Al-Qaeda suspected of kidnapping aid workers in Mauritania

by Sean McLachlan on

The Spanish government fears that three Spanish aid workers kidnapped this week in Mauritania were taken by Al-Qaeda’s North African group.

The three were taken by masked gunmen from their vehicle as it was driving in a caravan to deliver aid for the group Barcelona-Acciò Solidaria en Mauritania. They were riding in the last vehicle and were apparently stopped when the gunmen fired some shots. There is no information about whether anyone was injured. The caravan was driving on a road between the capital Nouakchott to the city of Nouadhibou, shown here.

While no group has claimed responsibility, the Spanish government suspects Al-Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb, which recently kidnapped a French aid worker in Mali. In Mauritania they claimed responsibility for killing an American teacher in June. The spate of attacks and kidnappings are making travel in several Saharan nations increasingly dangerous.

The best-dressed men in Sub-Saharan Africa

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Paris. Milan. London. Brazzaville?

Okay, so the Congolese capital is probably not going to become the world’s next fashion hotspot, but a new photo book called Gentlemen of Bacongo portrays a group of foppish Congolese men known as sapeurs who have been donning the hippest European duds for decades– right in the heart of the Congo.

Daniele Tamagni, who wrote and took photographs for the book, says that the sapeurs are celebrities in their home country, and are often asked to appear at weddings and funerals. Says the New York Times‘ fashion blog:

[W]hile these men look fabulously natty and handsome with their pressed pocket squares and trim-fitting navy blazers, what makes these images so compelling is the way they stand out among such scenes of abject poverty – they pose in their Sunday best in weed-filled lots and peacock through the streets crowded with trash and half-dressed children.

Incidentally, this is somewhat reminiscent of a scene from Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness, which also took place (mostly) in Sub-Saharan Africa. The chief accountant in the book, a white man who had been in the Belgian Congo for several years, insisted on keeping his clothing looking neat despite all the chaos and death surrounding him. The narrator recounts the main character Marlow’s feelings about the accountant:

“I respected the fellow. Yes; I respected his collars, his vast cuffs, his brushed hair… [I]n the great demoralization of the land he kept up his appearance. That’s backbone.”

Check out the entire NYT review here, and a “dandy” photo gallery from Jezebel (to whom I happily defer on all things fashion) here.

Photo of the day 11.30.09

by Karen Walrond on


It’s been a day full of adventure here on Gadling, so it only seems appropriate to feature this beautiful shot shared by localsurfer in our Gadling Flickr pool. As a SCUBA diver, I consider the ocean my last frontier … so I think I have a pretty good idea of what this surfer must be feeling as he contemplates the waves in Tanzania.

If you’ve got some great travel shots you’d love to share, be sure to upload them to the Gadling pool on Flickr. We might just pick one as our Photo of the Day.

The best video of rafting trip crash and burns

by Jamie Rhein on

When picking a rafting trip like one down the Grand Canyon, whether it’s the day long or several days version, make sure that the trip is a good fit for you. How much excitement are you after? How does the thought of dumping out of the raft grab you? Are you up for a crash and burn experience or is a leisurely float more your style?

For a rollicking look at what dumping out of a raft in white water rapids looks like, check out this video. The footage is strung together vignettes over eight years of rafting trips. Amazingly, according to what I’ve read in the comments, no one was hurt with any of these dump and tumbles. If you have never figured out why a life vest is important even if you know how to swim, here’s your answer. Plus, a helmet is your friend.

The rivers featured are: Gauley River in West Virginia, Zambezi River in Africa, the Moose River in New York and the Black River, also in New York. Click on each river for a link to a raft company that runs trips down it. The music for this video is a perfect fit.

Madagascar: East of Africa

by Stephen Greenwood on

I have this habit of never preparing adequately for trips. The tickets get booked, the bags get packed at the last moment, and I suddenly find myself about to touch down in a foreign place.

When I found out I was going to Madagascar for work, I did some brief Wikipedia and Wikitravel skimming: fourth largest island in the world…lots of plants and animals…used to be a French colony…etc…etc…but I really had no idea what to expect.

I hadn’t seen the famous animated movie, my French was mediocre at best, and I knew very little about the history of the country.A year prior I spent five months in Tanzania and one month going overland from Mombasa to Cape Town, and figured it couldn’t be that different…right? The shortest distance between the shore of Madagascar and Eastern Coast of Africa is just 250 miles. As far as I was concerned, it was practically still East Africa.

The plane touched down, and I stepped onto the tarmac. It wasn’t long before I realized that I was wrong, again. Madagascar was not East Africa. It was East of Africa.

In the first few days on the island, a lot of things surprised me. I hadn’t realized that the population was so racially diverse and had assumed that the majority of people would be African because of proximity. But the land was first colonized by Austronesian people, (think Borneo, Malaysia, Indonesia) which has allowed Madagascar to develop an intriguing blend of language, skin tones, culture, and practices.

Another surprise was the apparent lack of tourists in the country’s capital, Antananarivo. The political unrest at the beginning of this year has put a big damper on the tourism industry; which survives because of Madagascar’s ecological attractions, animal life, and large national parks. And while a safari is a good reason to make the voyage out to Madagascar – it’s certainly not the only thing that the country has to offer.

I quickly came to appreciate the hospitality and sincerity of Malagasy people, the simplicity of the local food, the remarkably beautiful landscape, and the shreds of French charm scattered from the colonial period. On the contrary, I struggled to comprehend the strong presence of beggars in Antananarivo, the intricacies of the political disarray, and the reported corruption in business in the country.

Of course, there are things that Madagascar has in common with the African nations 250 miles to the West, but it’s clearly a place that has had a unique development, and will have a distinctive future.

For the rest of this month on Gadling, I’ll be sharing my observations from Madagascar through writing, photos, audio clips, and video. From the capital of Antananarivo to the southern coastal town of Toliara and back, I’ll be bringing you stories from the road, the beaten path, and everywhere in between. Tonga soa… welcome to Madagascar.

Starting this week, Gadling will be bringing you stories, photos, audio and video from the fourth largest island in the world: Madagascar. Check out all the posts in this series by following along here.