07 September 2021
Central African Republic: The military approach to establishing state control will not work (as it has not worked in the past) – in the article’s author’s view, “only an emphasis on civilian aspects of rule – such as providing education, health and building infrastructure – can stop rebellions from successfully challenging the state’s rule in the future.” Much more than arms is needed to rule the country.
https://theconversation.com/what-it-will-take-to-end-civil-war-in-the-central-african-republic-166041
Teenage pregnancy/South Africa: “21 million girls aged 15-19 years in developing countries become pregnant and about 12 million of them give birth every year.” This not only presents health risks, it also means that the girl-mothers risk dropping out of school, “limiting their future economic opportunities and perpetuating a cycle of poverty”. South Africa has recently witnessed an increase in the adolescent pregnancy rate, due also to difficulties in accessing contraception during the pandemic. Already before the pandemic, 16% began childbearing before reaching the age of 19 (11% in urban and 19% in rural areas). Based on two separate studies, the article looks into the realities of and reasons for teenage pregnancies in South Africa.
https://theconversation.com/teenage-pregnancy-during-covid-19-in-south-africa-a-double-pandemic-166987
Egypt: Human Rights Watch (HRW) claims that authorities routinely carry out “unlawful executions, (…) then claiming that the deaths occurred during ‘shoot-outs’ with militants.” 755 such killings have been reported by authorities since 2016. HRW has examined 14 of these and says it knows the 14 were in custody before being killed.
BBC Africa Live 07 September 2021. 12:13
See also https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-58475287
06 September 2021
Libya: Gaddafi’s third son Sa'adi Gaddafi, known for having pursued a career as a football player in Italy, later commander of Libya's Special Forces, had been held since 2014 after having been extradited from Niger. He has been released from prison in Tripoli, having been “found not guilty of a series of crimes including murder”. He left for Turkey upon his release.
BBC Africa Live 06 September 2021. 8:18
Guinea: The coup in Conakry has sent aluminium prices on world markets to their highest level in 10 years. Guinea produces around a quarter of the world’s bauxite
BBC Africa Live 06 September 2021. 19:25
São Tomé and Príncipe: Carlos Vila Nova will be the new president after getting 57.54% of the votes in Sunday’s second round of elections. The former infrastructure minister was backed by the opposition Independent Democratic Action party.
BBC Africa Live 06 September 2021. 11:30
Terrorism: According to the article’s author’s research, “Al-Qaida and its rival (…), the Islamic State group, have long had chronic difficulties replenishing their ranks”. That had an effect on 9/11 – which was originally planned on both the East and the West Coast.
Let us hope this hold for the Sahel and Mozambique and Somalia also…
https://theconversation.com/al-qaida-islamic-state-group-struggle-for-recruits-166808
Ghana: Chieftaincy conflicts are a fairly common occurrence in northern Ghana. The article’s authors have looked into two such conflicts. Surprisingly many actors have been found to be involved in such conflicts.
https://theconversation.com/chieftaincy-conflicts-in-ghana-are-mixed-up-with-politics-whats-at-risk-166602
Nigeria: Omowumi Iledare, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation Professorial Chair in Oil and Gas Economics and Management at the University of Cape Coast explains the significance of the Petroleum Industry Bill that was “finally passed by the National Assembly on 1 July 2021 and signed into law by Buhari”. It will, he thinks, make the Nigeria’s “petroleum industry attractive to investors”.
https://theconversation.com/new-law-will-make-nigerias-petroleum-industry-attractive-to-investors-166860