia and most notably he recently made peace with the neighbor country Eritrea. Only the future can tell if Ethiopia will be a better country thanks to Abiy Ahmeds political reforms. In the video below you can see a BBC report from when Abiy Ahmed bacame prime minister.

The story behind the world´s largest man made lake

The largest man made lake in the world can be found on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is called Lake Kariba and the story behind it´s creation is a spectacular one. Filling of the water into the lake between 1958 and 1963 caused more than 20 earthquakes.

At the same time, during operation Noah, 6 000 animals was relocated due to the rising of water levels. A talented artist, Lesotho-born Bennet Zondo, was inspired by this to make fantastic art. His sculptures of animals within boats memorizes this moment. Bennet Zondo is working in South Africa and is part of the group Ardmore Ceramics.
Picture above: Bennet Zondo. Picture below: His Operation Noah art. Pictures are shown with the permission from Admore Ceramics.

Nigerian fashion makes a big impact

On October 24th it´s once again time for Lagos fashion week in Nigeria´s biggest city. The aim is to be a force for the Nigerian and African fashion industry. We can at least say that Nigeria recently has succeded in making a name for itself in the fashion industry. One of the better known fashion designers is Amaka Osakwe who has founded the label Maki oh. People like Michelle Obama are known to have worn Amaka Osakwes clothes. Amaka Osakwe is famous for blending Nigerian and Western influences.

Gambia will deal with it´s past

The Gambian government decided on Monday that the country will set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to deal with the period from 1994 to 2017 when Yahya Jammeh was president, according to Reuters.

"A Truth and Reconciliation Comnission with appropiate reparations for victims will be set up within the next six months and public hearings will be expected to commence by the end of the year", justice minister Abubacarr Tambadou said according to Reuters.

Yahya Jammeh is accused of kiling and torturing political opponents and the commission will let people confess their crimes and victims speak of what they have gone through.
The current president is Amada Barrow.

One of the world´s biggest churches - in Ivory Coast

A fact that many in the world might not know is that Ivory Coast is home to one of the biggest churches in the world. Depending on which source you look at, it is either listed as the biggest church or the second biggest church in the world, in competition with St. Peter´s basilica in the Vatican.

The church in Ivory Coast is called Notre-Dame de la Paix, located in the capital Yamoussoukro. It was built during former president Felix Houphouet-Boigny´s reign at the end of the 1980´s and was modelled after St. Peter´s basilica in the Vatican. Read more here.

Who was Shaka Zulu?

Many people around the world has probably heard the name Shaka Zulu. But who was he and what made him famous? In short, in the beginning of the 1800s, he expanded the Zulu kingdom. This was made possibly because it is said that Shaka invented new war formations and changed the choice of weaponry for the Zulu warriors. As it is said in the video below, the sources of who Shaka was are conflicting and it is not easy to give a clear picture of him. Watch the video below and fnnd out more.

Great music from Somalia

When I have worked as a local news reporter in Stockholm, I have sometimes written about the annual Somali football tournament SEUKI in Stockholm that gathers Somali communities from all over the world. One thing I have always noticed is the great music either coming from the speakers or performed by singers at the event. If you are interrested in Somali music you can read more about it´s history here.

One great example of Somali music is Dur-Dur Band´ song "Yabaal".

The Somali language can also be heard in Swedish rapper Imenella´s song "Moves". She raps in Swedish but is of Somali descent and has included the Somali language in the refrain.

See art from Madagascar in Paris

I was recently in Paris and had a look at an art exhibition in the Quai Branly museum. On display was paintings, carpets, sculptures, photographies and a lot of other art from Madagascar, both contemparary art and older artefacts. I really recommend that you have a look at it if you are in Paris. The items show the rich history of the island and the exhibition contains art from people of different descent living on the island. Its possible to see the exhibition until january first next year.

The Nobel prize is awarded to Denis Mukwege!

Last week it was announced that an African had received the Nobel peace prize, Denis Mukwege from D.R. Congo. The gynecologist has long worked at the Panzi hospital with women who have been victims of sexual violence. He shared the prize with former IS prisoner Nadia Murad.

