Author: Jideofor Elumogo

One of Namibia’s opposition presidential candidates said Saturday that his party would reject the outcome of a general election marred by delays, logistical and technical failures.

Partial results showed Panduleni Itula of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) trailing Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, the ruling South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) candidate.

Electoral authorities decided to prolong voting until Saturday after the original election day — Wednesday — was marred by logistical and technology failures that led to hours-long queues.

Itula who finished second in 2019 said extending voting over multiple days undermine’s the vote’s credibility.

He said that his party would seek the nullification of the outcome, suggesting a court petition would follow the declaration of results.

Elsie Nghikembua, chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Namibia, said many people had failed to cast their ballots due to “logistical” challenges.

Namibia’s electoral issues come as Mozambique is engulfed in violent unrest after the long-ruling Frelimo party was declared the winner of an election in October, prompting claims of vote rigging and sparking ongoing violent protests in southern African country.

The Syrian military rushed in reinforcements and struck Idlib city Sunday in an attempt to push back insurgents from advancing farther after seizing Aleppo and surrounding strategic locations in an adjacent province in a surprise offensive.

The insurgents led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham took over most of Aleppo on Saturday and claimed to have entered the city of Hama. There was no independent confirmation of their claim.

The swift and surprise offensive is a huge embarrassment for Syrian President Bashar Assad and raises questions about his troops’ preparedness. It also comes at a time when Assad’s allies — Iran and groups it backs and Russia — are preoccupied with their own conflicts.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travels to Syrian capital Damascus later Sunday. He told reporters that Tehran will back the Syrian government and army. Arab leaders, including Jordan’s King Abdullah II and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in calls with Assad expressed their solidarity with Damascus.

Turkey, a main backer of Syrian opposition groups, said its diplomatic efforts had failed to stop Syrian government attacks on opposition-held areas in recent weeks. Turkish security officials said a limited offensive by the rebels was planned to stop government attacks and allow civilians to return, but the offensive expanded as Syrian government forces began to retreat from their positions.

The insurgency, led by Salafi jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and which includes Turkey-backed fighters, launched their offensive on Wednesday with a two-pronged attack on Aleppo and the Idlib countryside, before moving toward Hama province. In Aleppo province, they captured a strategic town that lies on the highway linking Aleppo with Damascus and the coast.

Rebel commander Col. Hassan Abdulghani said that despite the government counteroffensive, his fighters were making gains in Aleppo. He says they took control of Sheikh Najjar, also known as the Aleppo Industrial City, Aleppo’s military academy and the field artillery college.

Abdulghani said 65 Syrian troops were taken prisoner in eastern Aleppo.

Elsewhere, he said the insurgents advanced in the Idlib countryside, putting all of the province under their control.

The United Nations special envoy for Syria said the shock push by the rebels poses a risk to regional security and called on resuming diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

“I have repeatedly warned of the risks of escalation in Syria, of the dangers of mere conflict management rather than conflict resolution,” Geir Pedersen said in a statement. He said the reality is that no Syrian party or grouping of actors can resolve the conflict via military means.

Drone strikes by Mali’s military regime killed eight Tuareg rebel leaders in the town of Tinzaouatine in the north of the country, a rebel spokesman said Sunday. It was the first time since the start of the rebellion in 2012 that so many Taureg leaders have been killed in a single attack.

“Several synchronized drone strikes martyred some Azawad leaders on December 1, 2024, in Tinzaouatine, near the Algerian border,” spokesman Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane said in a statement.

Azawad is the term used by the separatists for northern Mali. The statement from the separatists lists the names of eight Tuareg chiefs, the best known of whom is Fahad Ag Al Mahmoud, Secretary General of the Gatia, a Tuareg armed group.

Later Sunday evening, the General Staff of the Malian armed forces confirmed the deaths of the rebel leaders, whom it described as terrorists, “in a special operation.” The military statement was broadcast on the Malian national television channel ORTM.

“Clearly this is a major loss to northern Malian groups since among the victims there are key leaders who have been influential in their communities,” said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Moroccan think tank. “However, it will further intensify the anti-sentiment toward Bamako, and the setback doesn’t mean the fight is over.”

He said “the junta has demonstrated with these airstrikes that it is not afraid to use the air assets (drones) it acquired anytime it can.”

The attack by Mali’s military regime comes a day after the armed groups in the north announced they were merging into a single political-military entity, now called the Azawad Liberation Front. The new group’s mission is “the total liberation of Azawad and the formation of the Azawad Authority”, said Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesman for the groups, in a press release dated Nov. 30.

Fifty-six people were killed and several injured in a stampede at a soccer stadium in southern Guinea, following clashes between fans, Guinea’s government said Monday.

Authorities are conducting an investigation to establish those responsible for the stampede on Sunday, Communications Minister Fana Soumah said in a statement read on national television.

