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☆ Nigerians vote for new president, delays seen at some polling stations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Anamasere Igboereteonwu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/8] People looks for their names on voters list put up on a wall at a polling unit, during Nigeria's Presidential election in Agulu, Anambra state, Nigeria February 25, 2023. Polling stations were scheduled to open at 8:30 a.m. (0730 GMT), though Reuters reporters at locations across the country saw a mixed picture, with delays of several hours in some places while voting got underway more swiftly at others. In the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the vice presidential candidate from the ruling party, Kashim Shettima, arrived to cast his ballot but was unable to do so as his designated polling station had not opened. In another northeastern city, Yola, opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar was able to vote, surrounded by a chaotic scrum of media and supporters. Vote-counting will begin as soon as polls close and results will be posted outside polling stations, according to the Independent National Election Commission (INEC).

☆ Kenya's Maasai warriors gather to celebrate "Maasai Olympics," a rite of passage
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Thomas MukoyaKIMANA SANCTUARY, Kenya, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Hundreds of youths from the Maasai pastoralists in Kenya gathered on Saturday at a wildlife sanctuary to participate in "Maasai Olympics," a ceremony promoted by conservationists as an alternative rite of passage for young men in the community. To curb the practice, Maasai cultural leaders partnered with Big Life Foundation, a conservation pressure group, to provide an alternative rite of passage, eventually giving birth to the "Maasai Olympics" in which young men compete to earn medals and cash prizes. Craig Miller, Chief Operating Officer of Big Life Foundation said the games had helped reduce the danger to lion population in the area. "(The) program has had a huge impact on the lion population and it is one of the few areas in Africa outside of protected areas where lion population is stable or growing," he said. Government-run Kenya Wildlife Services says there are about 2,000 lions in the East African country, and that the biggest threat to them and other carnivores is conflict with humans.

☆ 'Vulture bees' feed their babies rotting flesh, even though it breeds toxin-producing bacteria. They're a mystery to scientists.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"Vulture bees" feed their larvae rotting meat instead of relying on pollen like other bees. Scientists hung raw chicken in Costa Rica and watched vulture bees fill their leg pouches and stomachs with it. Sure enough, the researchers discovered that vulture bees' guts may be more like actual vultures or hyenas than their pollen-gathering relatives. The vulture bees had lots of acid-producing bacteria like lactobacillus, probably creating a far more acidic gut than their pollen-eating cousins. They want to study what happens in the pods where the vulture bees store meat before feeding it to their larvae.

☆ Young Kenyan tree activist speaks up for Africa at COP27
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Elizabeth Wathuti, Kenyan environment and climate activist looks at the leaves of a tree during a Reuters interview at the Nairobi Arboretum, botanical garden, in Nairobi, Kenya October 8, 2022. REUTERS/Edwin WaitaNAIROBI, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Elizabeth Wathuti channelled her frustration and sadness over the damage to natural habitats including Kenyan forests close to her childhood home into a life of activism, founding Green Generation Initiative to raise awareness through tree growing. Six years after starting the environmental advocacy group, Wathuti is one of Kenya's most ardent voices in the struggle against climate change, a voice she is hoping will be heard by world leaders gathered in Egypt for the COP27 climate summit. Wathuti was one of the young people calling for urgent action as the U.N. climate conference marked its traditional Young and Future Generations Day on Thursday. Reporting by Edwin Waita Writing by Estelle Shirbon Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kenya deploys troops to Congo to help end decades of bloodshed
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Edwin Waita | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Thomas MukoyaNAIROBI, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Kenya's President William Ruto on Wednesday officially deployed troops to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to join an East African regional force aiming to end decades of bloodshed. The seven countries of the East African Community (EAC), which Congo joined this year, agreed in April to set up a joint force to fight militia groups in Congo's east. Despite billions of dollars spent on one of the United Nation's largest peacekeeping forces, more than 120 armed groups continue to operate across large swathes of east Congo, including the M23 rebels, which Congo has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting. Uganda has already sent troops into Congo as part of separate deployment to chase down an Islamic State-linked armed militants, one of the warring groups in eastern Congo. "We have been working very hard to mobilise the international community to support the east African force," Kenya's defence minister Aden Duale said at the event.

☆ Drought forces Kenya's Maasai to sell starving cattle for a pittance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Edwin Waita | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A man from the Maasai pastoralist community affected by the worsening drought due to the failed rainy season, attends to an emaciated cow at a livestock market in Ilbisil settlement of Kajiado, Kenya October 17, 2022. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"This is the kind of situation we have all found ourselves in, with emaciated cattle," said Maasai pastoralist Jackson Sane, speaking at a cattle market in the town of Ilbisil, south of Nairobi. "Maize meal prices have shot up, petrol too, while livestock prices have seriously depreciated," said cattle trader Joshua Kedoya. "Most of these cows you see here have lost all their calves to the drought. We sometimes manage to save a few, especially when we feed them like this but a majority of them end up dying."

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