A couple of years ago, Denis Mukwege was a guest on the Scandinavian talkshow Skavlan. There he talked about his work and also let people know about one reason behind the conflict in D.R Congo. Find out more and watch the interview below, part 1 followed by part 2.

Did Africans invent art?

A recent finding suggests that art may have first emerged on the African continent. What seems like a drawing was found in the Blombos cave in South Africa and dates back to more than 70 000 years ago. If classified as art, this is the oldest art finding ever. But the scientists are divided on the subject.

Read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/12/science/oldest-drawing-ever-found.html

And here: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/09/news-ancient-humans-art-hashtag-ochre-south-africa-archaeology/

This finding aside, African art has inspired famous artists, most notably Pablo Picasso.

See the artefacts of Egypt in Stockholm

If you happen to like both my hometown Stockholm and ancient Egypt, then you can go to The Mediterranean Museum (Medelhavsmuseet) in Stockholm. Here you can find remainings from different civilizations around the sea, including ancient Egypt.

The best thing about the Egyptian part of the museum is that, with a little help from modern 3D technology you can watch how the inside of an Egyptian coffin looks like, with the mummified body and everything. It´s free to enter the museum.

Address: Fredsgatan 2, Stockholm.

The young challenge the old politicians

In several African countries, the older leaders have often been challenged by younger politicians in recent years, a subject which the newspaper The Guardian brings up in this article. This is interresting because of the demographics in Africa, where in the future a lot of young people will vote.

But as is stated in the article, Nic Cheeseman, a professor of democracy at the University of Birmingham, has another idea about what will matter in future African elections.

"Youth alone is not enough to effect radical change. The really important element is urbanisation. The biggest divide is between urban and rural. When the majority of national votes are urban... that will massively transform opposition parties and politics", says Nic Cheeseman to The Guardian in the article.

Sho Madjozis success with "Huku"

The music recommendations continue. This time I will talk about somehing a little bit more modern, a song that was released earlier this year by South African rapper Sho Madjozi (a woman and I know I don´t have presented so many women yet in this blog, but I will get better at that.)

The song "Huku" has gained some success and in my opinion it´s impossible not te get caught up in the catchy beat. The song has caused some debate on what "Huku" means This site has figured it out and you find the answer at the bottom of their article.

Sho Madjozi is a 26-year-old rapper from South Africa who both raps in her native tongue tsonga and swahili.

Ebo Taylor the entertainer

In this blog I will occasionally give some names of African musicians and bands that I think is worth listening to. I am a big musiv fan, so this will probabl be one of my favurite parts about running this blog.

So let´s kick start with one of my absolute favourites. Ebo Taylor from Ghana (born in 1936) has had a long career in music and mixes afrobeat, highlife and other genres. I watched him myself in a concert in Stockholm in the club Fasching a couple of years ago. And I have to tell you, it´s impossible not to fell the rhytms in his music and just dance. Watching Ebo Taylor live is probably one of my all time greatest music experiences. The energy level Ebo Taylor and his band created that night is very hard to reach for any musician - in the world.

Uganda is the fittest nation on earth

According to the World Health Organization, Uganda is the fittest nation in the world. In the country, only 5,5 percent of the population is not getting enough physical activity. According to this BBC article, while some in Uganda enjoy working out, it may simply be that some people are so poor so they can´t afford transport. It may be that people just have to walk to work instead of going by car.


But a very good representative of all the fit people in Uganda is marathon runner Stephen Kiprotich. He won the Olympic gold medal in the event at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Ibn Khaldun - the revolutionary historian

It´s always nice to talk about what scientific contributions that has been done by people from the African continent. I have earlier mentioned Edmond Albius, an African slave who invented a way to pollinate the vanilla in a more effective way, which really helped to launch the big vanilla industry.

But moving away from the natural science to social sciences, we find a man called Ibn Khaldun. He was born in 1332 in Tunis in North Africa and lived until 1406. His works has had a great impact on sociology, economics and history. He brougt forward new ideas such as that the environment can shape how people act. One of the reasons for this conclusion is his studies with the bedouins in the desert.

