SAN FRANCISCO, 6:24 PM, MON MAY 12 | 28 POSTS IN THE LAST 24 HOURS | tips@io9.com | SUBMIT A TIP | RSS
Posts Tagged “

Africa

dystopia

The Food Riots Are Getting Worse

Prices for cornmeal and rice have doubled in Somalia since January, and on Monday food riots wracked the Somalian city of Mogadishu. Thousands of people protested the insane prices for staple foods, and eventually police shot and killed two protesters. Earlier this year, food riots broke out in the African nation of Senegal as well. What's causing these conditions, which sound like the precursors to the apocalyptic food-shortage flick Soylent Green? More »

dystopia

Satellite-Eye-View of People Evacuating in Chad

This is what a mass evacuation from a city looks like from space. Using satellites orbiting over Africa, human rights groups published UNOSAT satellite imagery to show, in very simple terms, the human cost of violence in the Chadian capital city of N'Djamena. Over 10,000 people are crammed on a bridge, trying to escape into the neighboring nation of Cameroon. The black dots are people, and the yellow dashes are vehicles, most likely trucks and buses. It's a chilling portrait of the human future, wracked with violence and recorded via space-based surveillance devices, taken on February 27. See the full map below. More »

space porn

African Satellites Are Out Tonight

A few days ago, this Ariane rocket blasted off from Kourou, French Guiana. Its payload included a telecom satellite for Africa, which is now sailing serenely overhead. Image by Jody Amiet, AFP/Getty Images.

design

Toilet of Tomorrow Straps to Your Back

It's called the Dignity Toilet, and it doesn't just provide a comfy seat when you want to take a dump; it also has a strap so you can carry the full toilet on your back; and finally, its shape allows you to quickly turn your poop into fertilizer at your local field. The Dignity Toilet, designed by Cooler Solutions, just took first prize for a "sanitary solution for Africa" from Design for People in Need. More »