14 October 2021
Western Sahara: Staffan de Mistura has been appointed UN envoy for Western Sahara. He was the UN’s envoy to Syria before, so he has experience in difficult terrain. Pressure from the US, France and others will be needed to advance. According to the article’s author, to get the decade-old conflict between Morocco and Polisario to be resolved, the idea of autonomy (“autonomy is merely a form of integration – it’s not an alternative to it”) needs to be abandoned. Still middle ground, a compromise needs to be found between independent statehood and integration into Morocco. “Free association” (with Sahrawis delegating aspects of their sovereignty to Morocco) could do the trick. Both sides need to make concessions. Pressure on Rabat will be needed – Morocco is unlikely to renounce de facto rule over the Western Sahara without that.
https://theconversation.com/western-sahara-conflict-risks-spilling-over-into-the-sahel-how-it-can-be-resolved-169777
Covid: WHO estimates that 6 out of 7 Covid cases go undetected in Africa – instead of the recorded 8m, there have really been 59m cases according to that estimate. For the most part, only people turning to health centres with symptoms and people wanting to fly out of the country get tested. With more unknown cases, there is less isolation and therefore more transmission…
BBC Africa Live 14 October 2021. 12:24
eSwatini: Transport workers joining students in their protests have called for an end of police brutality. Fundamentally, it is the king and the lack of democracy in the country that the protests go against.
BBC Africa Live 14 October 2021. 14:15
13 October 2021
Sudan: 16 Pages, 666 Facebook accounts, 69 groups and 92 Instagram accounts linked to the powerful Rapid Security Forces (RSF/led by Sovereign Council Vice-Chairman Mohamed Dagalo, aka Hemeti) have been deactivated by Facebook for “suspected coordinated inauthentic behaviour”. Some posed as independent news entities, others as freelancers, journalists or students, some used celebrity photos as profile pictures.
BBC Africa Live 13 October 2021. 2012:20
Kenya: President Kenyatta is to be hosted by Joe Biden at the White House tomorrow Thursday. It almost looks as if the US President wanted to support his Kenyan counterpart whose name has recently appeared in revelations of secret deals in the Pandora Papers.
BBC Africa Live 13 October 2021. 13:10