Malawi President Bingu Wa Mutharika has come under heavy criticism from Rwandan of opposition groups for apparently colluding with Kigali officials to crack down on opposition political asylum seekers, a local newspaper has reported.
Last week on Monday, a Rwandan refugee in Malawi Dr Jean Marie Vianney Rwabukwisi was attacked at night by unknown assailants. The attack occurred barely four weeks after Mr. Kagame met Mr. Mutharika during the inauguration of a three kilometres Paul Kagame Road in the capital Lilongwe.
The armed bandits are said to have fired several shots and rushed in Rwabukwisi's house destroying several personal belongings but nobody was neither killed nor injured.
The opposition alliance comprises of; the Rwandan Democratic Alliance, Resistance Forces for Democracy, Republican Rally for Democracy and other independent political leaders under the umbrella of UDF-Inkingi have alleged that armed under-cover government intelligence operatives from Rwanda are to blame, according to the Nyasa Times.
The groups that are no strangers to bitter attacks on the authorities in Kigali want the Malawian President to take full responsibility of the attacks on Rwandan refugees in the country.
The Malawian daily reports that the groups have appealed to the Malawian authorities to investigate Rwabukwisi's home attack and to make public their findings so that those involved are apprehended and punished according to national law and international standards.
Malawi is home to over 5,000 Rwandan refugees who are on the verge of being repatriated back home following the signing of a tripartite agreement between the governments of Malawi, Rwanda and UNHCR.
Government of Rwanda has stepped up efforts to have thousands of Rwandans living in countries across the region saying they need to return home to be part of the vigorous reconstruction process but critics argue otherwise.
Last year, Tanzania expelled up to 30.000 Rwandan refugees urging them to return following the pacification of the region. The Tanzanians say more thousands are to come amid complaints indicating some people lost their hard-earned property.
Ugandan officials are also in the spotlight following the alleged forced expulsion of about 3200 Rwandans - claims dismissed by authorities in Kampala and Kigali. Uganda actually says more 2000 still remain and will be moved into Rwanda as well.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR has been keen to distance itself from the controversial repatriation saying the affected refugees were not under its jurisdiction.
Tuesday, 9 October 2007
Ballina couple off to Malawi
Ballina couple do their bit for charity
MAYO sporting legend Liam McHale is preparing for one of the biggest challenges of his life this month as he gets ready for a trip to one of the poorest countries in the world.
The well-known Ballina basketballer and footballer, and his wife, Sinéad, who is a nurse, have both signed up for a skill-sharing mission to Malawi and will leave for the povery-stricken African nation on October 30.
The couple will be travelling for two weeks as part of a 40-strong group with Tracey Piggott’s ‘Playing for Life’ charity organisation. The charity was set up by the TV personality two years ago, following her visit to Ethiopia in 2004.
‘Playing for Life’ offers sports people an opportunity to provide sporting facilities, skills and training to underprivileged youths and communities in deprived areas of the world. The funds raised by the charity organisation are used to provide sporting facilities and programmes to combat the spreading of HIV/AIDS.
“They asked us if we’d be prepared to take two weeks out of our life to help out,” Liam McHale told The Mayo News last week.
“We’re fortunate here in Ireland that we’re living in a prosperous country but Tracey explained that Malawi is in a really, really bad way. To be honest, I had no idea that Malawi is as poor as it is. People out there are lucky if they get one meal a day and there is a huge problem with AIDS.
“We attended an Open Day a couple of weeks ago and there’s no doubt it’s going to be very rough out there. But both of us are really looking forward to it and can’t wait to get stuck in.”
Liam and Sinéad are currently in the midst of a fund-raising campaign to support their trip, and have been busy researching and getting vaccinated in recent weeks.
John Maughan and a number of Mayo ladies’ footballers made a similar trip to Malawi last year, and were given a unique opportunity to see at first hand the work of the charity and were part of the efforts being made to alleviate hunger and poverty.
“While we’re over there a gym is going to be opened and we’ll be working on building an extension for a school,” explained McHale.
“What I like about it is that we’ll be doing a week of coaching and a week of building. All the kids will get three square meals a day while we’re doing the coaching week and it’ll be a chance for them to experience something that we take for granted. We’re very fortunate here and this is a chance to give something back to people less fortunate.
“The big thing that appealed to me about this is the educational aspect to it. For the two weeks we’re there people will be teaching locals how to preserve food, lay blocks, roof buildings, computer skills and we’ll get a chance to do some coaching too. But trying to leave some lasting impression in terms of education is the key thing for me.”
Among those joining McHale in coaching the local children in his first week there will be John Lynch from Tyrone, who lined out against Mayo in the 1989 All-Ireland semi-final.
