Lily Kuo

When Lamin Ceesay, an energetic 25-year-old from Gambia, arrived in China last year, he thought his life had made a turn for the better. As the oldest of four siblings, he was responsible for caring for his family, especially after his father passed away. But jobs were few in his hometown of Tallinding Kunjang, outside of the Gambian capital of Banjul. After hearing about China’s rise, his uncle sold off his taxi business and the two of them bought plane tickets and paid a local visa dealer to get them to China.

Cameroon is in the process of updating its 50-year-old penal code, and making some curious amendments.

Observers are still debating the impacts of Brexit throughout the African continent. The economic fallout is likely to hit some of the largest economies like South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya. Politically, some worry that the African Union’s campaign to establish a “continent with seamless borders,” modeled after the European Union, could lose steam. Others say the 18 African Commonwealth countries will actually benefit, as the UK seeks closer ties with new partners outside of the EU.

Pope Francis says the Catholic Church should apologize for its behavior toward gays—the first time any pope has said the church is guilty of discrimination against the LGBT community.

Now that the United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union, African economies—already struggling from slowing demand from China and flat commodity prices—have now been thrown into confusion along with the rest of the world.

For the last 700 years women in Ghana and Liberia have been using a valuable farming technique that modern-day agronomists have only recently figured out. It transforms depleted soil into “enduringly fertile“ farmland.

In Somaliland, parents are trying to dissuade their children from dangerous and illegal migration to Europe by buying them second-hand cars that can be operated as taxis. These cabs, now ubiquitous in Hargeisa, the capital of the self-declared state in Somalia, have become known as hooyo ha tahriibin, which translates roughly as a mother pleading “my son, do not tahriib.”

As of the end of 2015, at least 65 million people can be considered displaced, having fled their homes because of war, disaster, or persecution. According to a new report by the UN Refugee Agency, it’s the highest number of displaced people ever recorded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). That means the world’s current number of refugees is more than the number of people living the UK, or the combined populations of Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

When heads of state from across Africa arrive in Kigali, Rwanda next month for the African Union (AU) Summit, they will be among the first Africans issued the new electronic African Union passport. The passport is meant to make travel on the continent much easier for Africans.

Kenya is getting closer to realizing its goal of closing the world’s largest refugee camp. This week, president Uhuru Kenyatta met with United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon to discuss Kenya’s widely criticized decision. According to Kenyan officials, Ban told Kenyatta that the UN understands Kenya’s desire to close the camp and would seek funds to ensure the safe repatriation of refugees.

Kenya secured a $600 million loan from China last week to help towards paying for a $6 billion budget deficit that the government expects this year. The loan, one of many China has given to the country over the years, helps Kenya’s goal of bringing down its budget deficit to 7.9% of gross domestic product instead of the previously forecast 8.7%.

Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates has pledged to give away 100,000 chickens to rural families in Africa.

In Africa, local taxi companies and startups have been working hard to compete with Uber but the ride hailing company has managed to outmaneuver most of them. Uber, now in 10 sub-Saharan African cities, it might now be facing its first real challenge in Safaricom, East Africa’s largest mobile phone network.

East Africa’s largest economy was brought to a standstill for more than fours hours by a monkey. On Tuesday (May 7th), Kenya’s largest power producer said that a vervet monkey had fallen and tripped a transformer, causing a national blackout for more than four hours.

The mythology surrounding albinos in parts of Africa is strong. In Malawi, it’s believed that their bones contain gold. In Tanzania, businesses and politicians turn to witch doctors who say the body parts of albinos bring wealth or good luck. Men believe that sleeping with an albino woman can cure them of HIV.

A tablet that gives patients with heart problems a medical diagnosis within minutes could dramatically improve healthcare for rural residents far from hospitals.

In any city, space is a commodity. In South African cities space is historical and emotional. A new photo series by an American living in Cape Town captures the dramatic inequality of South Africa’s most beloved city. From an aerial view, Cape Town’s scenic beauty gives way to a stark reminder of the country’s past and the continued racial segregation.

Kenyan author and outspoken gay rights advocate Binyavanga Wainaina took to Facebook today (June 1) to detail an attack he says he suffered at the hands of a taxi driver in Berlin. In his characteristic stream-of-consciousness style, the author of One Day I will Write About This Place and the famous essay “How to Write About Africa” says he came to blows with a cabbie before a flight to Tanzania to see his “inlove.”

The racism of a recent Chinese advertisement that portrays a laundry detergent as so strong it can wash away the skin color of a black man has caused some backlash on the internet.

For years, runners and scientists have been trying to understand why a developing east African country of 43 million produces the vast majority of the world’s top long-distance runners. Kenya has dominated most of the world’s major long-distance races since the 1980s, winning more than 50 Olympic medals. A Kenyan has won the Boston Marathon’s men’s race in 20 out of 28 races since 1988. Currently, eight of the 10 fastest male marathoners and four of the top 10 female marathoners are Kenyan.

A florist chain in Argentina, a food delivery service in Hong Kong, and a Singaporean travel agency—these are a few of the companies relying on a Kenyan startup to help them talk to their customers on WhatsApp, WeChat, and other messaging apps.

The Penja pepper, grown in the volcanic soil of the eastern Cameroon, may soon become the country’s newest cash crop.

The world’s largest cities have increased in number and location. According to a new report from the United Nations Human Settlements Programme there were 29 megacities—those with more than 10 million people—in 2015, compared to just 14 in 1995.

Kenya’s biggest economic hurdle right now is its upcoming election. According to a new report (pdf) from the parliament’s budget office released today (May 19th), the general election in August is the “greatest challenge” to the national economy.