‘Time bomb’: The used cars causing pollution and accidents in Africa

‘Time bomb’: The used cars causing pollution and accidents in Africa

Every year, around four to five million used cars are shipped to Africa, mostly from Europe, North America and Japan, to be sold in countries where newer vehicles are too expensive for most. But these old cars, often in poor condition, are also bringing high levels of pollution to the continent, as well as causing accidents on the roads. Some are now campaigning for governments to take action.

February 23, 2024 22

Africa

Thousands displaced in Mozambique due to unrest

A new outbreak of unrest in northern Mozambique by jihadist insurgency has forced thousands to flee their homes, according to UN figures and sources in Cabo Delgado province. The AFP news agency reports that an alert from the UN migration agency IOM said recent attacks in the Macomia, Chiure and Mecufi districts had displaced 13 088 people - most of them children - by bus, canoe, and on foot.

February 22, 2024 8

Africa

UN sanctions DRC rebel leaders

The UN has imposed an arms embargo, travel ban and asset freeze against six rebel leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo amid violence in the country's east. According to the BBC, those sanctioned include the military spokesperson of the M23 rebel group, a general in the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and two senior leaders in the Ugandan armed group Allied Democratic Forces.

February 22, 2024 8

Africa

Climate change, extreme weather & conflict exacerbate global food crisis

Global food insecurity has risen substantially since pre-pandemic times, exacerbated by extreme weather, climate change, war and conflict. What the U.N. World Food Program calls “a hunger crisis of unprecedented proportions” plays out differently around the world. In this story, three of Mongabay’s Y. Eva Tan Conservation Reporting Fellows detail the local situation in their region – from rising inflation and flooding in Nigeria to diminished local food […]

February 22, 2024 23

Africa

Cuban speaker in Kenya over fate of abducted doctors

Cuba's parliament speaker is visiting Nairobi in a bid to uncover the fate of two Cuban doctors abducted in Kenya by Somalia-based jihadists almost five years ago, its foreign ministry said. The mission by Esteban Lazo comes after Al-Shabaab claimed in a statement that the two doctors had been killed in a US air strike in Somalia last week. Lazo "has travelled to Kenya in order to engage in urgent […]

February 22, 2024 20

Africa

This popular floating restaurant was on the rocks until Frida Njeri took over

By Velma Pamela, bird story agency There are no land rates for this bar and restaurant that floats on the sea waters of the Lamu Island in Kenya. People have lived here for over 700 years. Lamu Old Town is older than Zanzibar, and other settlements in East Africa where Bantu, Arabic, Persian, Indian, and European influences fused into the Swahili culture. The town, with its relatively […]

February 22, 2024 13

Africa

Zimbabwe’s “Biker Queen” rides full throttle against gender norms

By Mike Saburi, via bird story agency Evonne Mudzingwa is in her happy place. The roar of an engine at full throttle is music to the ears of Evonne Mudzingwa and the glint in her eye is from light reflecting off brilliant chrome on powerful two-wheelers filling a parking lot in Harare. It’s a Sunday afternoon, which means the country’s highways have little traffic - every biker’s dream. […]

February 22, 2024 26

Africa

Ethiopia’s peace pacts with the Oromo Liberation Front have failed: here’s what was missing

By Marew Abebe Salemot, Debark University Two attempts have been made over the past six years to broker peace between the Ethiopian government and the armed rebel group Oromo Liberation Front. The armed group was formed half a century ago with the goal of carving out an independent state for Oromia, the country’s largest regional state. Both attempts at brokering peace – in 2018 and again in […]

February 22, 2024 12

Africa

BMW bets big on Africa’s green hydrogen industry with SA fuel cell test vehicle

By Seth Onyango, via bird story agency BMW has claimed its place as the breakout star in Africa's race for commercial hydrogen mobility with the unveiling of a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in South Africa. In a shot in the arm for Africa's fledgling green hydrogen industry, the automaker chose Southern Africa for the test drive of its BMW iX5 Hydrogen. The continent has been seeking to […]

February 22, 2024 3