1Eritrea Can Now Come Up for Air

The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to lift sanctions against Eritrea following its thaw in relations with Ethiopia and other neighboring countries, but kept an arms embargo on Somalia and a ban on trade in charcoal, a key source of money for Shabaab militants.

SOURCES: New York Times

2New Report Shows Use of Modern Contraception on the Rise in Kenya

Beyond Kenya’s report reveals more women and girls than ever before are making the voluntary choice to use contraception in the world’s 69 lowest-income countries. The international report shows the use of modern contraception on the rise in Kenya, preventing over 2 million unintended pregnancies and 460,000 unsafe abortions between July 2017 and July 2018 in Kenya. Kenya has already exceeded its 2020 family planning goals, and is making strong progress, although around 20% of married women aged 15-49 still have unmet need for modern contraception.

SOURCES: Africa.com

3Central African Republic’s Most Wanted

Known as ‘General Force’, Nimery Matar Djamous is accused of war crimes during Seleka fighters’ takeover of the country five years ago and the government of the Central African Republic wants to arrest him. In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, the man in charge of the largely Muslim neighbourhood of PK5 in the capital, Bangui, speaks out.

SOURCES: Al Jazeera

4The African Home for a Return of the Black Diaspora

Bra Fie, which means “Come Home” in a Ghanaian language, is an Afrobeats tune that harks back to the pan-Africanist themes. But it could also be a soundtrack for a potential wave of “homecoming” to Ghana for people of African descent. Aside from sentimental reasons, the return of the African diaspora is economically pragmatic for Ghana. The tourism ministry is coordinating activities for The Year of Return along with private agencies and it hopes the pilgrimages will boost tourism in Ghana.

SOURCES: Quartz Africa

5Rights Groups Call for Better Treatment of the Gay Community

Activists from the Tunisian LGBT association say that while the 2011 revolution had given greater freedoms to civil society groups, this had been accompanied by a rise in discrimination. The group recorded 71 prosecutions for homosexuality and sodomy in 2017, and a further 53 prosecutions so far in 2018. Under article 230 of the penal code, gay or lesbian sex is punishable by up to three years in prison.

SOURCES: The Guardian

6Angola’s Unfriendly Tendencies Shunned

A global rights watchdog has called on Angola to halt mass deportations after more than 400,000 migrants mainly from the Democratic Republic of Congo fled or were expelled from Angola. Human Rights Watch says migrants have been targeted in a massive operation aimed at diamond smuggling. Without producing evidence, the government of President Joao Lourenco has claimed that smuggling was organised and controlled by irregular migrants.

SOURCES: Business Day Live

7Ethiopia’s Athletics Gets a Makeover

Derartu Tulu, the first black African woman to win an Olympic gold medal, has been appointed as interim president of Ethiopia’s Athletics Federation – replacing legendary athlete Haile Gebrselassie. His unexpected resignation on Monday came after protests over poor training facilities in Oromia region, home to many of Ethiopia’s notable athletes.

SOURCES: Ethiosports

8Freedom of Religion in Lagos School

A school in Nigeria’s commercial capital approved the wearing of hijab, or Muslim headscarves to public schools. The issue of hijab had been the subject of litigation in the past going as far as the Appeal Court. The court in 2016 ordered that females be allowed to wear the hijab to school, which the state appealed. The government set up a panel to look into recent controversies that erupted in the wake of students being barred from entering a school premises in September 2018.

SOURCES: Africanews

9A New Farming Technique that’s Changed the Way Kenya Does Things

Tree hopping involves digging up mature trees where they grow close together and relocating them to areas in the forest where there is less. The technique is gaining popularity with Kenyan farmers who are trying to produce more food on limited amounts of arable land without further damaging the environment. Putting some more space between trees can let in more sunlight and make an area’s micro-climate more suitable for farming. Tree hopping allows farmers to legally thin out their forests while helping others boost the number of trees on their land, experts say.

SOURCES: VOA

10The Prince of Wales Travels through Africa

At 70, Prince Charles demonstrates with his recent tour of West Africa that he has no intentions of slowing down.

SOURCES: CNN

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