05 July 2021
Nigeria: The toxic constituents of electronic wastes, when set ablaze, release toxic fumes into the atmosphere and contaminate underground drinking water. This is a serious health problem. “(S)pontaneous abortion and cancer were reported by women working in and living close to the two largest electronic markets in Lagos”. There is no official recycling activity nor effective management policy. That needs to change.
https://theconversation.com/nigerias-electronic-waste-is-a-public-health-problem-and-needs-urgent-attention-163537
Nigeria: No end in sight to the kidnappings. Another 140 schoolchildren are reported to have been kidnapped near Kaduna City today Monday from Bethel Baptist School. This comes after Sunday morning’s kidnapping of at least 8 people (a 12-month-old child and two nurses amongst them) from the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Centre in Zaria, also in Kaduna State.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57636851
South Sudan: One and a half years late, the council of states (the upper house of parliament) has been reconstituted in an enlarged form. But what is it for? Is it only about getting people into well-paid government positions?
BBC Africa Live 05 July 2021. 11:19
Ethiopia: Reading this little article, it looks like the federal government or the Prime minister is refusing to face reality in Tigray – if you believe Abiy Ahmed, the ceasefire and withdrawal had been prepared for a month, weapons taken from the northern command had been seized back and Tigray’s junta had been brought before the law. Nothing about defeat against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
BBC Africa Live 05 July 2021. 10:40
Eswatini: Life seems to be slowly returning to normal after pro-democracy protests with “dozens of people (…) killed by government forces” according to civil society groups.
BBC Africa Live 05 July 2021. 13:24
04 July 2021
Nigeria: The arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Igbo separatist Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob), could be a deadly blow to his organisation which had been suffering many defections of late. It was the transition, in 2020, to armed struggle of Ipob (with its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network, “accused of killing at least 60 people in recent months, most of them police officers”) that got the Nigerian government determined to seriously intercede. But even if Ipob should collapse, Igbos’ feelings of discrimination and discontent continue and need to be addressed.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57693863
Ethiopia: The Tigray “rebels” have accepted a ceasefire “in principle”, but only after a long list of conditions are fulfilled. Addis must recognise them as the legitimate government of Tigray, amongst others, there has to be “an independent investigation into alleged war crimes, the delivery of humanitarian aid and restoration of basic services such as electricity”.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57714799