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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has appointed Court of Appeal Judge Martha Koome as the East African country’s first female chief justice and head of the judiciary. She won the chief justice position over nine other candidates, including some of the country’s most prominent lawyers and academics. The candidates were interviewed live on TV by the Judicial Service Commission in April 2021. Koome, 61, has had a distinguished career with more than 33 years in private legal practice and as a member of the judiciary. None of the sitting Supreme Court judges applied for the position of chief…

BBC NEWS AT BBC.CO.UK/NEWS The World Health Organization (WHO) has welcomed The Gambia’s elimination of trachoma as a public health threat, saying it will save families, including children, from blindness. Health workers have been urged to closely monitor the trend to “sustain the gains.” Trachoma is caused by the chlamydia bacteria and is spread from person to person by contaminated fingers, flies and towels. If untreated, the eyelids become chronically inflamed, and this can eventually lead to blindness. Trachoma remains endemic in 29 African countries, according to the WHO. The Gambia eliminated trachoma after almost four decades of work, the…

REUTERS In a flowing hijab, Karima M. Imam walks through her fields in northern Nigeria’s scrubland as workers harvest ginger, a gnarled brown root that has turned gold since COVID-19 struck. “If I had the capital, I’d plant more. People are looking for ginger now, and there is not enough,” she said at her 5-hectare farm on the outskirts of Kaduna. As the pandemic rages, people around the world have sought to guard against illness by turning to so-called healthy halo foods. Although scientists have dismissed many claims on social media about how superfoods can fend off the virus, their…

ADF STAFF The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) is taking the lead on development projects designed to get the country’s economy moving after COVID-19. Projects include operating a meat production facility and rehabilitating a railway and port. Although these are not traditional military tasks, civilian and military leaders say the country needs the KDF’s manpower and expertise. “Security and development are intrinsically related. They are two sides of the same coin,” Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces Gen. Robert Kibochi told the Kenyan Broadcasting Corp. In September 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta gave the KDF the authority to begin running the Kenya…

ADF STAFF The Global Wind Energy Council says Africa has world-class wind power potential, which, if properly exploited, could meet the continent’s energy demands and easily replace any jobs lost as consumers shift away from fossil fuels. The council says Africa has tapped into only 0.01% of its wind energy potential, The Southern Times reported. A council report noted that 27 African countries have enough wind potential of their own to satisfy the entire continent’s needs. “Algeria has the highest resource with a total potential of 7,700 gigawatts, equivalent to over 11 times current global installed wind capacity,” the newspaper…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE The World Bank has announced that it will invest $2 billion to support medium and small businesses in Africa and boost trade as the region recovers from the COVID-19 downturn. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the bank’s development arm focused on private-sector development in emerging markets, will invest $1 billion in direct financing for businesses and another $1 billion in support of international trade finance. The combined $2 billion package is “among the IFC’s largest ever commitments to specific initiatives in Africa,” the corporation said, adding that COVID-19 “plunged the region into recession, reduced foreign direct investment flows…

ADF STAFF Asli Hassan Abade made history as the first female air force pilot in Africa. She is a product of a unique time in her native Somalia’s history. After Somalia became an independent country in 1960, its military branches grew in strength and skill. At one point, the Somali Air Force had the greatest airstrike capability in the Horn of Africa. Asli was born in 1958, one of nine siblings. Her family lived on an air force base, and she could see the runway from her home. “I saw planes take off and land at the airport. That is…

CLUES This place also is known as Mij Mkongwe, which is Swahili for “Old Town.” The old Swahili trading town includes Arab, European and Indian influences but also retains its Indigenous characteristics. Darjani Bazaar is at the center of this town’s commerce area, where food, spices and crafts are sold. Many buildings here are made of coralline ragstone and mangrove timber and set with lime mortar. ANSWER  Stone Town of Zanzibar, Tanzania

ADF STAFF Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by foreign trawlers has robbed African nations of food and income for decades, but besides leading to increased piracy and other maritime crimes, experts also say IUU fishing also threatens Africa’s “blue economy.” The World Bank defines blue economy as “the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, and ocean ecosystem health.” The African Union characterizes the blue economy as the “new frontier of the African Renaissance,” as 90% of the region’s trade is conducted by sea. Yet many African nations struggle to earn revenue from their…

ADF STAFF Since Russia’s Wagner Group mercenaries arrived in Mali, civilians have been increasingly caught in their crosshairs. After hundreds of Wagner Group fighters deployed in Mali purportedly as “trainers” and “advisors” in December 2021, at least 71 Malian people were killed by government-aligned security forces, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW). “There has been a dramatic spike in the number of civilians, including suspects, killed by the Malian army and armed Islamist groups,” HRW West Africa Director Corinne Dufka said in a statement. “This complete disregard for human life, which includes apparent war crimes, should be…