Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Laureen is a freelance journalist creating high-quality, informed content on international affairs, politics and technology. She has worked both in and out of newsrooms since 2000. She is a former paramedic with significant experience in community resilience and nonprofit community development initiatives, and maintains "a passion for action" on sustainability and climate change. She also is trained in conflict resolution and diversity, and has special interests in science and medical reporting, and culture and religion issues. Laureen received her MSJ from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in the United States, and completed additional graduate study in theology at University of Notre Dame. Follow Laureen on Mastodon at @laureen@m.ai6yr.org
Opposition leaders in Nigeria have disputed the results of an election that placed Bola Ahmed Tinubu into the presidency, following an early-morning announcement of the final results by Mahmood Yakubu of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) party candidate supported by outgoing President Muhammadu…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
A high-level Ethiopian delegation’s visit to Beijing has led to speculation about how China is dealing with the African nation’s deepening debt crisis, but a spokeswoman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied any plans to restructure Ethiopian debt. “China takes the debt issue of developing countries seriously…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Nigerians headed to the polls on Saturday to vote in record numbers in the country’s presidential elections, with no clear favorite among the top candidates vying to replace outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari. The earliest results began to come in but it was far too soon to project a winner in…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Tropical cyclone Freddy made landfall on Madagascar Tuesday evening, arriving just north of Mananjary around 7:20 p.m. local time with damaging winds, heavy rain and seas reaching heights of more than six meters. Winds had weakened to 110 kilometers per hour (kph) with 155 km/h winds near the storm’s center,…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Despite progress on peace in Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan, the United Nations Secretary General told leaders at the African Union (AU) summit that the continent needs a comprehensive approach on climate, human rights and development in order to secure a peaceful feature. “The Central African Republic, and the forward…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth of Mauritius says his recent trip to the United Kingdom included discussions on the residents of the Chagos Islands who were forced to leave decades ago, and he welcomed advances on returning the territory to his Indian Ocean island nation. “The Government of Mauritius has…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
An observatory station in South Africa is one of the last two to be installed in a now-completed network that allows scientists across the world to monitor the night sky around the clock. The Burst Observer and Optical Transient Exploring System (BOOTES) system relies on automated robotic stations to detect…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Equatorial Guinea has confirmed its first-ever outbreak of Marburg virus disease, with at least nine fatalities that have forced a lockdown in Nsok Nsomo and the Kie Ntem district near the border with Gabon and Cameroon. Officials with the World Health Organization (WHO) said samples were taken from those infected…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
In Equatorial Guinea, there’s not yet a confirmed diagnosis of the suspected hemorrhagic fever illness that has claimed up to 20 lives and forced a lockdown in the Nsok Nsomo and Kie Ntem districts near the border with Gabon and Cameroon. Health officials on Sunday were still waiting for laboratory…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
South Africa is facing a shortage of more than 23 million houses, and Dr. Blade Nzimande, the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, says 3-D printed houses—built entirely in just eight hours— may be the solution to help meet demand. “It is a quick way to build good quality…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Assimi Goïta, the interim leader of Mali, during his visit to Bamako on Tuesday, during a diplomatic trip that’s drawn concern over the security role of Russian fighters in the Sahel nation and Moscow’s bid for wider influence on the African continent. “We…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
African leaders offered condolences and pledged their assistance, as rescuers in Turkey and Syria continued to search through the rubble for survivors following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that leveled wide swaths of the region. The initial quake, with an epicenter near Nurdaği, was followed by dozens of aftershocks that leveled buildings…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Pope Francis completed a week-long visit to Africa in Juba on Sunday, celebrating Mass with a call to peace and praise for the courage of the South Sudanese people. “When our strength seems paltry before the magnitude of our problems and the blind fury of violence, we Christians are able…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Africa’s largest hydropower dam, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, is the focal point of still-unresolved tensions between Ethiopia, neighboring Sudan and downstream Egypt because of impacts to Nile River water resources. Most recently, talks in Egypt included the GERD diplomatic impasse during a visit from Tony Blinken, the United States…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Zimbabwe, Ghana and Rwanda are among the 10 countries on the globe that are hardest-hit by food price inflation, with Uganda and Egypt also seeing sharp rises, according to the latest numbers from the World Bank. They join Chad, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Sudan, which are among 15 nations identified by…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times