While all that is going on, Sinéad will be working with a group of other medically-trained staff, vaccinating members of the local community and offering badly-needed health care.
“We’ve done a fair bit of research on the internet and the Open Day was a big help,” admitted McHale. “The reality is that we’ll be working between eight and ten hours a day in a very poor country so there won’t be any lounging beside a pool at a five-star hotel or anything.
“I’ll be doing some football and basketball coaching and I’m going to be keeping an eye out for a few footballers that might help us win that All-Ireland,” he joked.
The aim of the ‘Playing for Life’ charity is to assist in developing a safe and happy environment for young people, through sport, in several underprivileged areas. The mission is also to create an educational series of games, and the charity also strives to involve the local community in building multi-purpose facilities, sharing skills and improving self-sufficiency.
Malawi is a small, narrow country, wedged between Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique, and bordered on its eastern flank by Lake Malawi.
IF you would like to contribute to Liam and Sinéad’s trip to Malawi, and help the ‘Playing For Life’ charity, please contact Liam on 087 9810890
MAYO sporting legend Liam McHale is preparing for one of the biggest challenges of his life this month as he gets ready for a trip to one of the poorest countries in the world.
The well-known Ballina basketballer and footballer, and his wife, Sinéad, who is a nurse, have both signed up for a skill-sharing mission to Malawi and will leave for the povery-stricken African nation on October 30.
The couple will be travelling for two weeks as part of a 40-strong group with Tracey Piggott’s ‘Playing for Life’ charity organisation. The charity was set up by the TV personality two years ago, following her visit to Ethiopia in 2004.
‘Playing for Life’ offers sports people an opportunity to provide sporting facilities, skills and training to underprivileged youths and communities in deprived areas of the world. The funds raised by the charity organisation are used to provide sporting facilities and programmes to combat the spreading of HIV/AIDS.
“They asked us if we’d be prepared to take two weeks out of our life to help out,” Liam McHale told The Mayo News last week.
“We’re fortunate here in Ireland that we’re living in a prosperous country but Tracey explained that Malawi is in a really, really bad way. To be honest, I had no idea that Malawi is as poor as it is. People out there are lucky if they get one meal a day and there is a huge problem with AIDS.
“We attended an Open Day a couple of weeks ago and there’s no doubt it’s going to be very rough out there. But both of us are really looking forward to it and can’t wait to get stuck in.”
Liam and Sinéad are currently in the midst of a fund-raising campaign to support their trip, and have been busy researching and getting vaccinated in recent weeks.
John Maughan and a number of Mayo ladies’ footballers made a similar trip to Malawi last year, and were given a unique opportunity to see at first hand the work of the charity and were part of the efforts being made to alleviate hunger and poverty.
“While we’re over there a gym is going to be opened and we’ll be working on building an extension for a school,” explained McHale.
“What I like about it is that we’ll be doing a week of coaching and a week of building. All the kids will get three square meals a day while we’re doing the coaching week and it’ll be a chance for them to experience something that we take for granted. We’re very fortunate here and this is a chance to give something back to people less fortunate.
“The big thing that appealed to me about this is the educational aspect to it. For the two weeks we’re there people will be teaching locals how to preserve food, lay blocks, roof buildings, computer skills and we’ll get a chance to do some coaching too. But trying to leave some lasting impression in terms of education is the key thing for me.”
Among those joining McHale in coaching the local children in his first week there will be John Lynch from Tyrone, who lined out against Mayo in the 1989 All-Ireland semi-final.
While all that is going on, Sinéad will be working with a group of other medically-trained staff, vaccinating members of the local community and offering badly-needed health care.
“We’ve done a fair bit of research on the internet and the Open Day was a big help,” admitted McHale. “The reality is that we’ll be working between eight and ten hours a day in a very poor country so there won’t be any lounging beside a pool at a five-star hotel or anything.
“I’ll be doing some football and basketball coaching and I’m going to be keeping an eye out for a few footballers that might help us win that All-Ireland,” he joked.
The aim of the ‘Playing for Life’ charity is to assist in developing a safe and happy environment for young people, through sport, in several underprivileged areas. The mission is also to create an educational series of games, and the charity also strives to involve the local community in building multi-purpose facilities, sharing skills and improving self-sufficiency.
Malawi is a small, narrow country, wedged between Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique, and bordered on its eastern flank by Lake Malawi.
IF you would like to contribute to Liam and Sinéad’s trip to Malawi, and help the ‘Playing For Life’ charity, please contact Liam on 087 9810890
Malawi's Mbewe sees single digit inflation in 2007
SUN CITY, South Africa (Reuters) - Malawi's central bank Governor Victor Mbewe said on Tuesday inflation should stay in single digits during 2007 although higher oil prices posed the biggest threat.
