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Climate-resistant coffee trees could save Moz’s rainforest

Climate-resistant coffee trees could save Moz’s rainforest

PARK warden Pedro Muagura sees hope for the future as he picks a ripe handful of cherry red coffee beans from a more resistant variety of coffee trees introduced to communities farming around Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park. The prospect of a more reliable harvest from the crop, which thrives in the shade of indigenous trees, has given people living around Gorongosa a longer-term incentive to protect a rainforest that has lost more than 100 hectares of tree cover per year over the past four decades. Gorongosa is still recovering from a civil war that killed about 1 million people between…
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Hunger striker’s sister arrives in Egypt to campaign for his release

Hunger striker’s sister arrives in Egypt to campaign for his release

THE sister of an Egyptian-British hunger striker landed in Sharm el-Sheikh to campaign for his release from jail as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and other world leaders flew in for the COP27 climate summit. Abd el-Fattah rose to prominence during Egypt's 2011 popular uprising but has been detained for most of the period since. Sentenced most recently in December 2021 to five years on charges of spreading false news, he has been on hunger strike for 220 days against his detention and prison conditions. Sunak said on Monday that he had raised Abd el-Fattah's case with Egypt's president and that he hoped to see…
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Botswana wins bid to host anti-conflict diamond watchdog

Botswana wins bid to host anti-conflict diamond watchdog

BOTSWANA has won its bid to host the permanent secretariat of the Kimberley Process (KP), the grouping that certifies that diamonds are not used to fund rebel groups, but its members remain divided over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The KP, a coalition of governments, the diamond industry and civil society representatives, said in a statement on Monday it had unanimously elected Botswana to host the secretariat, which is expected to become operational by 2024. The body defines conflict diamonds as gems used to fund rebel movements seeking to undermine legitimate governments. Five KP members initially expressed interest to host it…
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UK’s Sunak, Mordaunt in running to be next PM – Sky

UK’s Sunak, Mordaunt in running to be next PM – Sky

RISHI Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, two contenders in Britain's previous leadership contest this year, are believed to be in the running to become the nation's next prime minister following Liz Truss's resignation on Thursday, Sky News reported. Separately the Guardian's political editor reported former minister Michael Gove was "ruled out" for the leadership. Thomson Reuters Foundation
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African solutions: Lagos art fair tackles climate and culture

African solutions: Lagos art fair tackles climate and culture

LIBBY GEORGE A toddler on a bike and well-heeled women in bright African fabric tunics made their way past screens flashing infrared images of a dystopian future in which simulated plants and flowers replace the real thing destroyed by climate change. They were among hundreds attending ART X, an annual fair in Lagos, Nigeria's buzzing commercial capital, that hosted more than 120 artists from 40 African countries and the diaspora. The fair's theme "Who Will Gather Under the Baobab Tree?" aimed to tap into African wisdom to address problems from climate change to political crises. "We wanted to leverage the…
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Ethiopian and Tigray forces launch hotline as new peace talks begin

Ethiopian and Tigray forces launch hotline as new peace talks begin

HEREWARD HOLLAND and TOMMY WILKES THE Ethiopian government and Tigrayan forces have established a telephone hotline to help maintain a ceasefire struck last week, and both sides met in Kenya for a new round of talks on implementing the truce. Ethiopia's government and regional forces from Tigray agreed last Wednesday to cease hostilities after talks mediated by the African Union (AU), a diplomatic breakthrough two years into a war that has killed thousands and displaced millions. The truce has raised hopes humanitarian aid can start moving back into a region where hundreds of thousands face famine. Representatives of Ethiopia's military and government and forces…
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Al Shabaab attack Somali military base, 10 soldiers killed

Al Shabaab attack Somali military base, 10 soldiers killed

ABDI SHEIKH At least 10 soldiers were killed when Somalia's al Shabaab militants assaulted a military base in the central Galgaduud region, a military officer said, days after government forces said they had regained control of the area. The army eventually pushed the militants out of the base in Qayib, a village captured from al Shabaab last week, defence ministry spokesperson Abdullahi Ali Anod told the state news agency SONNA. Major Mohamed Farah, a military officer in the nearby town of Bahdo, said 10 soldiers and 20 al Shabaab fighters were killed. "Our forces are now pursuing the al Shabaab…
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Schools in Scotland, Uganda, Chile among ‘world’s best’

Schools in Scotland, Uganda, Chile among ‘world’s best’

SCHOOLS in Scotland, Uganda, Chile, the Philippines and the United States triumphed at the inaugural "World’s Best School Prizes" for feats including saving mangroves and expanding classrooms in an area hit by war. The five schools shared $250,000 in prize money for supporting pupils and communities, especially during the pandemic, in the awards organised by global body T4 Education. Dunoon Grammar School in Scotland won the category of community collaboration for skill-based courses, including in travel and tourism, design and maritime studies, intended to stem a brain drain. Escuela Emilia Lascar in Penaflor, Chile won for innovation for its "Emilia TV" programme…
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Gunmen abduct at least 10 hospital workers in Nigeria’s Niger state

Gunmen abduct at least 10 hospital workers in Nigeria’s Niger state

GUNMEN have abducted at least 10 healthcare workers in Nigeria's Niger state and killed an unspecified number after bandits invaded a general hospital early, a hospital and a military source said. Armed bandits operating for cash have kidnapped or killed hundreds across northwest Nigeria. Niger state officials have said that the Islamist militant group Boko Haram had taken over multiple communities in the state, offering villagers money and incorporating them into their ranks to fight the government. The hospital source said more than 20 staff were kidnapped, including patient relatives, while the security source said two people had been killed…
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Mali threatens to defend against French sovereignty violations

Mali threatens to defend against French sovereignty violations

MALI'S foreign affairs minister said the military government would exercise its right to self-defence if France continued to undermine the West African country's sovereignty and national security. Speaking at a United Nations Security Council briefing on Mali in New York, Minister Abdoulaye Diop repeated allegations that France had violated its airspace and delivered arms to Islamist militants that have been waging an offensive in northern Mali for the past decade. France has denied this. Its relations with Mali have soured since an August 2020 coup and it is withdrawing troops sent in 2013 to help fight the insurgency. "There needs to be…
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