BBC News - Senegal floods uncover ancient artefacts in Dakar

BBC News - Senegal floods uncover ancient artefacts in Dakar: "Pieces of jewellery, pottery and iron tools dating back thousands of years have been discovered in Senegal's capital, Dakar, following recent floods, researchers say.

The discovery was made at a construction site, local academic Alioune Deme told the BBC.

A colleague, Moustapha Sall, stumbled across the items after the rains washed away sand, he said.

The objects could date back between 2,000 and 7,000 BC, Mr Deme said."

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BBC News - Egypt's sexual harassment of women 'epidemic'

BBC News - Egypt's sexual harassment of women 'epidemic': "Campaigners in Egypt say the problem of sexual harassment is reaching epidemic proportions, with a rise in such incidents over the past three months. For many Egyptian women, sexual harassment - which sometimes turns into violent mob-style attacks - is a daily fact of life, reports the BBC's Bethany Bell in Cairo."

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BBC News - Abolish Senegal Senate to fund flood relief, says Sall

BBC News - Abolish Senegal Senate to fund flood relief, says Sall: "Senegal's President Macky Sall has called for the country's Senate to be abolished, with the money saved going to pay for flood relief.

He had cut short a visit to South Africa to deal with the severe floods, which have claimed at least 13 lives.

Speaking at Dakar's airport, he said he would introduce an emergency bill to abolish the upper house."

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BBC - Future - Technology - Reinventing technology in Africa for Africans

BBC - Future - Technology - Reinventing technology in Africa for Africans: "Over the coming months, A Matter of Life and Tech will feature a range of voices from people building Africa’s tech future. The first is Senegal-born, serial entrepreneur Marieme Jamme, who argues the continent needs to make urgent changes to put itself on the right course."

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BBC News - US biofuel production should be suspended, UN says

BBC News - US biofuel production should be suspended, UN says: "The United Nations (UN) food agency has called on the United States to suspend its production of biofuel ethanol.

Under US law, 40% of the corn harvest must be used to make biofuel, a quota which the UN says could contribute to a food crisis around the world.

A drought and heatwave across the US has destroyed much of the country's corn crop, driving up prices.

The US argues that producing much of its own fuel, rather than importing it, is good for the country."

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Michael Moore: It's the Guns - But We All Know, It's Not Really the Guns

Michael Moore: It's the Guns - But We All Know, It's Not Really the Guns: "There have always been insane people, and there always will be.

But here's the difference between the rest of the world and us: We have two Auroras that take place every single day of every single year! At least 24 Americans every day (8-9,000 a year) are killed by people with guns – and that doesn't count the ones accidentally killed by guns or who commit suicide with a gun. Count them and you can triple that number to over 25,000.

That means the United States is responsible for over 80 percent of all the gun deaths in the 23 richest countries combined."

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And Now, A Shitty Story About Prison Diarrhea

And Now, A Shitty Story About Prison Diarrhea: "And Now, A Shitty Story About Prison Diarrhea
Megan L. Wood
In 2008 I was living in Paraguay. I had just started my two-year stint as a Peace Corps volunteer and I was in charge of procuring my own work. Arts and crafts projects would have been a simple way to improve the community while I adjusted to an entirely new diet and language. But I had little patience and thought I was a bad ass. I finagled my way into a job teaching at the prison. An obvious note on prisons in Paraguay: they're overcrowded, dirty, and dangerous."

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