"We expect that inflation will remain in the single digit in this year ... that is our target. At the moment the higher international oil price is the biggest threat to inflation," Mbewe told Reuters on the sidelines of a banking conference.
Mbewe added that the central bank was looking at "further reduction in interest rates" for the southern African country, but did not give further details.
Official data showed that Malawi's headline inflation slowed to 7.2 percent year-on-year in August, from 7.4 percent the previous month, with food inflation, which accounts for 58.1 of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), dipping to 6.6 percent from 6.7 percent.
Drought-prone Malawi has had a bumper maize crop this year, helping to lower the cost of the staple grain.
It had a surplus of 1.3 million metric tonnes of maize from the 2006/2007 cropping season, more than three times the surplus in the previous year.
"We had a drought (in the past) and this was a problem for inflation but we managed to bring it back to single digits about 6 months ago with certain interventions, such as irrigation schemes and subsidies for farmers," Mbewe said.
Economic analysts have, however, said rising fuel prices could increase Malawians' transport and farming costs, reversing the gains made on the inflation front.
The landlocked country has no oil refineries and is a net importer of fuel.
"The international oil price is our biggest concern because it will lead to higher prices. But as I said, the surplus maize will ease the pressure," Mbewe said on Tuesday.
He said Malawi's macroeconomic fundamentals have stabilised, and that the central bank was "comfortable" with the Malawian kwacha's exchange rate.
"We are looking at a further reduction in interest rates. We have cut them twice in the past year, but its difficult to discuss monetary policy further than that," Mbewe added.
The Reserve Bank of Malawi cut its bank rate to 17.5 percent from 20 percent in August, citing the improved outlook for inflation and other economic fundamentals.
"We expect that inflation will remain in the single digit in this year ... that is our target. At the moment the higher international oil price is the biggest threat to inflation," Mbewe told Reuters on the sidelines of a banking conference.
Mbewe added that the central bank was looking at "further reduction in interest rates" for the southern African country, but did not give further details.
Official data showed that Malawi's headline inflation slowed to 7.2 percent year-on-year in August, from 7.4 percent the previous month, with food inflation, which accounts for 58.1 of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), dipping to 6.6 percent from 6.7 percent.
Drought-prone Malawi has had a bumper maize crop this year, helping to lower the cost of the staple grain.
It had a surplus of 1.3 million metric tonnes of maize from the 2006/2007 cropping season, more than three times the surplus in the previous year.
"We had a drought (in the past) and this was a problem for inflation but we managed to bring it back to single digits about 6 months ago with certain interventions, such as irrigation schemes and subsidies for farmers," Mbewe said.
Economic analysts have, however, said rising fuel prices could increase Malawians' transport and farming costs, reversing the gains made on the inflation front.
The landlocked country has no oil refineries and is a net importer of fuel.
"The international oil price is our biggest concern because it will lead to higher prices. But as I said, the surplus maize will ease the pressure," Mbewe said on Tuesday.
He said Malawi's macroeconomic fundamentals have stabilised, and that the central bank was "comfortable" with the Malawian kwacha's exchange rate.
"We are looking at a further reduction in interest rates. We have cut them twice in the past year, but its difficult to discuss monetary policy further than that," Mbewe added.
The Reserve Bank of Malawi cut its bank rate to 17.5 percent from 20 percent in August, citing the improved outlook for inflation and other economic fundamentals.
Hospital send patient home
...Government still looking for a specialist in SA—Ngaunje
By Rex Chikoko
Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), a referral hospital in
Blantyre Malawi, has discharged a patient, suffering from a cancer,
despite the referral committee of Ministry of Health recommended that
she should sent to South Africa for further treatment.
The patient, Mphatso Mhango, was referred to QECH from Mzuzu hospital, three months ago where doctors at QECH also referred her to outside the country for further treatment, however two months down the line the patient is still in the country.
One of Mhango's relatives,Vilunjike Manda, said it was surprising that government was failing to facilitate the transportation of the patient despite the referral committee's recommendation after assessing the gravity of the situation.
"Nobody is telling us what is happening and to make matters worse the patient has been discharged without telling us the way forward," he said.
Manda said he has been taking up the matter with the hospital authorities but they have been directing him to ministry's head quarter.
"We were told that it was a benign tumor which if operated on quickly the patient will get work, however the case has been worsening while the patient was in hospital.
"We do not know the idea behind discharging the patient when she was supposed to be going to South Africa for treatment," he said.
A Member of the Referral Committee Dr. Mathias Joshua, who was also the Acting Hospital director at the time the decision was made said government is trying to identify a doctor who would attend to the patient when she went to South Africa.
"We are currently looking for a doctor in South Africa who would to the operation, once the doctor has been identified she is going to be sent for operation," he said.
