ADF

VOICE OF AMERICA Sudanese Muslim and Christian leaders have joined to promote religious freedom in the country, now that the government of Omar al-Bashir is out of power. The groups signed a peace deal declaring freedom of religion a human right. At the end of a two-day conference, the religious leaders agreed to promote peace and freedom of worship among all Sudanese communities and to encourage community dialogue among people of different faiths. Khartoum Catholic Archbishop Michael Didi said the declaration will help create space for more religious freedom in Sudan as the country embarks on a new era after…

VOICE OF AMERICA A Somali mother and daughter who have dedicated their lives to rehabilitating victims of conflict are gaining international acclaim, receiving a $1 million award. Fartuun Adan and her daughter Ilwad Elman operate Elman Peace, an organization that helps victims of sexual violence and works to rehabilitate and provide job training to child soldiers in Somalia.  They were the 2020 recipients of the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, given each year to a person or group risking their lives to protect people in conflict. The award is given on behalf of victims of the Armenian genocide. They are…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Agrowing trend in Nairobi, Kenya, sees more people switching to cycling since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite a critical lack of bike paths. It’s a promising sign in the capital city where air pollution has increased 182% since the 1970s, and traffic jams cost an estimated $1 billion in lost productivity every year. In his store for used bikes in the city, Jimmy Karumba said he experienced a more than 50% rise in sales in 2020. The shopkeeper, who mainly sold children’s bikes before the pandemic, said he welcomed many adult customers looking to avoid public…

REUTERS Nzambi Matee hurls a brick against a footpath constructed from bricks made of recycled plastic that her factory produces in the Kenyan capital. It makes a loud bang, but it does not crack. “Our product is almost five to seven times stronger than concrete,” said Matee, the founder of Nairobi-based Gjenge Makers, which transforms plastic waste into durable building materials. “There is that waste they cannot process anymore; they cannot recycle,” she said. “That is what we get.” Matee gets the waste from packaging factories for free, although she pays for the plastic she gets from other recyclers. Her…

VOICE OF AMERICA Africa has launched the world’s largest trade bloc after the World Trade Organization. Every African nation except Eritrea has signed on to the African Continental Free Trade Area, and countries are developing safety guidelines for trade during the pandemic. The launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area initially was scheduled for the middle of 2020 but postponed due to the pandemic.  African governments decided to proceed with the launch in hopes that the trade bloc could boost African economies affected by COVID-19.  In some countries, such as Nigeria, authorities are dealing cautiously with trade by screening…

ADF STAFF It was just before midnight at the end of a long election day in 2000, and Lamine Cissé, Senegal’s minister of the interior, had the unenviable task of telling the president he had lost.  In a historic phone call, Cissé, a retired four-star general, found just the right words to let President Abdou Diouf know that the people had spoken and it was time to accept their decision. “Mister President, the situation is difficult for you and for your party. The trends going against you are now irreversible,” Cissé said, according to his memoirs. “If you congratulate your…

CLUES This park is 249,313 hectares and spans two countries. It features sandstone ramparts, arches, caves, cliffs, pillars and rock pools. The endangered Cape vulture and bearded vulture live here, as does a minnow found nowhere else. The San people, who lived here for 4,000 years, left behind the largest, most concentrated group of cave paintings south of the Sahara. ANSWER  Maloti-Drakensberg Park, South Africa and Lesotho

ADF STAFF Niger’s military has launched a program to improve the lives of citizens living in the Agadez region surrounding Air Base 201. The newly created Action Civil-Militaire (ACM) division of the Forces Armées Nigeriennes (FAN) is conducting humanitarian aid missions. The ACM has conducted its missions in conjunction with U.S. Civil Affairs teams stationed at Nigerien Air Base 201. Under the program, ACM members select villages to receive aid and execute each mission supported by U.S. Civil Affairs. ACM members have contacted multiple communities near the base to determine how best to meet residents’ needs. Seven missions are in…

ADF STAFF Ghana’s Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development announced plans in mid-September to review licensing loopholes that allow foreign fishing companies to operate illegally, often by establishing shell companies that disguise a vessel’s true owner. Shell companies typically operate through local front companies, using opaque corporate structures to import their vessels, register and obtain a fishing license, according to the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF). While foreign industrial fishing vessels are banned in Ghana, some companies are known to pay off local entities for illegal fishing purposes, Fisheries Minister Mavis Hawa Koomson said in a story by the Ghanaian newspaper…

ADF STAFF The Islamic State group, which once held about a third of Syrian territory and even more ground in Iraq, now oversees a network of affiliates of varying sizes across Africa. Each affiliate arose in disparate regions with unique histories and grievances. Groups exploiting those grievances through extortion and violence eventually took on the brand known globally as ISIS. Now the international community is joining African nations in looking for ways to combat the spread. Islamic State group influence in Africa has grown yearly since 2014, according to a 2021 Sky News report. By 2019, at least 22 African…