🔅 Pirelli's Colorful Ghanaian Makeover, Africa at the Grammys, Uganda's Conservation Triumph, UK's Rwanda Asylum Plan Squashed, And More.
From Vibrant Calendars to Musical Triumphs: Catch up on the Latest African Stories and Global Events
Photo of the day: Asmara, Eritrea
Markets:
🟢 Nigerian SE: 60,108.86 (+1.30%)
🟢 Johannesburg SE: 74,831.11 (+0.13%)
🔴 Ghana SE: 2,806.67 (-0.10%)
🔴 Nairobi SE: 107.17 (-0.02%)
🟢 US S&P 500: 4,398.01 (+0.48%)
🔴 Shanghai Composite: 3,182.38 (-0.22%)
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
Brief & Bright: Africa's Top Five Highlights
🇺🇬 Snare Mountain: A Monument to Conservation Success in Uganda | Talk about an accomplishment to be proud of: Uganda Conservation Foundation has managed to collect 47 tonnes of snares and bear traps in just 10 years. What’s more, they’ve got a 12-tonne pile of evidence collected over 12 months to prove it. The traps were found in Murchison Falls National Park, an area once used by Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army. Now, the park is free of fighters and free of snares and traps. The wildlife authority has been working hard to restore the park and the collected traps are being buried in the foundations of new buildings.
🇬🇭 Pirelli's Calendar Gets a Colorful Makeover | The Pirelli calendar, the glossy and often controversial six-decade-old annual tyre company publication, is getting a new look. Ghanaian photographer Prince Gyasi, known for his vivid hyper-real style, is taking the reins for the next edition, and he’s bringing some representation with him. The 27-year-old started out with an old iPhone and has since been exhibiting his work around the world. Gyasi’s got a special approach to photography, influenced by his experience of synaesthesia, a neurological condition that causes a mixing of the senses. The calendar’s seen its share of criticism over the years for objectifying women, so it will be interesting to see what Gyasi does with it.
🇷🇼 UK's Rwanda Asylum Plan: Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket | The UK government is in hot water over its plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. A court ruling deemed the plan unlawful, and Rishi Sunak said the government will appeal it. Here’s the breakdown: The government wanted to send asylum seekers to Rwanda as a way to deter people from crossing the English Channel in small boats. But the court found that the Rwandan government had not provided enough safeguards to prove it was a safe third country. This put the kibosh on the plan—which was already on the ropes, with the Home Office estimating that it would cost £169,000 per person deported and processed under the scheme (way more than it costs to house an asylum seeker in the UK).
🎙️ The Grammy Awards Get with the African Music Program | The Grammys are finally getting with the program and introducing a best African music performance category. It’s about time! After all, African artists have been setting the music world on fire for years. From Burna Boy’s halftime show at the NBA All-Star game to the epic Champions League performance, it’s clear that African music is more than ready for its close-up. The new Grammy category covers all African genres, including "Afrobeat, Afro-fusion, Afro Pop, Afrobeats, Alte, Amapiano, Bongo Flava, Genge, Kizomba, Chimurenga, High Life, Fuji, Kwassa, Ndombolo, Mapouka, Ghanaian Drill, Afro-House, South African Hip-Hop, and Ethio Jazz.” Before the addition of the new category, African artists had to compete in the best global music performance category.
🇦🇴 Isabel Dos Santos' Dutch Troubles | Isabel Dos Santos, daughter of Angola's late former president and once Africa's richest woman, is in trouble with the Dutch. The Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled that Dos Santos embezzled 52 million euros from Angola's national oil company, diverting the money to a Dutch company she owned with her husband. Dos Santos has always denied any wrongdoing, but this isn't the first time she's been accused of embezzling billions of dollars from state-owned companies during her father's 40-year reign. Looks like she might have some explaining to do.
Food for Thought
“When the roots of a majestic tree begin to decay, it spreads death to the branches.”
— Nigerian Proverb.
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