#african union

Following the publishing of book in 1799 by a Scottish explorer in West Africa, the mythical mountain range of Kong appeared on world maps for more than two hundred years showing the mountain range stretching for hundreds of miles from Côte d’Ivoire to Nigeria. In 1889, a French army officer returning from a trip to Africa tried to debunk the myth, but for years after the mountain range continued to appear on maps because everyone had always thought it was there.

On the 25^th of October 2018, Ethiopia elected the country’s first female president. The role is largely ceremonial, but forms part of a series of major political reforms in the country since their new Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, came to power in April. The PhD holding prime minister has also recently selected a cabinet made up of 50% women, including the country’s first female defense minister.

In southern Benin on the west coast of Africa there is a village built in the middle of a lake that is sometimes referred to as the “Venice of Africa”. The village which has a population of around 20,000 people was originally formed in the 16^th and 17^th century by a tribe fleeing the larger Fon tribe who participated in the slave trade. According to Fon religious practices, they were forbidden from raiding anyone dwelling on water and the village provided a safe haven for the smaller tribes. Today, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site with its own market and a school built on the lake.

There are three countries in the world entirely surrounded by one other country. Italy surrounds two, San Marino and Vatican City, while South Africa entirely surrounds Lesotho. Three other countries, Brunei, the Gambia, and Monaco, are in a similar situation except that they have a border with the sea.