ADF

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS What was supposed to be a naval training maneuver off the coast of West Africa turned into a rescue mission when pirates hijacked an oil tanker. Navies from Ghana, Nigeria, Togo and the United States tracked the hijacked tanker off five countries before Nigerian naval forces stormed aboard on February 20, 2016, amid a shootout that killed one of the pirates. Capt. Heidi Agle, commodore in charge of U.S. operations in Africa and Europe, had been directing a training exercise against piracy with maritime agencies of Ghana when the hijacking provided a real-life lesson. The first word…

VOICE OF AMERICA Kenyan police added 30 armored personnel carriers (APCs) to be used in areas hit by terrorism. To protect and equip police officers, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta authorized the deployment of the APCs to the northeastern and coastal regions where police are fighting al-Shabaab militants crossing into the country. The president has said he expects police to work without the help of the military and other security sectors. Analyst Yan St. Pierre, who runs the Berlin-based security company MOSECON, said Kenya has realized it is fighting a war inside its territory, and all security sectors need to be…

REUTERS Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea signed an agreement to establish combined patrols to bolster security in the Gulf of Guinea, which has been plagued by pirates in recent years. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari signed the agreement amid a rise in pipeline attacks in the oil-producing Niger Delta. The Gulf is a significant source of oil, cocoa and metals for world markets, and the attacks pose a threat to shipping companies. Pirates target oil tankers, usually wanting hostages for ransom and to sell stolen fuel. “The conclusion and signing of the agreement is expected to enhance security in the Gulf of…

BBC NEWS AT BBC.CO.UK/NEWS Drones could be used to solve the logistical challenge of swiftly delivering HIV/AIDS care in rural Malawi, a  United Nations official said. The government reported that 10,000 children died of HIV-related illnesses in Malawi in 2014, which is the “equivalent to a school bus full of youngsters dying every week,” said Judith Sherman, head of HIV for UNICEF in Malawi. A young child may get the virus from an HIV-positive mother during pregnancy or birth, or when the mother is breastfeeding, but drugs can reduce transmission risks. Only half of the young people with HIV have…

JEFFREY MOYO/INTER PRESS SERVICE Tichaona Muzariri, a villager in Chivhu, a town 143 kilometers south of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, quit his job as a teacher in 2009 to start a rabbit farm. He had three female rabbits and one male. With about $30 as capital, Muzariri started his new business. Today, he breeds nearly 3,000 rabbits every year and slaughters up to 120 every week for sale to grocery stores, restaurants and hotels. One kilogram of rabbit meat retails for $8 to $10 in Zimbabwe. “If I look back today, I just can’t believe that it’s me who is making…

VOICE OF AMERICA Researchers in Uganda say they have developed a new Ebola test kit that detects the virus in minutes, replacing current tests that take anywhere from several hours to several days. The development is a potential milestone in the fight against the deadly virus. According to researchers at Makarere University in Kampala, the new test can detect the virus in the early stages of exposure. Misaki Wayengera, leader of the research group, said the test may be able to prevent future outbreaks like the one in West Africa that killed more than 11,000 people. “We want a test…

THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION Beekeeper Ayenalem Ketema is the proud owner of three hives, which have produced enough honey for the young Ethiopian to build a house equipped with solar panels and buy some farm animals with the proceeds. Ketema, who lives in Jimma in southwestern Ethiopia, left school when she was 17 and has kept bees for four years. “I have benefited a lot from using a modern beehive,” said the young farmer, now 22. She belongs to the Boter Boro Cooperative, whose members run 50 beehives among them. With the profit from the 60 kilograms of honey she harvests…

MEDIA CLUB SOUTH AFRICA Although Africa has among the lowest higher education enrollment rates in the world, the 21st century has seen huge growth in virtually all its tertiary education systems. In Uganda, where Makerere University traditionally dominated national higher education, half a dozen public universities have opened since 1988. As a result, enrollment has grown from less than 10,000 in the 1990s to nearly 200,000 today. In Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most-populous country, growth in higher education has been phenomenal — from two institutions in the early 1990s to the current 35. Nigeria, with 1.7 million students, has comparable enrollment figures…

SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT NEWS AGENCY South Africa’s Trade and Industry deputy minister is pushing for increased trade between his country and neighboring Zimbabwe. Deputy Minister Mzwandile Masina spoke at a March 2016 dinner hosted by the Zimbabwean Ministry of Macro-Economic Planning and Investment Promotion. The dinner was part of the Investment and Trade Initiative to Harare, Gweru and Bulawayo, organized by the Department of Trade and Industry. “As neighbors, it is incumbent upon us to work together closely in ensuring that we increase trade between our countries and achieve economic growth,” Masina said. “The role of business in this mission…

ADF STAFF In November 1922, Teferi Mekonen, an Ethiopian nobleman, visited a British Royal Air Force  show in Yemen’s coastal city of Aden. Airplanes were big news, having been invented less than 20 years earlier. The young Ethiopian had never seen an airplane up close and was fascinated. He asked whether it would be possible for his country to buy one. It is said that the British were somewhat put off by the request, coming from this 5-foot-2-inch Ethiopian aristocrat, and may have ridiculed him, telling him to stick with his country’s horses. The Ethiopian was not to be denied.…