What Trumps the Horrors of the South Sudanese Hellscape? The Donald

By Nick Turse / TomDispatch May 6, 2016 In a place where catastrophic food insecurity may tip into starvation at any time, where armed men still arrive in the night to steal and rape, a local aid worker wants -- seemingly needs -- to know if Donald Trump could actually be elected president of the United States. Dig deeper ( 12 Min. Read )

South Sudanese Troops Brutalize Civilians; U.N. Intervenes

Kasia Anderson / Truthdig Aug 26, 2015 Violence in the ongoing civil war in South Sudan, in which government forces have viciously targeted civilians in the struggle between two national leaders, has been so severe of late that the United Nations has once again gotten involved in the roiling regional conflict. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

On Green Energy, Ethiopia Leaves U.S. in the Dust

Juan Cole / Truthdig Jul 28, 2015 During President Obama's visit, the American press has focused on poverty, terrorism and other ills in the African country. But Ethiopia is getting something right that we are getting badly wrong. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

One Boy, One Rifle and One Morning in Malakal

By Nick Turse, TomDispatch May 18, 2015 When I was their age, I wasn’t trusted to drive, vote, drink, get married, gamble in a casino, serve on a jury, rent a car, or buy a ticket to an R-rated movie. No one would have thought it a good idea to put an automatic weapon in my hands. But someone thought it was acceptable for them, including the government of the United States. Dig deeper ( 18 Min. Read )

Migration Is an Act of Desperation, Not a Crime

Sonali Kolhatkar / Truthdig May 14, 2015 Driven by war and poverty, millions of people are on the move, putting their lives at risk. But rather than explore the reasons, authorities lock them up or threaten them with force. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

L.A.’s Elite ‘Anti-Vaxxers’ Bringing Whooping Cough, Measles Back

Kasia Anderson / Truthdig Sep 17, 2014 Spurred by their shared concern that vaccinating their children will do more harm than good, parents in Los Angeles who have taken an anti-vaccination stance -- "anti-vaxxers," as those among their ranks are called -- could be putting more than their own kids' health at risk. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

As a Man-Made Famine Looms, Christmas Comes Early to South Sudan

By Nick Turse, TomDispatch Aug 8, 2014 Close your eyes and you could be at a stateside summer barbeque or an office holiday party. Even with them open, the local realities of dirt roads and dirty water, civil war, mass graves, and nightly shoot-to-kill curfews seem foreign. These walls, it turns out, are even higher than they look. Dig deeper ( 17 Min. Read )

China, America and a New Cold War in Africa?

By Nick Turse, TomDispatch Aug 1, 2014 For the last decade China has used aid, trade and infrastructure projects to set itself up as the dominant foreign player in Africa, while the U.S. has increasingly confronted the continent as a "battlefield." These approaches have produced starkly contrasting results for the powers involved and the rising nations of the continent. The differences are perhaps nowhere as stark as in South Sudan, the world’s newest nation. Dig deeper ( 20 Min. Read )

Will South Sudan ‘Survive Oil-Fueled Neocolonialism’?

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jan 24, 2014 After thousands were killed in more than a month of violence, rivals in South Sudan have reached a cease-fire. Now, "a new documentary shows how South Sudan has become ground zero for contemporary colonialism in Africa." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Climate Change Adds to East Africa’s Food Plight

By Kieran Cooke, Climate News Network Dec 20, 2013 Climate change poses a serious threat to farming in East Africa, a region that depends on agriculture and whose population is growing very fast. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Joseph Kony and the ‘Visible Children’

Staff / Truthdig Mar 7, 2012 Updated Ugandan guerrilla leader Joseph Kony has forced more than 60,000 kidnapped children to kill for him Nonprofit crusaders Invisible Children say they’ll stop him, but the group has its own problemsUgandan guerrilla leader Joseph Kony has forced more than 60,000 children to kill for him. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

South Sudan Becomes a Nation

Staff / Truthdig Jul 9, 2011 After more than five decades of civil war that have seen millions displaced and killed, South Sudan seceded from the Arab-dominated north Saturday to become Africa's newest nation. (more) Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )