Thursday March 11 2010
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BBC News Africa
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Get the latest BBC News from Africa: breaking news, features, analysis and special reports plus audio and video from across the African continent.
Updated: 6 hours 16 min ago

Nigeria women protest at killings

7 hours 32 min ago
Hundreds of Nigerian women protest over last week's violence near Jos, where women and children were massacred.

SA settle on World Cup training base

8 hours 49 min ago
Hosts South Africa finally settle upon their training venue for the World Cup, just three months before the start of the finals.

Brighton extend LuaLua loan deal

9 hours 5 min ago
Brighton and Hove Albion extend the loan of Newcastle winger Kazenga LuaLua until the end of the season.

UN agency acts on Somali claims

12 hours 13 min ago
The UN's food agency blacklists three contractors named in a UN report alleging that food aid in Somalia is being diverted.

Hearts give Nade 'final warning'

13 hours 50 min ago
Hearts issue a final warning to Ivorian Christian Nade over the striker's recent breach of discipline at the club.

Gambia row over wave of arrests

14 hours 19 min ago
An opposition leader criticises a wave of arrests in The Gambia, saying detainees do not know why they are being held.

DR Congo mines 'hit by extortion'

Wed, 03/10/2010 - 20:00
Former rebels in DR Congo, now in the army, are running mafia-style extortion rackets in mines, campaigners say.

Coast to City

Wed, 03/10/2010 - 18:56
Ivorian who survived a coup to lead major firm

Contractors 'divert Somalia aid'

Wed, 03/10/2010 - 17:01
Up to half the food aid in Somalia is routinely diverted to corrupt contractors and militants, a leaked UN report says.

Zuma submits finance declaration

Wed, 03/10/2010 - 13:13
South African President Jacob Zuma submits his declaration of interests, after critics urged an inquiry into his finances.

Nigeria charges over Jos killings

Wed, 03/10/2010 - 12:22
Police say 49 people are to be charged with murder following communal violence that left scores of Nigerian villagers dead.

ANC seeks Winnie Mandela answers

Wed, 03/10/2010 - 10:24
South Africa's ANC asks Winnie Mandela to clarify a media report in which she apparently fiercely criticised ex-husband Nelson.

Ivory Coast court Troussier

Wed, 03/10/2010 - 10:07
Ivory Coast talk to the 'White Witch Doctor' about taking the Elephants to the World Cup.

Should Africa ban second-hand goods?

Wed, 03/10/2010 - 10:06
Every year tonnes of electrical goods and used clothing from the West find their way to Africa. Is this killing the continent?

Spanish hostage in Africa freed

Wed, 03/10/2010 - 08:59
A Spanish woman aid worker kidnapped in West Africa last year has been freed, the Spanish government says.

Nigeria to play four friendlies

Wed, 03/10/2010 - 08:39
The Nigerian Football Federation announces four pre-World Cup friendlies for the Super Eagles.

Tullow oil profit falls by 93%

Wed, 03/10/2010 - 06:03
Oil firm Tullow says profits for 2009 fell by 93% but it is optimistic after major new discoveries in Uganda and Ghana.

Egypt's top cleric dies aged 81

Wed, 03/10/2010 - 05:34
Egypt's top Muslim cleric, Sheikh Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, has died suddenly in Saudi Arabia at the age of 81.

Mommie? Poppie?

Wed, 03/10/2010 - 04:15
Addressing your elders is a thorny issue in Ghana

DR Congo deforestation reveals Earth's hidden secrets

Tue, 03/09/2010 - 20:26
Deforestation in central Africa has revealed what could be an impact crater left by a giant space rock, scientists say.

Culture of Africa

African culture is characterised by a vastly diverse patchwork of social values, ranging from extreme patriarchy to extreme matriarchy, sometimes in tribes existing side by side.
Modern African culture is characterised by conflicted responses to Arab nationalism and European imperialism. Increasingly, beginning in the late 1990s, Africans are reasserting their identity. In North Africa especially the rejection of the label Arab or European has resulted in an upsurge of demands for special protection of indigenous Amazigh languages and culture in Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. The re-emergence of Pan-Africanism since the fall of apartheid has heightened calls for a renewed sense of African identity. In South Africa, intellectuals from settler communities of European descent increasingly identify as African for cultural rather than geographical or racial reasons. Famously, some have undergone ritual ceremonies to become members of the Zulu or other community.

Music of Africa

Egypt has long been a cultural focus of the Arab world, while remembrance of the rhythms of sub-Saharan Africa, in particular West Africa, was transmitted through the Atlantic slave trade to modern samba, blues, jazz, reggae, rap, and rock and roll. The 1950s through the 1970s saw a conglomeration of these various styles with the popularization of Afrobeat and Highlife music. Modern music of the continent includes the highly complex choral singing of southern Africa and the dance rhythms of soukous, dominated by the music of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Recent developments include the emergence of African hip hop, in particular a form from Senegal blended with traditional mbalax, and Kwaito, a South African variant of house music. Afrikaans music, also found in South Africa, is idiosyncratic being composed mostly of traditional Boer music, while more recent immigrant communities have introduced the music of their homes to the continent.

African Languages

By most estimates, well over a thousand languages (some have estimated over two thousand) are spoken in Africa. Most are of African origin, though some are of European or Asian origin. Africa is the most multilingual continent in the world, and it is not rare for individuals to fluently speak not only multiple African languages, but one or more European ones as well. There are four major language families indigenous to Africa. Following the end of colonialism, nearly all African countries adopted official languages that originated outside the continent, although several countries also granted legal recognition to indigenous languages (such as Swahili, Yoruba, Igbo (also spelt Ibo) and Hausa). In numerous countries, English and French (see African French) are used for communication in the public sphere such as government, commerce, education and the media. Arabic, Portuguese, Afrikaans and Malagasy are other examples of originally non-African languages that are used by millions of Africans today, both in the public and private spheres.

Legends of Africa

Fifty-three African countries have football teams in the Confederation of African Football, while Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, and Ghana have advanced to the knockout stage of recent FIFA World Cups. South Africa will host the 2010 World Cup tournament, and will be the first African country to do so.
Cricket is also popular in some African nations. South Africa and Zimbabwe have Test status, while Kenya is the leading non-test team in One-Day International cricket, and has attained permanent ODI status. The three countries jointly hosted the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Namibia is the other African country to have played in a World Cup. Morocco in northern Africa has also hosted the 2002 Morocco Cup, but the national team have never qualified for a major tournament. A number of African nations, especially Ethiopia, Kenya, and Morocco, have fielded world-class long-distance runners such as Abebe Bikila and Cosmas Ndeti. South Africa hosted and won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and also won the 2007 World Cup.

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