I have lived in Lagos, a seaside megacity of over 20 million people, since early 2022. Before moving to the Nigerian capital, I was a correspondent for Reuters in my native Harare, Zimbabwe. When I first arrived at Murtala Muhammed International Airport here, I was almost knocked off my feet by the heat and humidity. But I've since grown to love this busy financial, artistic and cultural capital. As the Reuters Nigeria bureau chief, I oversee a team of people responsible for covering everything from the humanitarian impact of a long-running Islamist insurgency to the economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu to the completion of Africa's largest petrochemical plant, the Dangote Refinery. When visitors ask me about Lagos, here's what I tell them: Getting around: The "Danfo...
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travel articles and news about African countries
Benin’s mecca of spirits and gods draws tourists and followers with famed Voodoo festival
As children dance with great speed and energy in colorful robes, guided by the drumbeats and chants from dance troupes, the gods and spirits that are evident all around the arena are beckoned upon by the old and young for peace and prosperity. And on the sidelines, camera clicks from foreigners and locals follow the festivities. Welcome to the ancient town of Ouidah, in southern Benin, a mecca of gods and spirits where the celebration of the annual Voodoo festival brings a mix of tourism and religion in a clash of cultures and the ability for ancient traditional beliefs to adapt to modern life. The small West African nation held the annual festival last weekend, with Voodoo day marking the “return to the source for all Africans and Afro-descendants,” said Christian...
Read MoreDutch big-air star kitesurfer Walker achieves perfect timing with Red Bull Air Race pilot Czepiela for iconic feat in South Africa Extreme big-air kitesurfer Lasse Walker pulled off a world-first feat off Dolphin Beach in Cape Town on Thursday, January 16 when he completed a stunning jump in the water over the low-altitude plane of masterful Red Bull Air Race pilot Łukasz 'Luke' Czepiela. Dutchman Walker grew up on the coast of the Netherlands, where he looked up to the exploits of local kitesurfing legends Ruben Lenten and Kevin Langeree and realised that his future lay in the sport. Lasse Walker of the Netherlands jumps over a CubCrafters Carbon Cub airplane piloted by Luke Czepiela of Poland on Dolphin Beach in Cape Town, South Africa on January 16, 2025. PHOTO: Sebastian Mark...
Read MoreArchaeologists have uncovered intact portions of the foundation wall of pharaonic Queen Hatshepsut's valley temple in Luxor and the nearby tomb of Queen Teti Sheri, grandmother of Ahmose I, the first pharaoh of Egypt's golden New Kingdom era. An artefact is displayed inside the tomb of Jehuti-Mes, that was discovered by archaeologists from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities along with the staff of Zahi Hawass' archaeological and heritage mission, near the Queen Hatshepsut Valley Temple's in Deir El-Bahari on the Nile's west bank in Luxor, Egypt, January 8, 2025. REUTERS/Sayed Sheashaa The discovery of more than 1,000 decorated stone blocks on the outskirts of Hatshepsut's funerary temple above was announced on Wednesday by team leader Zahi Hawass, an Egyptian archaeologist and ...
Read MoreAbout 1.5 million years ago, individuals of two different species in the human evolutionary lineage trudged on a muddy lakeshore in northern Kenya, leaving behind intersecting trackways alongside the footprints of antelopes, horses, warthogs, giant storks and other animals. These tracks turned into fossils that scientists have now discovered at a location called Koobi Fora, providing the first evidence that these two species - Paranthropus boisei and Homo erectus - shared the same landscape, literally crossing paths. The discovery raises intriguing questions about the relationship between the two species and any competition for resources. Paranthropus boisei, the more distantly related to modern humans of the two, lived from about 2.3 to 1.2 million years ago, standing up to about 4...
Read MoreKayakers achieve historic first-ever descent of Gabon’s mysterious Ivindo River
In an awe-inspiring feat of endurance and exploration, renowned kayakers Adrian Mattern, Dane Jackson, Kalob Grady, and Bren Orton embarked on an extraordinary journey down Gabon’s mystical Ivindo River, one of Africa’s last great natural enigmas. This historic expedition, documented in the new film 'Gabon Uncharted: Sending Ivindo Falls' on Red Bull TV; marked the first-ever descent of some of Ivindo’s most challenging and unexplored rapids, unveiling the pristine beauty of the rainforest. Adrian Mattern, Dane Jackson, Bren Orton, Kalob Grady on Ivindo river, Gabon on January 29, 2024. Photo: David Sodomka / Red Bull Content Pool Snapshot Historic First-Ever Descent: Adrian Mattern, Dane Jackson, Kalob Grady, and Bren Orton became the first kayakers to navigate and descend...
Read MoreMinor Hotels to debut in Zimbabwe with the launch of Anantara Stanley & Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel Minor Hotels, an international hotel owner, operator and investor with more than 550 hotels in 56 countries in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Europe and the Americas, has announced the upcoming addition to its portfolio in Africa – Anantara Stanley & Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel. A debut for both Minor Hotels and Anantara Hotels & Resorts in Zimbabwe, the property complements The Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Zambia Hotel by Anantara to complete an unparalleled Victoria Falls offering with luxury accommodation on both sides of the Zambezi River. Marking a significant step in the Minor Hotels expansion strategy in Africa, Anantara S...
Read MoreAfrican elephants are Earth's largest land animals, remarkable mammals that are very intelligent and highly social. They also are in peril. Fresh evidence of this comes in a study that documents alarming population declines at numerous sites across the continent over about a half century. Researchers unveiled on Monday what they called the most comprehensive assessment of the status of the two African elephant species - the savanna elephant and forest elephant - using data on population surveys conducted at 475 sites in 37 countries from 1964 through 2016. FILE PHOTO: A bird flies over elephants as it walks at the Amboseli National Park in Kajiado County, Kenya, April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi The savanna elephant populations fell by about 70% on average at the surveyed sit...
Read MoreAn insider view on how to explore the “Jozi” in South African like a local As the Southern Africa bureau chief for Reuters, I’ve led the coverage of all kinds of news in the region, from political twists and turns in South Africa to a debt crisis in Zambia, a growing insurgency in Mozambique and oil and gas finds in Namibia. Reuters hired me in 2010 to cover commodities and mining - an exciting beat, given Southern Africa’s role as a major exporter of minerals. Later I became an economics correspondent before taking on my current role. Johannesburg - or “Jozi,” as South Africa’s economic hub is known to its residents - has a history rooted in the late 19th century Gold Rush. The inner city is now mostly rundown, with dilapidated buildings marking the skyline after a majority of b...
Read MoreKenya is moving 50 elephants to a new home after overcrowding in the Mwea National Reserve has seen the creatures stray into nearby human settlements and damage local ecosystems. The last national wildlife census recorded 156 elephants at Mwea, more than three times the reserve's capacity. As a result, elephants have strayed into nearby villages, damaging crops, infrastructure and property. A family of elephants from the Mwea National Reserve walk out of a special transportation container during a translocation exercise at the Aberdare National Park, in Mweiga, Nyeri County, Kenya October 14, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya During a two-week mission to relocate the animals from the 42 square km (16 square miles) Mwea reserve to the more spacious Aberdare National Park, wildlife speci...
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