From algorithms to track “dark” ships smuggling stolen crude oil to an online licensing system to undercut corruption, Nigeria’s Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) hopes it can use new technology to tackle theft that has cost the country billions. In the oil-rich Niger Delta region, thieves tap pipelines and siphon crude into barrels aboard small craft. They then sail alongside larger vessels, allowing the contraband to be pumped into oil tankers bound for export, usually to Asia — mixing up to 10% stolen crude with legitimate product. Africa’s top oil exporter has turned to French data company Kpler to help…
ADF
The Security Structure in the Yaoundé Code of Conduct is Taking Shape in the Gulf of Guinea ADF STAFF Security professionals in the Gulf of Guinea know that if they want to spot criminals in the open water, the best place to look is along a maritime border. Historically, this has been the space where pirates, illegal fishermen and traffickers felt safest knowing that, if confronted, they could flee into another country’s waters. “That is the whole business of the bad guys,” said Senior Capt. Boniface Konan of the Côte d’Ivoire Navy. “Even if you look on [the automatic identification…
Through bribery and lax enforcement, Chinese businesses are taking billions of dollars’ worth of rosewood ADF STAFF China’s growing middle and upper classes have developed an inexhaustible demand for expensive, handmade rosewood furniture — and Africa is paying the price. The country’s fondness for rosewood furniture is nothing new. China has banned logging in its own natural forests and has been getting its rosewood from Malaysia and other countries in Southeast Asia. But China depleted the available resources in Asia and began logging in Africa about 2010, according to the U.S.-based charity Forest Trends. Now, a rosewood species native to…
ADF STAFF The Nile River, the world’s longest, meanders northward through the eastern half of Africa, bringing power, agriculture and, at times, recreation to the millions of people who live at or near its banks. A little recreation and relief was just what was on the minds of people in Khartoum, Sudan, on a hot day in April 2019. Residents waded out into the river’s expanse, rolling up pant legs and doffing shoes to bathe their feet. Others lugged lawn chairs and a few wooden tables into the river to relax amid its gentle flow. After a while, some arranged…
Secret Chinese Criminal Societies Make Millions Poaching Abalone ADF STAFF A net full of abalone isn’t much to behold. Their gray shells are covered with algae, and when cracked open they reveal a sea snail and an iridescent interior. But to those who traffic in it, abalone is worth its weight in gold. Between 2006 and 2016, 96 million of the mollusks were stolen from South African waters. This bounty is worth nearly $900 million, the conservation group TRAFFIC reported. In Hong Kong, the primary destination, abalone is a delicacy, prized for its buttery flavor. The kingpins who run the…
REUTERS Abla Ogodo used to walk 10 kilometers to fetch water for her family. Now that a new well in her village runs on solar power, she does not have to go anywhere. The United Kingdom-based power company BBOXX, in partnership with France’s EDF Group, has launched a program to power the entire village of Sikpe-Afidegnon with energy from the sun. It runs streetlights, houses, schools and shops, transforming this remote maze of red dirt streets in southern Togo whose only previous access to electricity was from noisy generators that ran on expensive and polluting fuel oil. “We would spend…
ADF STAFF In a 12-hour stretch, Ethiopians fanned out across the country and planted 353 million trees. The reforestation campaign known as “Green Legacy” is an initiative led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The country believes it set a world record with the plantings on July 29, 2019. In 2017, India established the record by planting 66 million trees in 12 hours, CNN reported. And though Ethiopians believe they surpassed that record, they say they aren’t done yet. During the country’s rainy season, which lasts from May to October, volunteers hoped to plant a total of 4 billion trees. Many…
ADF STAFF Netflix has commissioned its first African animated series from South Africa’s Triggerfish Animation Studio. Zambian writer Malenga Mulendema created the series after winning a competition to find talent from across the continent, Hollywood publication Variety reported. The series, Mama K’s Team 4, revolves around four teenage girls who are recruited by a retired secret agent to save the world. The series is set in a futuristic version of the Zambian capital of Lusaka. Mulendema grew up watching cartoons and found herself asking why no heroes looked like her and why they didn’t live in a world that felt…
REUTERS The NBA will invest millions of dollars in Basketball Africa League, its first professional league outside North America, and will be active in its operation. The NBA, in partnership with the International Basketball Federation, is launching the league in January 2020 with 12 teams from across the continent. “This league will be fully operated by the NBA,” Amadou Gallo Fall, the NBA’s vice president for Africa, said. “Our expertise and best practices will be on display.” The NBA generated $8 billion in revenue in 2018, according to Forbes magazine, and interest in Africa has grown alongside the profile of…
CLUES This area covers more than 3 million hectares. Wind, along with river and ocean currents, carried materials thousands of kilometers to form these desert dunes. The area includes gravel plains, coastal flats, rocky hills, a coastal lagoon and ephemeral rivers. Fog is the primary source of water here and provides an enviroment for insects, reptiles and mammals. ANSWER Namib Sand Sea, Namibia