🔅 A 'Record-Breaking' Storm
Plus: Tobacco's Big Comeback in Zimbabwe, Nigerian Mafia Queen, Tanzania's President Mends Bridges with Opposition, African Nations Restored UN Voting Rights, And much more... ☕
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Photo of the day: Baobab Trees in Madagascar
Markets:
🔺 Nigerian SE: 55,801.14 (+0.35%)
🔻 Johannesburg SE: 77,741.83 (-1.04%)
🔺 Ghana SE: 2,415.70 (+0.97%)
🔻 Nairobi SE: 119.19 (-3.63%)
🔻 US S&P 500: 3,977.14 (-0.23%)
🔻 Shanghai Composite: 3,283.25 (-0.05%)
Mauritania's $34 Billion Green Energy Project: Germany, Mauritania, Egypt, and the UAE are joining forces for a $34 billion project that will produce 8 million tonnes of green hydrogen a year. That’s a lot of clean energy! This partnership comes at a time when Germany is working hard to make up for Russian fuel imports and hit climate targets, including the construction of the country’s first hydrogen pipeline network. The project is set to be located northeast of Mauritania’s capital, Nouakchott, and should be completed in 2028 with a planned capacity of 400 megawatts.
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
CLIMATE
A 'Record-Breaking' Storm
Cyclone Freddy is about to make landfall in Mozambique after wreaking havoc in South-eastern Africa and Madagascar.
The storm has been spinning around the Indian Ocean for over a month, and it may become the longest-lasting storm on record, breaking the record set by Hurricane John in 1994.
It's already broken records for the strength it has accumulated and the 8,000-km path it travelled across the Ocean, affecting Mauritius, La Réunion, Madagascar, and Mozambique.
What's the death toll?
The death toll of Freddy stands at 21, with four people killed in Madagascar on Monday. It's also displaced thousands, with around 160,000 people already affected, according to the UN World Food Programme.
Meanwhile, Madagascar received around three times its usual monthly average rainfall in the week alone.
How is Mozambique faring?
Mozambique is bracing for the storm, while still reeling from the rains and floods already brought by Freddy.
The storm is expected to make landfall soon, so the locals are trying to take precautions as best as they can.
Freddy's movements have been described as "remarkable" by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
Until the storm finally passes, the WMO says it's a rare and deadly storm that's already “made history” - and could well break more records.
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OTHER HEADLINES
Across the Continent
🇿🇼 Tobacco's Big Comeback in Zimbabwe | Tobacco is back in business in Zimbabwe. The country’s biggest crop saw a huge surge this season, with production up from 212 million kilograms (234,000 tons) last year to 230 million kilograms (254,000 tons) this year. The increase in production is thanks to a rise in the number of growers and the amount of land used to grow the golden leaf. But there’s a catch. The bulk of the crop is funded by China, and 95% of the proceeds of tobacco sales are going offshore. Vice President Constantino Chiwenga is trying to fix this by providing farmers with more local funding, aiming to get the number up to 70% by 2025. He also wants 30% of the crop to be processed, blended and made into cigarettes by then, as a way to boost value-added exports. The goal? To keep the money in Zimbabwe and make the tobacco industry more lucrative.
🇳🇬 Nigerian Mafia Queen Flown Back to Rome | Nigeria-Italy extradition treaty in full effect! Joy Jeff, a 48-year-old Nigerian woman and prominent figure in the Nigerian mafia, has been flown back to Rome to serve a 13-year sentence. Apparently, she was one of the few women on Italy's most-wanted list. Why? Because she was a key player in a prostitution ring that trafficked women to Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands and forced them into prostitution with threats and violence. Video of her trip from Abuja to Ciampino Airport in Rome shows her being wheeled away by police.
🇹🇿 Tanzania's Female President, and Male Opposition | The political landscape in Tanzania has been shifting. President Samia Suluhu Hassan, the first female president of the East African nation, recently attended an International Women’s Day event organized by the main opposition party, Chadema. And that’s not all: her presence was welcomed by the party’s chairman, Freeman Mbowe, as the fruit of meetings aimed at achieving political reconciliation. President Samia even noted that it had been a challenge to get the process rolling since some in her ruling party weren’t on board. Former president, John Magufuli, had been accused of cracking down hard on opposition leaders and members, so this reconciliation is a major step forward.
🇬🇦🇸🇸 African Nations Return to the UN | Lebanon, Gabon, and South Sudan have all paid off their arrears and restored their voting rights in the 193-member world body. The president of the General Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi, told a plenary meeting of the assembly that the three countries reduced their arrears to the UN regular budget below the amount specified in the U.N. Charter to cut off voting rights. The only other African nation in arrears was Somalia, but the General Assembly adopted a resolution in October giving it permission to vote until the end of the current session in September. It’s a much-needed win for the countries, as their voices will still be heard, despite the financial hardships they may face.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Proverb of the Day
“It is only a stupid cow that rejoices at the prospect of being taken to a beautiful abattoir.”
— Zambian Proverb.