New inquest: South Africa revisits 1977 death in custody of anti-apartheid leader Steve Biko
It’s not clear if any of the police officers implicated in Biko’s death are still alive. South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority said the new inquest into Biko’s death 48 years later was an effort “to address the atrocities of the past and assist in providing closure to the Biko family and society at large.”
New report sounds alarm over how Africa is forced into painful trade-offs for climate action
The report calls on development actors to provide climate finance as grants and additional resources, not as loans that keep African countries trapped in a cycle of debt, but for greater support for debt cancellation to free up government funds for climate action.
Ethiopia ignores Egyptian and Sudanese River Nile flow concerns to launch Africa’s biggest dam
Water experts in downstream Egypt say the dam has reduced the amount of water the country receives, and the government had to come up with short-term solutions such as reducing annual consumption and recycling irrigation water.
As delegates gather in Addis Ababa for Africa Climate Summit, electricity to millions ranks top
The World Bank estimates that Central and West Africa have some of the world’s lowest electrification rates. In West Africa, where 220 million people have no electricity, the electrification rate is as low as 8 per cent.
Mozambique building southern Africa’s biggest electricity project in 50 that will cost $6 billion
Located 60 kilometres (37 miles) downstream from the even larger Cahora Bassa hydroelectric dam along the Zambezi River, the Mphanda Nkuwa plant is expected to generate 1,500 megawatts when it begins operations in 2031. That will help a region facing a 10,000-megawatt deficit that keeps millions from accessing power.
African states moot plan to front climate change and conflict during international forums
Common African Positions aren’t normally concerned with this because we understand that things change from time to time, and this is a document that is going to guide the African Union and Africa for the next decade or more. So we can’t base that on particular changes or political issues, temporary political issues around the world, because things change all the time.
In a rare shift since coming to power, Trump approves $32.5m in aid to Nigeria to address hunger
The West African country is also dealing with an insurgency in its northeast that has resulted in the death of around 35,000 civilians and the displacement of more than two million others, according to the United Nations.
Sudan: Landslide kills more than 1,000 people in single village Central Darfur’s Marrah Mountains
Hundreds of people die every year in seasonal rains that run from July to October. Last year’s heavy rainfall caused the collapse of a dam in the eastern Red Sea Province, killing at least 30 people, according to the UN.
Trump is weaker than he looks as he only bullies weak entities like EU or Africa, not bulwarks like China, India or Russia
Equally, Trump’s victory in jacking up tariffs on imports may push up prices and knock employment. So far, the negative impact is mild. But only 37 per cent of Americans approve of his handling of the economy, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling, something that was his strong suit during his first term in the White House.
Trump administration accused of operating clandestine third-country programme that hurts aliens
The five men in Eswatini are being held at the Matsapha Correctional Complex. It’s the same prison where Eswatini, which is ruled by a king as Africa’s last absolute monarchy, has imprisoned pro-democracy campaigners. Authorities said when the five men arrived in Eswatini that they would be held in solitary confinement.
