ADF

ADF STAFF Through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has placed tens of thousands of workers in Africa to build Chinese-financed BRI infrastructure projects across the continent. Now, in an effort to protect its workers, China is turning to private military contractors (PMCs). Chinese PMCs first appeared in Africa in 2010 to protect Chinese ships from Somali pirates. Since then, Chinese security contractors have become a small but growing presence. At least nine Chinese security companies operate in Sub-Saharan Africa, where dozens of BRI projects produce more than $50 billion in revenue each year for Chinese state-owned companies, according…

ADF STAFF Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing has overtaken piracy as the primary maritime security threat in African waters. The last year saw unscrupulous industrial trawlers continue using an array of tactics to catch far more fish than allowed, seriously depleting fish stocks. IUU fishing often leads to other crimes, such as drug and weapons smuggling, human trafficking and piracy. The World Trade Organization (WTO) hopes to limit IUU fishing in 2022 when it aims to end harmful fuel subsidies countries pay to finance their distant-water fishing fleets. It may not be easy. WTO negotiations have been ongoing for…

ADF STAFF By all accounts, Africa’s post-pandemic future looks bright because innovation, enthusiasm and technology will support economic growth in 2022. But there is a dark side to that sunny economic future — cybercrime. The continent is home to a youthful, tech-centric population. It has the fastest-growing mobile phone and internet networks in the world and makes the most use of mobile banking services. Unsurprisingly, Africa is witnessing a surge in cyberattacks. It has become a major priority for the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL), which recently partnered with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to warn countries…

BBC NEWS AT BBC.CO.UK/NEWS Having won Senegal’s top prize two years ago, jockey Fallou Diop, 19, hopes to realize his dream of racing on an international stage. Often used for agriculture and transport, horses, donkeys and mules are an integral part of daily life in Senegal. And racing has rapidly grown into a national pastime. “The elders taught us everything since we were young,” Diop says. “And that’s how I became passionate about horses. Since my grandfather, we’ve supported horses, then my father after him.” Diop was 12 when he decided to leave a tailoring apprenticeship and pursue horse racing.…

ADF STAFF How do you pronounce “Gqeberha,” the new name for the South African city of Port Elizabeth? In an effort to rid itself of the last vestiges of colonialism and apartheid, South Africa is renaming some of its towns, cities and airports in the Eastern Cape province. Gqeberha is the Xhosa name for the Baakens River, which flows through the city. Xhosa is one of South Africa’s 11 official languages. It’s also one of the few languages in the world that has a “click” sound, which can be difficult for non-Xhosa speakers to learn, including many South Africans. According…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Three female referees made history at the African Nations Championship quarterfinals in Limbe, Cameroon. Ethiopian referee Lidya Tafesse and her assistants, Malawian Bernadettar Kwimbira and Nigerian Mimisen Iyorhe, became the first women to control a match at a men’s senior Confederation of African Football tournament. The breakthrough came two years after women handled matches at the African under-23 and under-17 Cup of Nations tournaments. Tafesse, a former professional basketball player, tolerated no foul play as she yellow-carded three Tanzanians within 10 minutes during the second half. Male footballers often dispute decisions against them, but most accepted without hesitation…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE U.S. military personnel will spend two months training Soldiers in Mozambique to help the country fight an extremist insurgency in the northeast. Insurgents have launched regular attacks in the gas-rich Cabo Delgado province since 2017, leaving at least 2,600 people dead and displacing at least 670,000.  In addition to the training, the U.S. plans to provide medical and communications equipment, the U.S. Embassy in Maputo said.  Mozambique has turned to private military companies to contain the attacks but has faced criticism from groups who accused mercenaries and government forces of harming civilians. The U.S. Embassy said the training…

REUTERS Uganda launched a rapid COVID-19 antibody test that developers hope can help doctors track the virus more widely across Africa. The test, which requires a finger prick to draw blood, was developed by a team at Makerere, Uganda’s oldest public university, with partial funding from the French Embassy. Ugandan scientists draw their diagnostic expertise from long experience with infectious diseases such as HIV and Ebola. “This is a point-of-care test that can be used within equatorial Africa village settings, remote areas where there’s no laboratory, there’s no electricity, there’s no expert,” said Misaki Wayengera, a researcher at Makerere’s Department…

ADF STAFF There was a thunderous blast, flames shot into the sky and a dark cloud of smoke formed over a tree line near a military base in Equatorial Guinea. Then came another explosion. And another. More than 100 people were killed, including children, and at least 600 more injured by the explosions at Nkoantoma Military Base in Bata on March 7, 2021. Responders blamed the explosions on negligent handling of dynamite. Military depots holding explosives ignited when neighbors at nearby farms lit fires, Deutsche Welle reported. The military camp was built in a forest far from the city, but…

STORY AND PHOTO BY SENIOR AIRMAN TAYLOR DAVIS/U.S. AIR FORCE Modern security partnerships rely on the ability to collect, store and share information safely. Improving information security and interoperability was the goal of a four-day conference in February 2021 in Djibouti. U.S. Soldiers assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) worked with Soldiers from French Forces Djibouti and the Armed Forces of Djibouti (FAD) in the cyber defense and interoperability engagement. “In 21st century international defense, just as with diplomacy, economics and culture, information is a very powerful currency,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Lapthe Flora, CJTF-HOA commander.…