The stampede erupted in the packed stadium as security forces attempted to control clashes among fans, local media reported. Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah addressed the tragedy on the platform X (formerly Twitter), stating, “Victims were recorded during the stampede.” While he did not specify the death toll, Bah assured that regional authorities are working to restore calm in the area.

The National Alliance for Alternation and Democracy, a coalition of political parties, issued a statement confirming that the disaster resulted in numerous deaths and injuries.

This tragic event highlights ongoing challenges with crowd management and stadium safety in Guinea. Investigations are expected as families and the community mourn the loss of lives.

Local media reported that security forces tried to use teargas to restore calm after the chaos that followed a disputed penalty.

“This (the disputed penalty) angered supporters who threw stones. This is how the security services used tear gas,” the local Media Guinea reported. It said several of those killed were children while some of the injured being treated at a regional hospital are in critical condition.

Videos that appeared to be from the scene showed a section of the stadium shouting and protesting the refereeing before the clashes broke out as fans poured onto the field.

People were running as they tried to escape from the stadium, many of them jumping the high fence.

Videos also showed many people lying on the floor in what looked like a hospital as a crowd gathered nearby, some assisting the wounded.

The National Alliance for Alternation and Democracy coalition called for an investigation. It said the tournament was organized to drum support for the “illegal and inappropriate” political ambition of the military leader.

The military has led Guinea since soldiers ousted President Alpha Conde in 2021. It is one of a growing number of West African countries, including Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, where the military has taken power and delayed a return to civilian rule.

Doumbouya overran the president three years ago, saying he prevented the country from slipping into chaos and chastised the previous government for broken promises. He has, however, been criticized for not meeting the expectations that he raised.

Mauritius’ Prime Minister said he has ordered an independent review of an agreement with the United Kingdom which returns control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

Navin Ramgoolam told parliament that the findings would be tabled before the cabinet for consideration.

Under the deal which is yet to be signed, the UK would surrender the Islands to Mauritius but keep Diego Garcia which houses a major base for US and UK troops.

The deal was agreed in October before Ramgoolam shot to power with his Change Coalition in elections in November.

During campaigning, Ramgoolam and his allies criticized the agreement as ‘sell-out’ by former Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth.

The Chagos islands, an archipelago of about 60 islands have been under British control since 1814.

In a 2019 advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice determined that the U.K. had illegally divided Mauritius, prompting a UN resolution criticizing London’s ‘colonization’ of the islands.

The deal, which paves the way for the potential return of people who were forcibly removed from the islands has been criticized by the UK opposition.

At least 100 people, most of them women, were missing after a boat transporting them to a food market capsized along the River Niger in northern Nigeria, authorities said Friday.

The boat was taking the passengers from Kogi state along the river to neighbouring Niger early Friday morning when it capsized, Niger State Emergency Management Agency spokesman Ibrahim Audu told The Associated Press.

At least eight people were confirmed dead at the scene while local divers were trying to rescue others, the local Channels Television reported, citing eyewitness accounts.

Authorities have not confirmed what caused the sinking. However, local media reported that the boat was carrying more than 200 passengers, suggesting it might have been overloaded. Overcrowding in vehicles is common in remote parts of Nigeria where the lack of good roads leaves many with no alternative routes.

Officials in Kogi are yet to locate the exact location of the incident and were seeking assistance from other agencies, according to Justin Uwazuruonye, who is in charge of Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency operations in the state.

Such deadly incidents are increasingly becoming a source of concern in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, as authorities struggle to enforce safety measures and regulations for water transportation.

Most of the accidents have been attributed to overcrowding and the lack of maintenance of the boats, often built locally to accommodate as many passengers as possible in defiance of safety measures.

Authorities have not been able to enforce the use of life jackets on such trips, often because of lack of availability or cost.

South Africa is poised to take over the leadership of the G20 on Sunday.

This is the first time an African country is taking the presidency of a Group of 20 countries.

Johannesburg will be tasked to lead the group until the end of 2025 when the United States will take over the helm of G20 leadership.

The G20 group is targeting to address inclusive growth and climate change risks bumping up against the hard reality of trade wars and diplomatic tensions.

Leaders of the world’s 20 major economies had gathered in November and made several declarations.

The document, which includes calls for a global pact to combat hunger, more aid for Gaza and the end of the war in Ukraine, was heavy on generalities and short on specifics.

The joint statement was endorsed by group members but fell short of complete unanimity. It also called for a future global tax on billionaires and reforms allowing the eventual expansion of the U.N. Security Council beyond its five permanent members.

At first, the suggestion to try farming maggots spooked Mari Choumumba and other farmers in Nyangambe, a region in southeastern Zimbabwe where drought wiped out the staple crop of corn.

