ADF

ECOWAS Defense chiefs from across the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have pledged greater cooperation to combat shared threats. The September 2014 meeting of the Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff (CCDS) in Accra, Ghana, brought together 15 defense leaders for a three-day summit themed “Strengthening ECOWAS Military Cooperation for Peace, Stability and Development.” Officials called for greater intelligence sharing among member states and more training in counterinsurgency to bolster Nigerian security. “Boko Haram has created mayhem in Nigeria and needs to be stopped,” said Ambassador Kwesi Quartey, Ghana’s deputy minister of foreign affairs and regional integration. “Africa…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE With camouflage uniforms, assault rifles, night vision goggles, thermal imaging devices and radios, wildlife rangers in Kenya’s Ol Jogi rhino sanctuary prepare for night patrol in the “war” against poaching. “It sounds crazy, but it’s actually a war,” said Jamie Gaymer, head of security for the vast sanctuary. “It is organized crime on an international level, and it is completely out of control. And these are the guys on the front line who are having to put their lives at risk in order to protect these animals.” Through the thick bush, 20 men from the local community head…

ADAM BEMMA/IPS Along the fertile banks of the White Nile, a war veteran’s co-op is planting for a food-secure future in South Sudan, a country potentially facing famine. Wilson Abisai Lodingareng, 65, is a farmer and founder of Werithior Veterans’ Association (WVA) in Juba, South Sudan. The association is a group of 15 farmers that tends a garden 6 kilometers outside Juba where they grow vegetables on nearly 1.5 hectares. “I have seven active members in the group, all former SPLA [Sudan People’s Liberation Army] troops,” Lodingareng said. “I call them when it’s time to weed the garden. I visit…

Story and photo by JOAN ERAKIT/IPS Dry, hot and often plagued with sandstorms, Niger has a population of more than 17.2 million. Insecurity, drought and cross-border crime contribute to this West African nation’s fragility, in which only 50 percent of its citizens have access to health services. Traditional chiefs in Niger are extremely influential leaders — even heads of state and presidents seek their counsel before making big decisions. Understanding the chiefs’ role, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has built a partnership promoting the health and rights of women. The country has the world’s highest birthrate and a high…

Students Create Nigeria’s Online Jobs Giant BBC NEWS AT BBC.CO.UK/NEWS Three students had time on their hands in the summer of 2009 when university lecturers in Nigeria went on strike. Instead of slacking off, Ayodeji Adewunmi, Olalekan Olude and Opeyemi Awoyemi started an online job search company. Five years later, their startup, Jobberman, is worth millions of dollars, employs 125 people and is still growing. Although Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy, it still has considerable unemployment problems, in particular among young people who are also more likely to be connected to the Internet. Jobberman has become the largest job placement…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Zimbabwe’s telecommunications giant Econet has launched an international debit card with MasterCard in a move expected to cut reliance on banknotes in the cash-strapped country. Econet said it expects to issue at least 3 million debit cards over the next five years, equal to roughly a quarter of Zimbabwe’s population. The EcoCash mobile companion debit card, which is linked to its mobile money service, also is expected to increase financial inclusion in a country where most people do not work in the formal economy. “This is the first time that physical MasterCard debit cards are available to people…

ADF STAFF Abebe Bikila’s run to international fame started by accident. Abebe had wanted to run the marathon for Ethiopia in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. But his reported personal best time in the marathon was faster than the world record, and race officials were skeptical. He was passed over in favor of another runner, who subsequently broke his ankle playing football. Abebe, then a private in Haile Selassie’s Imperial Army, was chosen for the team only as a last-minute replacement. Abebe’s running shoes for the Olympics were a poor fit, causing blisters. He decided to run barefoot, as…

Clues This complex served as the home of the sovereigns of the Kingdom of Imerina in the 17th and 18th centuries. The number of structures rose to about 20 during the late 18th-century reign of King Andrianampoinimerina. By the late 20th century, there were 11. The largest and most prominent structure was known as the “Queen’s Palace” after Queen Ranavalona I. A 1995 fire destroyed or damaged all structures in the complex, but the Queen’s Palace and other buildings have been restored. ANSWER: The Rova of Antananarivo, Madagascar

West of the town of Upington, South Africa, is mostly desert. But nearby a tower looms on the horizon. It stands 5 kilometers down a bumpy dirt road, a 200-meter cylinder stretching to the sky, surrounded by more than 4,000 large, wall-like solar mirrors. It may look like the set of a science fiction film, but this is Khi Solar One, Africa’s first concentrated solar power project. The 140-hectare plant will produce 50 megawatts (MW) of energy and reduce South Africa’s carbon dioxide emissions by 138,000 metric tons a year. Khi Solar One forms part of the Department of Energy’s…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Sam Brown Jr. grins and flashes a thumbs-up as he snaps onto his longboard, taming the monstrous wave rearing up behind him. The 21-year-old Liberian has joined a growing number of surfers in the West African nation, attracted by one of the world’s last unspoiled paradises for the sport. Surf tourism is slowly picking up as the country gains a reputation for its faultless left-hand point breaks — locations where waves break offshore — its spectacular beaches and warm water. It has been said that the first surfers appeared in Liberia in the 1970s, but it wasn’t until…