ADF

SEYCHELLES NEWS AGENCY The Seychelles is taking steps to limit the damaging effects of fish aggregating devices (FADs) on the island nation’s reefs and other areas through a new project that aims to intercept FADs before they wash up on beaches. FADs are free-floating platforms used by the tuna industry to attract fish. They are commonly made up of a 4-square-meter bamboo raft covered with shade material and fishing nets or ropes hanging down from the corners to a depth of 20 to 50 meters. Gathering data on the seriousness of the issue around the Seychelles’ islands and getting the…

MIRIAM GATHIGAH/INTER PRESS SERVICE Mirantsoa Faniry Rakotomalala is different from most farmers in the Greater South of Madagascar, who were devastated after losing an estimated 80 percent of their crops to drought during the May/June 2016 harvesting season. The drought was said to be the most severe in 35 years. Rakotomalala lives in a village in one of the three hardest-hit areas. But she and her father were prepared for the drought. “Most farms are dry, but ours has remained green and alive because we dug boreholes which are providing us with water to irrigate,” she said. As of August,…

BUSANI BAFANA/INTER PRESS SERVICE Brightly colored cans, bags of fertilizer and packets containing all types of seeds catch the eye upon entering Nancy Khorommbi’s agro dealer shop, tucked at the corner of a roadside service station in South Africa. But her seeds and fertilizers have not exactly been flying off the shelves since Khorommbi opened the shop in 2010. Her customers are smallholder farmers in the town of Sibasa in Limpopo, one of South Africa’s provinces hard hit by drought in 2016. The reason for the slow business is that smallholder farmers lack training on how to use plant-nourishing fertilizers…

The ruler of what is now Angola fought her would-be conquerors for decades ADF STAFF Southwest Africa never had a stronger advocate than Queen Nzingha of Ndongo, in what is now Angola. She fought to protect her people from slave traders for most of her long life. And she was good at it. American scholar John Henrik Clarke described her as “the greatest military strategist that ever confronted the armed forces of Portugal.” Ana Nzingha was born around 1580 in Kidonga, the capital of the kingdom. Her father was the king, and he was succeeded on the throne by his son,…

Clues: This is the largest church in the world. It can hold 18,000 people inside its walls, and the esplanade can accommodate 300,000. Its design is based on St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, with a 149-meter-tall dome and colonnade forming a Latin cross.  The colonnades are supported by 272 Doric columns, which are up to 31 meters tall. ANSWER: Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire

Vigilante groups offer short-term security, but northern Cameroon needs long-term development ADF STAFF When a female suicide bomber came to Mora, Cameroon, and refused to stop at a checkpoint, it looked like another gruesome attack was about to occur in a region that has grown used to carnage. Then something unusual happened. A civilian who is part of a self-defense group in the town shot an arrow with a poison tip at the attacker. The shot killed the woman as a second suicide bomber detonated her vest, but the blast killed only the terrorist. The armed citizen’s quick action likely saved…

U.S. Africa Command Staff An ancient African proverb says, “When spider webs unite, they can halt a lion.” This bit of wisdom shows what we all know intuitively: We’re stronger when we work together. This is as true on the local level as it is in the realm of international security partnerships. Terror groups know no borders, and they take advantage of weak spots wherever they are found on the map. When one country adds pressure, terrorists shift their operations to a safe haven in a neighboring country. This is what makes regional partnerships so important. We have seen the…

When our administration assumed office, our first task was to tackle and defeat Boko Haram. We restructured and re-equipped our Armed Forces. We strengthened cooperation among Lake Chad Basin Commission members and Benin. By December 2015, the gallant armed forces of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger had degraded Boko Haram forces and squeezed them into a small enclave of Sambisa forest. What remains is to dislodge the terrorists from their hideout in Sambisa Forest and safely liberate the Chibok girls and other victims of abduction. Boko Haram now resorts to hit-and-run tactics, cowardly attacking soft targets, hitting innocent and defenseless…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE The Brain Freeze, an eardrum-bursting, tricked-out Nairobi bus — or matatu as it’s known in Kenya — studded with blue neon lights is like a nightclub rushing down the streets. Music pumps from vehicle loudspeakers, as videos flash across flat-screen televisions. “It’s like a club; this matatu is really cool,” said student Mary Nicola, 20. About 90 percent of Nairobi’s commuters use a matatu daily. Competition is fierce, and a tricked-out ride like the Brain Freeze can make all the difference. Matatus are named after Manchester United footballers, singer Alicia Keys, Nelson Mandela, U.S. President Barack Obama and…

BBC NEWS AT BBC.CO.UK/NEWS Tanzania has removed more than 10,000 “ghost workers” from its public sector payroll in a crackdown on corruption. Payments to the nonexistent employees cost the government more than $2 million a month, according to the prime minister’s office. Authorities say they still are auditing the public payroll and expect to find more phantom workers. President John Magufuli, who was elected in October 2015, promised to cut wasteful public expenditures. He ordered the audit in March 2016 and said the money saved would be put toward development. Nicknamed the bulldozer, Magufuli has announced a range of cost-cutting…