However, Dr Joshua would not tell how long it would take to identify a doctor based on the urgency of the matter saying: "The process of sending her to South Africa has started and someone is looking for a doctor."
Minister of Health Marjorie Ngaunje said much as she was not aware of that particular case she said the process of sending a person outside the country further treatment takes time.
She said there is a government agent in South Africa who search for doctor when a referral case is forwarded to him and that the patient can only leave the country when the doctor has been identified.
"It is not easy to find a specialist in South Africa, there are a lot people who are waiting to be sent for further treatment," she said.
Ngaunje said every Malawian has got a right to treatment and there was not special treatment for VIPs when it come to referring people to outside the country hospitals.
"Human dignity is supreme in sickness and there are no VIPs when it comes to sending people outside the country for treatment," she said.
Concerns have been raised that government favours government dignitaries when it comes to referring people for outside treatment despite that those people are financially capable to seek treatment else where.
Referral Committee was established to be recommending patient, mostly those who would not afford to pay for their treatment, to outside hospitals.
It has been observed that government dignitaries, when they are sick, are quickly send to outside the country's hospitals even if the ailment would be treated locally.
Rex Chikoko is a print journalist with Malawi News. You can contact him on phone 265-9-558 423 or 265-8-858 423 email:rexchikoko@yahoo.co.uk or chikokorex@gmail.com
By Rex Chikoko
Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), a referral hospital in
Blantyre Malawi, has discharged a patient, suffering from a cancer,
despite the referral committee of Ministry of Health recommended that
she should sent to South Africa for further treatment.
The patient, Mphatso Mhango, was referred to QECH from Mzuzu hospital, three months ago where doctors at QECH also referred her to outside the country for further treatment, however two months down the line the patient is still in the country.
One of Mhango's relatives,Vilunjike Manda, said it was surprising that government was failing to facilitate the transportation of the patient despite the referral committee's recommendation after assessing the gravity of the situation.
"Nobody is telling us what is happening and to make matters worse the patient has been discharged without telling us the way forward," he said.
Manda said he has been taking up the matter with the hospital authorities but they have been directing him to ministry's head quarter.
"We were told that it was a benign tumor which if operated on quickly the patient will get work, however the case has been worsening while the patient was in hospital.
"We do not know the idea behind discharging the patient when she was supposed to be going to South Africa for treatment," he said.
A Member of the Referral Committee Dr. Mathias Joshua, who was also the Acting Hospital director at the time the decision was made said government is trying to identify a doctor who would attend to the patient when she went to South Africa.
"We are currently looking for a doctor in South Africa who would to the operation, once the doctor has been identified she is going to be sent for operation," he said.
However, Dr Joshua would not tell how long it would take to identify a doctor based on the urgency of the matter saying: "The process of sending her to South Africa has started and someone is looking for a doctor."
Minister of Health Marjorie Ngaunje said much as she was not aware of that particular case she said the process of sending a person outside the country further treatment takes time.
She said there is a government agent in South Africa who search for doctor when a referral case is forwarded to him and that the patient can only leave the country when the doctor has been identified.
"It is not easy to find a specialist in South Africa, there are a lot people who are waiting to be sent for further treatment," she said.
Ngaunje said every Malawian has got a right to treatment and there was not special treatment for VIPs when it come to referring people to outside the country hospitals.
"Human dignity is supreme in sickness and there are no VIPs when it comes to sending people outside the country for treatment," she said.
Concerns have been raised that government favours government dignitaries when it comes to referring people for outside treatment despite that those people are financially capable to seek treatment else where.
Referral Committee was established to be recommending patient, mostly those who would not afford to pay for their treatment, to outside hospitals.
It has been observed that government dignitaries, when they are sick, are quickly send to outside the country's hospitals even if the ailment would be treated locally.
Rex Chikoko is a print journalist with Malawi News. You can contact him on phone 265-9-558 423 or 265-8-858 423 email:rexchikoko@yahoo.co.uk or chikokorex@gmail.com
Ancient African Megadroughts May Have Driven Human Evolution -- Out Of Africa
Science Daily — From 135,000 to 90,000 years ago tropical Africa had megadroughts more extreme and widespread than any previously known for that region, according to new research.
The dynamically-positioned drilling barge Viphya, departing port. Lake Malawi is one of the world's largest and deepest lakes, and along with Lake Tanganyika contains more than 80% of the surface freshwater on the African continent. New drill core evidence shows that the 700 m-deep lake was reduced by more than 500 m prior to 75,000 years ago, indicating periods of severe aridity. (Credit: Image courtesy of M.R. Talbot, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bergen)
Learning that now-lush tropical Africa was an arid scrubland during the early Late Pleistocene provides new insights into humans' migration out of Africa and the evolution of fishes in Africa's Great Lakes.