After multiple cholera outbreaks in the southern African nation due to extreme weather and poor sanitation, flies were largely seen as something to exterminate, not breed.

Experts from the government and the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, broached the idea. But many stepped back when told it was about being trained to farm maggots for animal feed and garden manure.

“When this concept was introduced to us we were just coming out of the Covide19 pandemic and people were excited thinking that donors had brought food aid,” says Choumumba.

“But after realising that this was about black soldier flies and maggots most people then began to shun the idea because the misconception was that all flies cause cholera.”

Fast forward 12 months, and the 54-year-old walks with a smile to a smelly cement pit covered by wire mesh where she feeds rotting waste to maggots — her new meal ticket.

After harvesting the insects about once a month, Choumumba turns them into protein-rich feed for her free-range chickens that she eats and sells.

And maggot farming is good for the environment too.

“Nowadays, nothing goes to waste or is thrown away, whether it’s corn leaves, banana skins or orange peels,” she says.

“Instead of throwing that away and littering the environment, we tell our fellow villagers to bring that to us, we have good use for it, it is food for our maggots,” she adds.

From bare survival, it is becoming a profitable venture.

After harvesting the insects, Choumumba mixes them with drought-tolerant crops such as millets, cowpeas, and sunflower and a bit of salt.

With 15 kilogrammes of maggots harvested every 21 days, she can produce about 375 kilogrammes of chicken feed.

Choumambo sells eggs and free-range chickens to restaurants, and some of the feed to fellow villagers at a fraction of the cost charged by stores for traditional animal feed.

Before rural farmers took up maggot farming, 80 per cent of chicken production costs were gobbled up by feed. But the United States Agency for International Development says this has now dropped by about 40 per cent.

The maggots are offspring of the black soldier fly, which has a life cycle of just weeks, during which it lays between 500 and 900 eggs.

The larvae devour decaying organic items, from rotting fruit and vegetables to kitchen scraps and animal manure, and turn them into a rich protein source for livestock.

“This is an enabler because the black soldier fly maggots, or the meal, in terms of protein composition alone, is between 55 to 60 per cent crude protein,” says Robert Musundire.

He is a professor specialising in agricultural science and entomology at Chinhoyi University of Technology in Zimbabwe, which breeds the insects and helps farmers with breeding skills.

Donors and governments have pushed for more black soldier fly maggot farming in Africa because of its low labour and production costs and huge benefits to agriculture, the continent’s mainstay that is under pressure from climate change.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for the banned substance, a heart medication known as TMZ.

Swiatek failed an out-of-competition drug test in August, and the International Tennis Integrity Agency said Thursday (Nov. 28) it accepted her explanation that the result was unintentional.

It was caused by the contamination of a nonprescription medication, melatonin, that Swiatek was taking for issues with jet lag and sleeping.

Swiatek who shared a video on her Instagram account explained how investigating the contamination was a tough period for her since she was unable to defend her ranking and play tournaments in Asia.

The 23-year-old tenniswoman thanked her supporters and rejoiced at the idea of being able to play again soon.

Chad’s government is ending a defense cooperation agreement with France, its former colonial ruler, to redefine the nation’s sovereignty.

The decision marks a historic turning point after the Central African nation gained independence more than six decades ago, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abderaman Koulamallah said in a statement Thursday.

It said the decision to end the agreement would allow Chad to redefine its strategic partnerships in line with national priorities.

There was no immediate response from France’s government.

Chad was one of the last countries in the region in which France maintained a large military presence, having been ousted in recent years from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso after years of fighting Islamic extremists alongside regional troops. Those countries have inched closer to Russia, which has mercenaries deployed across the Sahel, the vast expanse below the Sahara desert.

Chad’s interim president, Mahamat Deby Itno, seized power after his father, who ran the country for more than three decades, was killed fighting rebels in 2021. Last year, the government announced it was extending the 18-month transition for two more years, which led to protests across the country.

Analysts say Deby has mistrusted France for a while, and the decision creates an opportunity for other nations, notably Russia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

“Deby has been seeking to diversify its security partnerships away from exclusive deals. He doesn’t trust (French President Emmanuel) Macron. … He can also not ignore widespread anti-French sentiment,” said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at Konrad Adenauer foundation in Mali.

France has maintained about 1,000 troops in Chad, and the statement didn’t specify when they have to leave.

Chad said the decision in no way calls into question the countries’ historical ties and that it wants to maintain relations in other areas of common interest.

France still has 350 troops in Senegal, another former colony, which remains a security partner in the region. But the French military presence there also appears to be under threat.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal said that it was “obvious” that soon there won’t be any French soldiers on Senegalese soil, in an interview with Le Monde which was published hours after the declaration by Chadian authorities. Faye added that the relationship with the former colonizer had to be redefined.

“It’s not because the French have been there since the slavery period that it’s impossible to do otherwise,” he said.