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Health care workers are among those most at risk of catching Ebola The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is taking "very seriously" the current outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa. Out of 122 cases recorded in Guinea so far, at least 80 patients have died, with a further four deaths in Liberia. What is Ebola? Ebola is a viral illness whose initial symptoms can include a sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain and a sore throat,

Dakar - Senegalese police detained five women accused of violating the country's anti-gay law, highlighting increased pressure on suspected lesbians in the deeply conservative West African nation, an activist group said on Tuesday. The five women were detained early on Monday morning during a birthday party at a restaurant in Dakar's Yoff district that has been described in the Senegalese press as a meeting point for gay men and lesbians, said Ndeye Kebe, president of the activist group Women's Smile. The oldest of the suspects, 31-year-old Sene Dieng, is an assistant director at Women's Smile, the only group in Senegal to advocate for lesbians' rights. The five women were expected to appear in court on Tuesday, though Kebe said they had been unable to afford a lawyer. Senegal's penal code calls for prison sentences of up to five years and fines of up to $3 000 for committing "an improper or unnatural act with a person of the same sex." Since 2008,...

Senegal has been held up as one of Africa's model democracies. It has an established multi-party system and a tradition of civilian rule. Although poverty is widespread and unemployment is high, the country has one of the region's more stable economies. For the Senegalese, political participation and peaceful leadership changes are not new. Even as a colony Senegal had representatives in the French parliament. And the promoter of African culture, Leopold Senghor, who became president at independence in 1960, voluntarily handed over power to Abdou Diouf in 1980. Senegal's beaches are a big attraction for holidaymakers The 40-year rule of Senegal's Socialist Party came to a peaceful end in elections in 2000, which were hailed as a rare democratic power transfer on a continent plagued by coups, conflict and election fraud. Separatists Senegal is on the western-most part of the bulge of Africa and includes desert in the north and a moist, tropical south. At a glance ...