"Lake Malawi, one of the deepest lakes in the world, acts as a rain gauge," said lead scientist Andrew S. Cohen of The University of Arizona in Tucson. "The lake level dropped at least 600 meters (1,968 feet) -- an extraordinary amount of water lost from the lake. This tells us that it was much drier at that time."
He added, "Archaeological evidence shows relatively few signs of human occupation in tropical Africa during the megadrought period."
The new finding provides an ecological explanation for the Out-of-Africa theory that suggests all humans descended from just a few people living in Africa sometime between 150,000 and 70,000 years ago.
"We've got an explanation for why that might have occurred -- tropical Africa was extraordinarily dry about 100,000 years ago," said Cohen, a UA professor of geosciences. "Maybe human populations just crashed."
Other researchers have documented droughts in individual regions of Africa at that time, such as the Kalahari desert expanding north and the Sahel expanding south, he said. "But no one had put it together that those droughts were part of a bigger picture."
Tropical Africa's climate became wetter by 70,000 years ago, a time for which there is evidence of more people in the region and of people moving north. As the population rebounded, people left Africa, Cohen said.
The newly discovered drastic drought also suggests the famous cichlid fishes of Lake Malawi evolved four to eight times slower than previously thought, altering scientists' view of fish evolution in the African Great Lakes.
Cohen and his colleagues have been working for years to learn more about ancient Africa's climate and ecology by coring Africa's deepest lakes.
The scientists discovered the ancient megadroughts by studying sediments cored from the bottom of Lake Malawi, an African rift lake that is currently 2,316 feet (706 meters) deep, and comparing those findings with similar records from Lakes Tanganyika and Bosumtwi.
"What's unique about the Malawi, Tanganyika and Bosumtwi cores is that they're continuous records. We can see what happened in one place over a long period of time," Cohen said.
Extracting cores from Lake Malawi required the kind of rig used in ocean-going drilling expeditions. Those expeditions just sail a drill-equipped ship to the desired site.
However, the Lake Malawi Drilling Project's target was land-locked.
The international research team collected the equipment necessary, shipped it overland, rented a barge and outfitted it to become a scientific drilling vessel. They equipped the ship, M/V Viphya, with the type of GPS positioning system needed to hold the large ship steady under windy and wavy conditions. The drilling equipment was lowered 1,942 feet (592 meters) to the lake bottom and bored into the lake's sediment another 1247 feet (380 meters). If the ship didn't hold its position over the drilling site, the expensive drilling equipment might snap.
The work was successful -- the team extracted a series of cores, some as much as 1247 feet (380 meters) long, representing hundreds of thousands of years of African history.
Such lake cores contain a high-resolution record of the things that fell in or died in the lake -- plankton, aquatic invertebrates, charcoal from fires on land, pollen from the surrounding vegetation. Scientists analyze those materials to figure out what the vegetation and the lake conditions were like at a particular point in time.
The researchers used radiocarbon and other dating techniques to establish the age of regions of the Malawi cores. Then researchers took samples at 300-year-intervals.
Samples from the megadrought times had little pollen or charcoal, suggesting sparse vegetation with little to burn.
Cohen said, "The area around Lake Malawi, which today is heavily forested and has rainfall levels comparable to the southeastern U.S., at that time would have looked like Tucson."
One indicator of drought present in the cores were species of invertebrates and plankton that only live in shallow, turbid, algae-rich waters -- a situation very different from the deep, clearwater lake that Malawi is now.
"During the megadrought, Lake Malawi was algae-filled and pea-soup green, much like modern-day Lake Turkana," Cohen said. "Lake Turkana is known as the Jade Sea."
The African Great Lakes are known for the spectacular biological diversity of their cichlid fish species, which number in the hundreds. A dramatic increase in the number of species was thought to happened after a dry spell about 25,000 to 15,000 years ago.
In contrast, Cohen and his colleagues suggest that the rise in species diversity happened after the megadroughts. By 70,000 years ago the lake had risen to more or less its current level and it had become a freshwater lake as it is today.
Although the team has used the lake cores to peer back in time 150,000 years, there's still much more to do: the Lake Malawi core represents as much as 1.5 million years of tropical Africa's past.
Climate change led mankind out of Africa
Climate change is thought to explain mankind’s exodus from Africa to colonise other parts of the world.
A switch from drought to wetter conditions led to a population expansion and the spread of early humans to other continents about 70,000 years ago.
The prolonged period of drought some 90,000-135,000 years ago had created such stresses on Homo sapiens that the population had crashed, researchers believe. This could help to explain why mankind is thought to be descended from a relative handful of people in Africa.
