02 February 2022
“Someone who is fond of performing duties for others will be used to hold everyone’s donkey at a market”BBC Africa Live 02 February 2022. Proverb of the day. An Oromo proverb from Ethiopia sent by Umar Abrahim
Congo-Kinshasa: Around 60 are reported killed and 40 injured in an attack on a camp of refugees in Ituri province. The attackers are thought to be members of the Codeco militia who are mainly drawn from Lendu farmers who have “been at loggerheads with the province’s Hema cattle herders”. Five other camps in Ituri had been attacked since November 2021, killing close to 70. More people have fled their homes – adding to the estimated 1.7 million internally displaced in the province over the past several years.
BBC Africa Live 02 February 2022. 13:06
Mali: Bamako has had to default on bond repayments because of the sanctions imposed by Ecowas and the West African central bank. Mali has enough reserves to repay but cannot access them because of the sanctions.
BBC Africa Live 02 February 2022. 12:14
Ethiopia: The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), “– hailed for its independence despite being a state-linked institution –“ has accused Oromia state’s government forces to have perpetrated the “Karayu massacre” when 14 civilians including some elders were taken from their homes to a forest nearby and shot, most likely in retaliation for a rebel attack on the police.
BBC Africa Live 02 February 2022. 11:18
South Africa: Part two of the Zondo report on corruption under Jaocb Zuma has been handed over to the President today – it deals with “corruption in public logistics company Transnet and the state arms firm Denel”. The third and final part of the report is due by end February.
BBC Africa Live 02 February 2022. 5:32
Zambia: A 24-year-old charged with “defaming” the President faces a maximum of 3 years in jail if found guilty. Hichilema is being criticised for allowing the case to proceed – during his campaign, he had promised to abolish archaic laws should he become president.
BBC Africa Live 02 February 2022. 17:57
01 February 2022
Guinea-Bissau: It was indeed a coup attempt. It failed. But it left “many” dead – according to the president. Early in the afternoon, heavily armed gunmen had attacked the government palace where President Embaló was holding an extraordinary Council of ministers. The members of the government were freed towards the end of the afternoon. The President said that the attackers were “related to people involved in drug trafficking” and that the attack was well-prepared and organised.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60220701
BBC Africa Live 01 February 2022. 15:09
Coffee: Climate change will render coffee more scarce, thus more expensive. “Coffee requires a tricky mix of climate, land and soil conditions”. Brazil, the largest producer world-wide, “will see its most suitable coffee-growing land decline by 79%” and Colombia by two thirds. The article, based on a recent study into climate change effects on coffee, avocados and cashews presents maps of present-day and future suitability for coffee production. Some regions (in Argentina and China, for example) will benefit, but far fewer than the ones losing out.
https://theconversation.com/coffee-may-become-more-scarce-and-expensive-thanks-to-climate-change-new-research-175766
Snow in the Sahara: It is not as uncommon as it sounds. Snow needs cold plus moisture. At the edges of the Sahara, these two conditions may be united in winter, especially in the Atlas Mountains which are close to the sea and cold because of higher altitudes. For example, “(t)he Algerian town of Aïn Séfra received snow in the northern hemisphere winters of 1979, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022.” But it may become rarer in future, as it is “predicted that the landward side of the mountains will become drier and the centre of the Sahara will remain dry and become even hotter.”
https://theconversation.com/snowfall-in-the-sahara-desert-an-unusual-weather-phenomenon-176037
Coups in West Africa: A brief analysis of the reasons for the recent wave of coups in West Africa is followed by recommendations to the international community and especially the US how to react better. But it seems a bad moment to be calling for re-instating presidents forcefully removed: who would want Roch Kaboré, IBK or Alpha Condé back again? And Idriss Déby Itno is dead.
https://theconversation.com/after-a-fourth-coup-in-west-africa-its-time-to-rethink-international-response-175991
Mozambique: Out of 12 million school-aged children, 2.4 million do not attend school, with girls and children with special needs especially affected. Now tropical storm Ana has damaged 778 schools in five provinces.
BBC Africa Live 01 February 2022. 12:20