ADF

DEFENCEWEB South African farmers in the Limpopo province hope to harvest a first crop of energy-rich Solaris plants to be used as aviation fuel. The aviation giant Boeing and national carrier South African Airways (SAA) launched Project Solaris. The project is a collaborative effort to develop an aviation biofuel supply chain with the Solaris plant, a nicotine-free variant of tobacco. More than 300 varieties of the tobacco plant were crossed to create the Solaris variety. Oil from the plant’s seeds may be converted into bio-jet fuel as early as 2015, with a test flight by SAA as soon as feasible.…

The Brazilian Navy announced plans to establish a mission in São Tomé and Príncipe, the island nation in the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of Gabon. The mission is intended to improve defense cooperation between the two countries, said Julio Soares de Moura Neto, commander of the Brazilian Navy, in an interview with The New York Times. The two countries share a common language and cultural links since they were once Portuguese colonies. Brazil also has donated computers, rifles and two dinghies to the São Tomé Coast Guard. The dinghies will allow the Coast Guard to improve inspection capacity…

DEFENCEWEB The European Union Training Mission in Somalia plans to train 1,200 Somali National Army (SNA) noncommissioned officers, junior officers, specialists and military instructors in 2015. The effort is part of an internationally backed capacity-building program for Somali security forces. The security and stabilization mission trained 1,150 SNA Soldiers in 2014 and aims to continue producing graduate officers in the same numbers in 2015, according to media reports from Brussels. The mission was moved from Uganda to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in January 2014. It has held 11 training courses and graduated nearly 4,000 SNA officers and specialists since it…

The Nigerian Navy has announced plans to partner with the International Committee of the Red Cross to train Sailors on international arms laws and conflict resolution. Commodore Atiku Abdulkadir, the commandant of the Nigerian Navy College in Onne, made the announcement during a three-day training event in December 2014. “All officers and trainees must be adequately informed on what their responsibilities are when they find themselves in situations that they have to apply the import of this [international arms] law,” Abdulkadir told Nigeria’s Daily Independent. “The armed forces, particularly the navy, are always involved in resolution of one conflict or…

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…