ADF

ADF STAFF Interpol announced plans to open a permanent office at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Sudan Tribune reported that Interpol’s head commander in Ethiopia, Girmay Kahsay, said Interpol has reached an agreement with the Ethiopian government and the African Union to open the office. This will be Interpol’s third permanent office outside its headquarters in Lyon, France, the Tribune said. The other offices are at the United Nations in New York and the European Union in Brussels. The move marks another step in the progression toward creating a continental police force known as AFRIPOL. Interpol…

REUTERS The Ghana Navy announced it freed a tanker that was hijacked off the coast of Nigeria and arrested eight pirates believed to be responsible for seizing it. Pirate attacks have increased in West Africa in recent years, raising insurance costs for shipping companies. Experts say gangs based in the waters off Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer, are extending their reach across the Gulf of Guinea. Col. Aggrey Quarshie would not say when pirates seized the MT Mariam, but news reports stated it was freed on January 17, 2015. The small tanker’s owners, using an onboard tracking device, informed Ghanaian…

DEFENCEWEB The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa and the University of Blida in Algeria signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a Joint Centre of Excellence in aeronautics research. The signing took place at the International Exhibition of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Algeria in late 2014. The center would strengthen Algeria in the field of aeronautics, and South Africa’s Department of Science and Technology could expand its relationship with Algeria. Potential fields of cooperation include technologies for unmanned aerial vehicles, avionics and ground systems, aircraft structures, gas turbines, wind tunnels, store integration, hypersonic flow, flow…

[CORGENIX MEDICAL CORP.] BBC NEWS AT BBC.CO.UK/NEWS The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the first rapid blood test for Ebola. It should allow patients to be identified, isolated and cared for as quickly as possible to bring an end to the outbreak that killed more than 9,300 people as of February 2015. It is less accurate than conventional tests, but it takes minutes rather than hours to get a result. The test also works without electricity so it can be used in remote regions. Conventional Ebola testing requires a laboratory to analyze blood for fragments of the virus’ genetic…

REUTERS When Namibians voted in November 2014, it marked a historic event as Africa’s first electronic election. Despite an 11th-hour challenge from the opposition party over the devices, the election commission used 4,000 voting machines for the presidential and parliamentary vote instead of paper ballots. In the booth, voters found a gray electronic device with pictures or logos of the candidates and a green button next to each one. Instead of marking a cross on paper, voters selected their choice by pressing the button. “It is way better and faster,” said voter Sara Isaacs. Although there is no history of…

Zakariya Ismail Hersi, a former senior al-Shabaab commander, speaks during a press conference at the presidential palace in Mogadishu, Somalia. [THE ASSOCIATED PRESS] VOICE OF AMERICA Somalia’s president has renewed an offer of amnesty to members of the al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabaab. In January 2015, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said his government will ensure the safety of al-Shabaab members who acknowledge their crimes, reject the militant group, and embrace Somalia’s peace-and-reconciliation process. Mohamud also said his government will help defectors learn a trade or find a job. The announcement came after the defection of al-Shabaab’s former intelligence chief, Zakariya Ismail…

[MOBIUS MOTORS] REUTERS On the edge of Nairobi, two doors down from a gleaming display of Germany’s luxury Porsche cars, another showroom offers Africa’s answer to the continent’s potholed roads. It’s called the Mobius. It has no flashy dials, alloy wheels or electric windows. In fact, it has no windows at all except for the windshield. Instead, the square car-cum-pickup with its aluminum panels has been stripped of extras to make it sturdy and cheap. “We are not trying to reinvent the wheel; we are just trying to make one that is a bit tougher,” says sales manager Aman Ghai…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE In the blue waters off Cape Town, South Africa, a revolutionary experiment with an electronic barrier seeks to exploit the supersensitivity of sharks’ snouts to keep swimmers safe. The technology has been developed by South African experts who invented the electronic “shark pod” for use by surfers and divers — now marketed by an Australian company — and could be applied globally if successful. Years of research have shown that sharks will turn away when they encounter an electrical current. That fact has prompted this experiment on a much larger scale. A 100-meter cable with vertical “risers” designed…

Julia Rainer/IPS With annual economic growth rates of more than 10 percent and attractive investment conditions due to low infrastructural and labor costs, Ethiopia is eagerly trying to rise from the status of a low-income to a middle-income country in the next 10 years. Ethiopia, with 94 million inhabitants, is the second-most-populous country in Africa after Nigeria, but it remains predominantly rural. Only 17.5 percent of the population lives in cities, and most are in Addis Ababa. It also is one of the continent’s fastest-growing economies. Between 2015 and 2018, growth is expected to average 7.3 percent, according to a…

In the short history of Burkina Faso, one name towers above the rest: Thomas Sankara. Born into a working-class Catholic family in the northern town of Yako, Sankara entered the military at age 19. He rose through the ranks, impressing his fellow Soldiers with his charisma and work ethic. At 26, he took command of the nation’s prestigious Commando Training Centre, where he taught an elite fighting force. Later, he became a government information minister. He was known for the peculiar habit of riding to work on a bicycle and the even stranger habit of encouraging journalists to write critical…