The Chinese embassy in Burkina Faso took the rare step of issuing a public statement on its website that called on 26-year-old hiker Lu Jiabin to give up his mission to cross the entire African continent by foot and go home.
The embassy warned Lu that he would face grave danger if he continued his overland journey both because of unpredictable security conditions and malaria. It turns out that the adventurous hiker did in fact contract a serious case of malaria and had to recuperate in Ouagadougou before his flight home, scheduled for sometime today.