DAR ES SALAAM (IDN) — Issa Abdul’s desperate urge for solar power began when he realised a smoke-spewing generator at his barber shop was costing him too much.
“Solar power is very cheap. I regret spending my money on this fuel-guzzling machine,” he said.
The 32-year-old barber in Tanzania’s port city spent roughly Tanzanian shillings 150,000 ($65) to purchase a small solar system, which now powers his hair-cutting business.
By Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE, Zimbabwe (IDN) — Jobless and weighed down by idleness, 53-year-old Jasper Mhandu, in the Zimbabwean capital, now has to spend time sited at a street corner chatting with gangs of drug-taking jobless youths in Highfield, a poor income suburb here.
Mhandu used to work for a clothing factory that shut its operations in 2007 when Zimbabwe’s comatose economy forced many firms to close down.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK | JOHANNESBURG (IDN) — Torrential rainfall and flooding came full throttle to Johannesburg for a third time in December, damaging hundreds of houses in Soweto, Roodepoort, Protea Glen and surrounding areas.
The heavy downpour loosened street poles, flooded transformer chambers, uprooted trees and damaged overhead cables and electricity infrastructure. Winnie Mandela’s home was also reportedly damaged in the downpour.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced 13 grants totalling more than $19.2 million to strengthen local and regional investigative journalism in Nigeria.
The initiative, awarded through the foundation’s Nigeria program, seeks to reduce corruption by supporting Nigerian-led anti-corruption efforts that advance accountability, transparency, and civic participation.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK | LUSAKA (IDN) — Zambian officials are seeking an explanation of the death of Lemekhani Nathan Nyirenda, a former student of nuclear engineering in Moscow, who died in September fighting on the side of the Russian army.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian paramilitary Wagner group, acknowledged that they recruited the Zambian student from a Russian prison but claimed he volunteered for the job.
By Joseph Maina
NAIROBI (IDN) — Seven years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, Kenya has made significant strides towards the realisation of the SDGs. Official sources cite “remarkable progress” made towards achieving the goals. SDGs and other development initiatives are well anchored in its long-term development blueprint dubbed Vision 2030, as well as a robust constitutional framework under the Constitution of Kenya 2010 that has a strong Bill of Rights and principles that are good drivers of Agenda 2030.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK | NAIROBI (IDN) — Stories abound of the majestic baobab tree landmarks across Africa where they stand tall, adapted to arid landscapes, the basis of myths, the home of vultures and bees, and the giver of fruits that can feed families during drought.
Baobab, or ‘mbuyu’ in Kiswahili, is a gigantic fibrous leafy tree, common in the open semi-arid areas of eastern and coastal counties of Kenya and in 32 African countries. It is not uncommon to find a 5,000-year-old tree, 100 feet tall, 40 feet in diameter—a prehistoric species which predates both mankind and the splitting of the continents over 200 million years ago.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK | JOHANNESBURG (IDN) — A convoluted tale of monies hidden in a sofa in the home of the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa threatens to unseat a popular leader while it creates more headaches for the African National Congress.
According to the charges, a fortune in U.S. dollars was stolen from President Ramaphosa’s farm but he never reported the theft to the police or disclosed it publicly, but apparently started an off-the-books investigation and paid the suspects to keep quiet.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — Genocide Prevention Day falls on December 9 and marks the anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (also known as the UN Genocide Convention. On this day, the victims of genocide worldwide are remembered. People around the world are encouraged to learn from the past and take action to prevent future atrocities.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni on the sidelines of the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit this on December 13-15 in Washington, DC.
The meeting will take place at the White House with the two leaders expected to discuss, among other things, the security situation in Africa.
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