If you want to learn more about Ibn Khaldun, listen to this BBC radio show on Youtube in the clip below.

The role of cassava in African cuisine

Today i took a trip with my car to Upplands Väsby outside Stockholm. There, a Swedish-Congolese association had prepared African food for everyone to try (pictured). Most of the dishes were different ways to prepare cassava, which is no surprise as cassava is a staple food in some parts of the continent. It was the first time I tried cassava and it tasted good.

Cassava was brought to Africa from South America in the 16th century and today there are many different ways of preparing cassava in Africa.

The elephants of Botswana

Recently, several media sites reported that nearly a hundred elephants have been killed by poachers in Botswana, although this claim has been challenged by governmental sources.

If true, this is surprising since Botswana is usually known for taking good care of elephants. I was there myself earlier this year and elephants was a safe card to see on the safari. Everywhere you looked there were a lot of elephants. In fact, Botswana has the highest population of elephants in Africa.

Learn more about the food of Africa

For those of you who speak Swedish or Danish, Swedish television (SVT) is now showing a Danish series about the new cuisine in Africa. The idea that runs through the show is that new African chefs are inventing new dishes, but still with the roots in the traditions of the continent. The host are sometimes speaking English with the chefs.

If you want to learn more about African dishes and be inspired, read here and here.

There are some noteworthy contributions from the African continent to food that is consumed throughout the world. One such example is Edmond Albius, an African slave who managed to find an effective way to poolinate the vanilla in the 19th century. This helped to launch the vanilla industry into a much bigger industry. Edmond Albius was born on Réunion and another African island, Madagascar, is today the biggest producer of vanilla.

The religions of Africa

I found this article about an African.American woman who left Christianity for the west African religion Yoruba. This faith is very significant to the world as it influenced many religions in the Americas following the Atlantic slave trade.

Christianity and Islam are of course the biggest religions on the continent but there is of course a wide range of beliefs in Africa.

3000 year old cheese found in Egypt

Its not often you come across over 3000 year old cheese. But that is exactly what has happened in Egypt. Some clay jars was found a couple of years ago in an Egyptian tomb. Now the testings show that the substance in the jars was 3000 year old cheese.

But the history of manufacturing cheese in ancient Egypt is well known.

Peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea

Last month it seemed that Ethiopia and Eritrea might have finally found peace after a long conflict. According to this article there was a lot of joy among the people and one Ethiopian even compared the event to the fall of the Berlin wall. The article also investigates the oppurtunities for a more democratic society. Hopefully the countrie´s intent for peace will last.

Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia in 1993. Between 1998 and 2000 the two countries were at war with each other and its not until now that the border conflict has been resolved.

Kofi Annan passes away

Today it was announced that former UN secretery general Kofi Annan has passed away at the age of 80. He was probably one of the most well known Africans in the world. Besides leading the UN for several years, the ghanaian was also given the Nobel peace prize in 2001.

BBC has written a comprehensive article about Kofi Annan´s life.

The World Cup Is Over

The world cup is over for this time. The african teams unfortunately did not perform so well in this tournament. Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal and Nigeria were all eliminated in the group stage.

Senegal came closest, but were eliminated due to the fact that Japan had fewer cards. Senegal is the first team in history to be eliminated because of the fair play rule.

Egypt´s poor performances at the World cup is a mystery. The national team has won the African cup of nations a record seven times. In club competions, the Egyptian teams Al Ahly and Zamalek have won most titles (eight for Al Ahly and five for Zamalek) in the African Champions league. Despite this success on continental level, the national team have only appeared in three World cups and didn´t qualify for the second round in the 2018 edition.

But we shouldn´t forget that many players in the winning French team have African backgrounds. Lets name those in the staring eleven: The central defender Samuel Umtiti was born in Cameroon, midfielder Paul Pogba´s parents are from Guinea, midfielder Ngolo Kanté has parents from Mali, Kylian Mbappé has a father from Cameroon and a mother from Algeria and Blaise Matuidi has an Angolan father and a mother from D.R. Congo.