“We’ve got an explanation for why that might have occurred,” said Professor Andrew Cohen, of the University of Arizona.
“Tropical Africa was extraordinarily dry about 100,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence shows relatively few signs of human occupation during the mega-drought period.”
The idea was consistent with previous studies, which have suggested an earlier exodus about 125,000 years was “ultimately unsuccessful”. Researchers concluded that there was an ecological reason for the human exodus after sediment and fossil samples revealed that Africa had been racked by a series of prolonged droughts, which were “more extreme and widespread” than any other dry periods identified in tropical Africa and would have devastated plant and animal life.
Sediment from core samples of Lake Malawi, one of the world’s deepest lakes, revealed that water levels dropped by at least 1,986ft (600m).
Lake Malawi is 2,316ft deep today but during the mega-drought, which researchers said was the most likely explanation for the drop in water levels, it fell to just 410ft deep.
During this period the land around the lake turned into semi-desert, an arid scrubland habitat with limited resources for primates - in stark contrast to the lush vegetation today.
In their report, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists said: “The end of arid conditions in tropical Africa closely coincides with the onset of aridity elsewhere on the continent.
“Thus, a likely period for human population expansion out of equatorial Africa would have been during the climatic ‘crossover’ time, between 90 and 70 thousand years ago.”
The interval was long enough, they said, to tally with other evidence suggesting that Homo sapiens reached Australia about 50,000 years ago.
The core samples provided a record of the quantities and types of plankton, invertebrates and pollen that dropped to the bottom of the lake. Species found during the mega-drought period lived only in shallow, algae-rich waters indicating turbid waters. Lake Malawi, in the Great Rift Valley, would have been “algae-filled and pea-soup green”. From 90,000 to 70,000 years ago, the water levels in the lake rose to current levels.
Scientists involved in the study said the discovery of mega-droughts suggested that cichlid fish, for which the lake is famous, evolved much slower than previously believed. It had been thought that the fish had evolved 15,000-25,000 years ago but the core samples suggested that it could have originated from as long ago as 90,000 years.
A switch from drought to wetter conditions led to a population expansion and the spread of early humans to other continents about 70,000 years ago.
The prolonged period of drought some 90,000-135,000 years ago had created such stresses on Homo sapiens that the population had crashed, researchers believe. This could help to explain why mankind is thought to be descended from a relative handful of people in Africa.
“We’ve got an explanation for why that might have occurred,” said Professor Andrew Cohen, of the University of Arizona.
“Tropical Africa was extraordinarily dry about 100,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence shows relatively few signs of human occupation during the mega-drought period.”
The idea was consistent with previous studies, which have suggested an earlier exodus about 125,000 years was “ultimately unsuccessful”. Researchers concluded that there was an ecological reason for the human exodus after sediment and fossil samples revealed that Africa had been racked by a series of prolonged droughts, which were “more extreme and widespread” than any other dry periods identified in tropical Africa and would have devastated plant and animal life.
Sediment from core samples of Lake Malawi, one of the world’s deepest lakes, revealed that water levels dropped by at least 1,986ft (600m).
Lake Malawi is 2,316ft deep today but during the mega-drought, which researchers said was the most likely explanation for the drop in water levels, it fell to just 410ft deep.
During this period the land around the lake turned into semi-desert, an arid scrubland habitat with limited resources for primates - in stark contrast to the lush vegetation today.
In their report, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists said: “The end of arid conditions in tropical Africa closely coincides with the onset of aridity elsewhere on the continent.
“Thus, a likely period for human population expansion out of equatorial Africa would have been during the climatic ‘crossover’ time, between 90 and 70 thousand years ago.”
The interval was long enough, they said, to tally with other evidence suggesting that Homo sapiens reached Australia about 50,000 years ago.
The core samples provided a record of the quantities and types of plankton, invertebrates and pollen that dropped to the bottom of the lake. Species found during the mega-drought period lived only in shallow, algae-rich waters indicating turbid waters. Lake Malawi, in the Great Rift Valley, would have been “algae-filled and pea-soup green”. From 90,000 to 70,000 years ago, the water levels in the lake rose to current levels.
Scientists involved in the study said the discovery of mega-droughts suggested that cichlid fish, for which the lake is famous, evolved much slower than previously believed. It had been thought that the fish had evolved 15,000-25,000 years ago but the core samples suggested that it could have originated from as long ago as 90,000 years.
Local Fair Trade Jeweler Creates Unique Bracelet for AIDS Awareness and Phoenix Fashion Week
Proceeds from Attapinya’s “Hope in Africa” Bracelet will go to Partners in Malawi. Bracelet will be debuted on November 5th at Phoenix Fashion Week.
