11 November 2021
Mozambique: Only one day after the interior minister, the national defence minister has also been sacked by the President. No reason was given, though it is thought that it was because of the increased number of kidnappings, cases of murder, terrorism and corruption, and road accidents.
BBC Africa Live 11 November 2021. 7:27
Ethiopia: 157 died in the crash of the Boeing 737 Max in 2019. Boeing has now reached an agreement with their families, accepting liability for their deaths against families of the victims renouncing to seek punitive damages from Boeing. This opens the way for these families to claim compensation in US courts.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59236437
Climate change: Extreme heat is certain to increase in Africa. The article gives an overview of what problems this creates. Those most in danger are children, old people, pregnant women & their babies, and “more vulnerable members of society”, especially residents of informal urban settlements (because of limited access to healthcare, poor sanitation, overcrowding, with tin roofs of informal settlements exacerbating heat stress.
https://theconversation.com/extreme-heat-hurts-human-health-its-effects-must-be-mitigated-urgently-171327
Uganda: Herbal medicine can be toxic. Proper scientific tests are necessary to assure quality, efficacy and safety. The organic research group at Makerere University’s Department of Chemistry does just that – of late, they have tested medicinal plants commonly used to treat skin infections. Results are communicated to the concerned.
https://theconversation.com/herbal-skin-treatments-in-uganda-get-an-important-scientific-boost-170293
South Africa: Former President FW de Klerk has died of cancer, aged 85. He died “peacefully at his home”. He had received the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Nelson Mandela in 1993.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13230608
10 November 2021
Ethiopia: Human Rights Watch accuses warring parties in Tigray of widespread sexual violence. On top of that, they were allegedly “deliberately targeting healthcare facilities, leaving survivors and their communities unable to get medical attention”. Addis is also accused in the new 89-page HRW report “of blocking aid to health facilities and preventing rape victims from getting help”.
In their latest report, Amnesty International accuse TPLF fighters of raping, robbing and assaulting women after taking control of Nifas Mewcha town in Amhara region in August. According to Amnesty International, the acts of TPLF fighters “amount to war crimes, and potentially crimes against humanity. They defy morality or any iota of humanity”.
BBC Africa Live 10 November 2021. 4:36
BBC Africa Live 10 November 2021. 8:04
African forests: Sustainably managing forests is underfunded in Africa. An 8’49’’ audio with an interview of Robert Nasi, Director General of the Centre for International Forestry Research
https://theconversation.com/africas-forests-have-value-for-the-whole-world-all-must-pay-for-them-171509
African Literature: The article discusses the merits of Mohamed Mbougar Sarr’s novel “The Most Secret Memory of Men”, not least of which is the “denouncing, through literature, (of) the literary capture of African writers by former colonial powers”. The novel has just won the Prix Goncourt, the first ever from sub-Saharan Africa (though Sarr lives in France) to do so.
https://theconversation.com/mohamed-mbougar-sarr-senegalese-novelists-win-is-a-landmark-for-african-literature-171416
Sudan: Despite a court yesterday ordering Zain, MTN and Sudani to restore internet services, they have so far not been restored, reports the internet freedom monitor NetBlocks.
BBC Africa Live 10 November 2021. 8:42
Gambia: Amnesty International wants presidential candidates to commit to a 7-point manifesto that includes improving human rights, ensuring that victims of violations under Yahya Jammeh get justice, fighting impunity and fighting gender-based violence. Amnesty would also like to see the Sedition Act and the law on information and communications repealed.
BBC Africa Live 10 November 2021. 15:05
Mozambique: A South African High Court has decided that Mozambican ex-finance minister Manuel Chang will finally be extradited to the United States and not to Mozambique. Chang had been in detention in South Africa since 2018 because of his involvement in the tuna corruption scandal.
BBC Africa Live 10 November 2021. 17:27