Author: Amnewsworld

Stitching together discarded mobile phone keyboards to make art, Ivorian artist Mounou Desire Koffi hopes to raise awareness about pollution. “I wanted to contribute something new,” said the artist, whose work is on display in Abidjan until July. In his studio in Bingerville, near the Ivorian business capital, the 28-year-old describes himself as “young contemporary artist” who wants to stand out from the crowd. “I’ve been passionate about drawing since childhood. It was always me the teacher would send to the blackboard to illustrate lessons,” he says. When he decided he wanted to go to art school, his parents, who…

Somalia MPs are due to vote to choose the horn of African nation’s president, ending the convoluted electoral process that raised tensions in the country when the president’s term expired last year without a successor in place. There are 39 registered presidential candidates, a list that includes incumbent Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, two former presidents, a former prime minister, several top officials and even a journalist. The field includes one woman, Fawzia Yusuf Haji Adam, a lawmaker who once served as Somalia’s foreign minister. The vote takes place amid heightened insecurity as the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, which opposes the federal…

A curfew has been declared in Nigeria’s northwestern city of Sokoto to quell protests demanding the release of suspects in the killing of a christian school student Deborah Samuel. It comes as hundreds of people in the northwestern city of Sokoto demonstrated Saturday over the arrest of two students following the murder of a Christian student accused of blasphemy, residents said. Sokoto state governor Aminu Tambuwal said in a statement on Saturday that the curfew applies to the state capital, Sokoto city. “Everyone should, please, in the interest of peace go back home,” Governor Tambuwal said. Africa’s most populous country is…

A suspension bridge for pedestrians, which is the longest construction of its kind in the world, has been inaugurated in a mountain resort in the Czech Republic. The 721-metre long bridge is built at an altitude of over 1,100 metres above sea level. It connects two mountain ridges and rises 95 metres above the valley. Sky Bridge 721 is located in the north-east of the country, in the Kralicky Sneznik mountain range, near the border with Poland, some 200 kilometres east of Prague. Construction took two years and cost some CZK200 million ($8.3 million). The last and longest bridge of…

Al Ahly will play their third consecutive Champions League final after they confirmed their place by  eliminating Setif on Saturday night. The Pitso Mosimane’s Red Devils drew 2-2 in Algeria after a 4-0 win in the first leg. The two-time defending African champions opened the scoring in the second minute of play before equalizing in stoppage time. Special mention to their South African striker Percy Tau, who was involved in all six goals in the double-header. Pitso Mosimane, AL Ahly coach: “It was a good game, it was not only a good game on the field, it was a good game…

When we listen to a voice, we automatically connect it to the person’s personality. But what does the voice actually say about a human’s character? Most people are probably familiar with this: We talk to a stranger on the phone or listen to a podcast and our minds automatically create an image of the person speaking. We imagine their age and gender and whether the person is small and delicate or tall and strong. We also hear whether they are sad, friendly, interested or nervous. And we believe that we can get an impression of the person’s personality just by hearing…

An Indian couple has sued their son and daughter-in-law, demanding a grandchild. They say they invested in their son’s education and wedding, and are therefore owed at least monetary compensation. An Indian couple has sued their son, demanding that he and his wife produce a child within a year, or pay them a compensation of 50 million rupees (€620,000, $646,000), local media reported on Thursday. Sanjeev and Sadhana Prasad filed a petition at a court in the city of Haridwar, in the northern state of Uttarakhand. “My son has been married for six years but they are still not planning a…

Sri Lankans told reporters how they’re struggling with shortages of food, fuel and medicine as the nation faces one of its worst economic crises in decades. “I have a 10-month-old baby. I couldn’t even buy medicines for her when she was sick last week,” said Gunarathna Vaani, who resides in the suburbs of Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo. “There are no medicine stocks available in the market. Even basic tablets like paracetamol or Benadryl are not there. I had to borrow medicines from my neighbors to treat my baby,” she told DW. Pointing to empty market shelves, Vaani explained how she’s struggling to…

30 years after the emergence of emerging democracies in Africa, the model seems to be under severe strain. Today we talk to Francis Laloupo, journalist and essayist, author of the book “Blues démocratique de 1990 à 2020”, in which he analyzes the reasons for this democratic decline and the threats facing the democratic model. Democratic Blues, the title of your latest book says it all, to what do we owe this melancholy and this decline in the attractiveness of the democratic model? Francis Laloupo: In my book I put in parallel, on the one hand, the crisis of the processes…

At his workshop in Goma, Désiré Kabengela, a young Congolese student, spends his time after college thinking about innovation. This 24-year-old has just made Africa’s first treadmill that conforms with the international standard. His major innovations are strictly made of wood. “This is a place where I am always busy using or making our mechanical treadmills. This is our workshop,” said Desire Kabengela,” said Désiré. This innovative device made of hardwood is designed to meet the expectations and needs of all athletes, be it those who run or walk. It is also meant for amateurs in sports and can enable…