In recent years the problems of poverty, famine, and AIDS have continued to exacerbate one another in Malawi. Over 1 million of its 11 million inhabitants are HIV positive and of that, over half a million children have become infected or orphaned by AIDS. Red ribbons and red products help to raise awareness and funds to help fight the AIDS epidemic all over the world. Here in Arizona, one local Fair Trade jewelry designer has joined the cause and created an elegant, one-of-a-kind piece to help in the crusade. Attapinya designed the “Hope in Africa” bracelet to support the Partners in Malawi Organization, a southern California-based nonprofit that works to promote awareness of the epidemic through the efforts of Dr. Perry Jansen and the Partners in Hope Community Clinic in Lilongwe, Malawi. On November 5th, Attapinya will debut the piece at Phoenix Fashion Week during the opening night Celebrity Charity Fashion Show from which all proceeds will be donated in full to the Partners in Malawi organization.
“Deeply inspired by the work of Dr. Perry Jansen [founder of the Partners in Malawi and Partners in Hope organizations], I created the Hope in Africa bracelet so that when it is worn, it will remind the wearer to pray for strength and hope for our sick friends on the other side of the world. It is a statement for those who never mistake the power of hope and prayer, “ said Aphinya Deley, chief designer and president of Attapinya.
The “Hope in Africa” bracelet is an 18K white gold vermeil chain with an 18K yellow gold vermeil toggle closure in the shape of the African continent, and an 18K yellow gold vermeil and garnet charm in the shape of the African symbol, Nyame Biribi Wo Soro, meaning “God is in the Heavens”. In Africa, this symbol is a reminder that God listens to all prayers for healing, strength, and peace. Retailed at $450 USD, the Hope in Africa bracelet can be purchased at attapinya.com and 25% of all sales will be donated to Partners in Malawi.
About the Partners in Malawi and Partners in Hope Organization
The vision of Partners in Malawi and Partners in Hope (a Malawian nonprofit organization) is “to have a significant impact on the HIV/AIDS epidemic and in the lives of people infected and affected by HIV in a way which brings glory to GOD and demonstrates Christ’s love in word and deed.” Spearheaded by Dr. Perry Jansen, the southern California-based organization strives to meet the immediate physical and spiritual needs of all patients as well as develop skilled Malawian leaders in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
About Attapinya
Since its inception in 2004, Aphinya Deley, chief designer and president, has transformed her love of nature and Yoga into a socially responsible line of Yoga jewelry and bags whose production enhances the lifestyle of not just the yogi consumer, but also the artisans themselves. An ardent supporter and member of the Fair Trade Federation, Attapinya adheres to eco-conscious business standards that benefit low-income artisans and laborers in developing countries in order to create economic self-sufficiency.
In recent years the problems of poverty, famine, and AIDS have continued to exacerbate one another in Malawi. Over 1 million of its 11 million inhabitants are HIV positive and of that, over half a million children have become infected or orphaned by AIDS. Red ribbons and red products help to raise awareness and funds to help fight the AIDS epidemic all over the world. Here in Arizona, one local Fair Trade jewelry designer has joined the cause and created an elegant, one-of-a-kind piece to help in the crusade. Attapinya designed the “Hope in Africa” bracelet to support the Partners in Malawi Organization, a southern California-based nonprofit that works to promote awareness of the epidemic through the efforts of Dr. Perry Jansen and the Partners in Hope Community Clinic in Lilongwe, Malawi. On November 5th, Attapinya will debut the piece at Phoenix Fashion Week during the opening night Celebrity Charity Fashion Show from which all proceeds will be donated in full to the Partners in Malawi organization.
“Deeply inspired by the work of Dr. Perry Jansen [founder of the Partners in Malawi and Partners in Hope organizations], I created the Hope in Africa bracelet so that when it is worn, it will remind the wearer to pray for strength and hope for our sick friends on the other side of the world. It is a statement for those who never mistake the power of hope and prayer, “ said Aphinya Deley, chief designer and president of Attapinya.
The “Hope in Africa” bracelet is an 18K white gold vermeil chain with an 18K yellow gold vermeil toggle closure in the shape of the African continent, and an 18K yellow gold vermeil and garnet charm in the shape of the African symbol, Nyame Biribi Wo Soro, meaning “God is in the Heavens”. In Africa, this symbol is a reminder that God listens to all prayers for healing, strength, and peace. Retailed at $450 USD, the Hope in Africa bracelet can be purchased at attapinya.com and 25% of all sales will be donated to Partners in Malawi.
About the Partners in Malawi and Partners in Hope Organization
The vision of Partners in Malawi and Partners in Hope (a Malawian nonprofit organization) is “to have a significant impact on the HIV/AIDS epidemic and in the lives of people infected and affected by HIV in a way which brings glory to GOD and demonstrates Christ’s love in word and deed.” Spearheaded by Dr. Perry Jansen, the southern California-based organization strives to meet the immediate physical and spiritual needs of all patients as well as develop skilled Malawian leaders in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
About Attapinya
Since its inception in 2004, Aphinya Deley, chief designer and president, has transformed her love of nature and Yoga into a socially responsible line of Yoga jewelry and bags whose production enhances the lifestyle of not just the yogi consumer, but also the artisans themselves. An ardent supporter and member of the Fair Trade Federation, Attapinya adheres to eco-conscious business standards that benefit low-income artisans and laborers in developing countries in order to create economic self-sufficiency.
UA scientist: Drought recovery 100,000 years ago spurred African exodus
Recovery from a "megadrought" 100,000 years ago precipitated the exodus of ancient humans from tropical Africa to Europe and Asia, according to a UA researcher.
Analysis of soil samples extracted from below the bottom of the 2,000-foot-deep Lake Malawi in Africa shows the area believed to the cradle of anatomically modern humans depicts an area hit hard by drought, said Andy Cohen, University of Arizona geology professor.
Cohen is lead researcher and lead author of "Ecological consequences of the early Late Pleistocene megadroughts in tropical Africa," which was released Monday.
Cohen's findings offer an ecological explanation for the "out of Africa" hypothesis that suggests that all modern humans descended from a core group of ancient people living in Africa between 150,000 and 70,000 years ago.
The lake-bottom core samples show the area became rejuvenated between 90,000 and 70,000 years ago, with lakes rising to current levels following the severe drought.
"That period of time gives the ideal window when people might have gotten out of Africa," he said. "It was getting wetter and the Nile was flowing fully providing a north/south corridor.
"This might provide a mechanism for explaining the timing," he said. "When conditions got better we saw an expansion into a lot of other areas. Population growth allowed people to expand."
The spring 2005 field work was filled with challenges.
Lake Malawi, bordered by Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania, is landlocked, so a ship specially equipped for ocean-floor drilling could not be used.
Cohen's group leased a 160-foot, 800-ton barge and converted it into a drilling platform using equipment and staffing from Seacore, a English drilling company.
"Technologically and logistically it was very tough," he said. Vessel issues forced expenses and delays that cut 45 planned drilling days to 23, he said.
Despite the challenges, the rig was able to bore into the lake floor sediment more than 380 meters - 1,250 feet - and secure 3-inch diameter core samples for analysis.
Cohen spent more than a year analyzing the top 80 meters, or 265 feet, representing the past 150,000 years, of the 380 meter long core samples prior to writing the report that was released Monday.
Research continues, and the bottom end of the core samples may chart history from as long ago as 750,000 years.
"We're just scratching the surface of what these core samples have to tell us," Cohen said.
Analysis of soil samples extracted from below the bottom of the 2,000-foot-deep Lake Malawi in Africa shows the area believed to the cradle of anatomically modern humans depicts an area hit hard by drought, said Andy Cohen, University of Arizona geology professor.
Cohen is lead researcher and lead author of "Ecological consequences of the early Late Pleistocene megadroughts in tropical Africa," which was released Monday.
Cohen's findings offer an ecological explanation for the "out of Africa" hypothesis that suggests that all modern humans descended from a core group of ancient people living in Africa between 150,000 and 70,000 years ago.
The lake-bottom core samples show the area became rejuvenated between 90,000 and 70,000 years ago, with lakes rising to current levels following the severe drought.
"That period of time gives the ideal window when people might have gotten out of Africa," he said. "It was getting wetter and the Nile was flowing fully providing a north/south corridor.
"This might provide a mechanism for explaining the timing," he said. "When conditions got better we saw an expansion into a lot of other areas. Population growth allowed people to expand."
The spring 2005 field work was filled with challenges.
Lake Malawi, bordered by Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania, is landlocked, so a ship specially equipped for ocean-floor drilling could not be used.
Cohen's group leased a 160-foot, 800-ton barge and converted it into a drilling platform using equipment and staffing from Seacore, a English drilling company.
"Technologically and logistically it was very tough," he said. Vessel issues forced expenses and delays that cut 45 planned drilling days to 23, he said.
Despite the challenges, the rig was able to bore into the lake floor sediment more than 380 meters - 1,250 feet - and secure 3-inch diameter core samples for analysis.
Cohen spent more than a year analyzing the top 80 meters, or 265 feet, representing the past 150,000 years, of the 380 meter long core samples prior to writing the report that was released Monday.
Research continues, and the bottom end of the core samples may chart history from as long ago as 750,000 years.
"We're just scratching the surface of what these core samples have to tell us," Cohen said.
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