Mozambique’s Election: Who’s Contesting and What’s at Stake?
Mozambicans are heading to the polls to vote in elections that could, for the first time, usher in a president born after the country’s independence from Portuguese colonisers in 1975…President Filipe Nyusi, 65, of the governing Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) party, will step down after eight years in office…Nearly all candidates have focused on three main issues: Armed conflict in Cabo Delgado…job creation and boosting the economy…climate resilience…Vote counting will start immediately after polls close on Wednesday and partial results will be announced as they are collated. The National Election Commission will announce official tallies after 15 days. Contesting parties can then file objections with the Constitutional Council, which will decide their merit. Al Jazeera
Biden Postpones Trip to Germany and Angola to Monitor Hurricane Milton
President Joe Biden said Tuesday he is postponing a planned trip to Germany and Angola to stay at the White House to monitor Hurricane Milton, as it spins closer to Florida’s Gulf Coast…It was unclear when Biden’s overseas trip might be rescheduled and the White House did not announce new travel dates. The president had been scheduled to depart Thursday for Germany, where he had planned to host a summit on the war in Ukraine with allied nations at a U.S. military base before continuing on to Angola…Biden had promised to visit Africa during his term in office, which ends in January. He said Tuesday that he still intends to make the journey. “I’m still planning on visiting all the places I said I’d be and all the conferences I said I’d participate in,” he said. AP
Russia, Burkina Faso Talk Military Cooperation
Russia’s Defence Minister Andrei Belousov and prime minister of Burkina Faso, Apollinaire J. Kyelem de Tambela, discussed in Moscow expanding military ties, the Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday…Burkina Faso, under military leadership since a 2022 coup, has played host to contingents of the Wagner mercenary force, whose founder Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash in 2024…Moscow has so far invested very little in Africa, according to United Nations data. Its arms exports to sub-Saharan Africa have fallen in recent years, according to 2023 data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. But Russia is still the second-largest supplier of weapons to the region. At the 2023 Russia-Africa Summit in St Petersburg, Putin said Moscow signed military-technical agreements with 40 African countries, which potentially open the door for more Russian arms sales to the region. Reuters
We Need to Work to Bring Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso Back to ECOWAS – President Akufo-Addo
President Nana Akufo-Addo has…stressed that the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger from ECOWAS is not in the best interest of these nations, nor the broader bloc, and urged efforts to bring them back into the fold. In an interview with French news outlet France24, published on October 4, 2024, President Akufo-Addo described the exit of the three nations as “regrettable,” emphasising that while the ECOWAS treaty allows for member states to leave, it would be more beneficial for all involved if they reconsidered their decision…”Even if they wash their hands of us, we will not wash our hands of them.” He also expressed concern over the growing insecurity in the region, noting that the situation in the three countries has not improved following the withdrawal of French troops. Addressing the situation in Niger, President Akufo-Addo condemned the continued detention of the country’s democratically elected President, Mohamed Bazoum, by the military junta, insisting that securing Bazoum’s release remains a priority. Graphic Online
US Slaps Sanctions on Sudan Paramilitary Leader
The United States on Tuesday announced sanctions against a senior leader in war-torn Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for his role in obtaining weapons for the paramilitary organization…Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa was sanctioned “for his involvement in RSF efforts to procure weapons and other military materiel that have enabled the RSF’s ongoing operations in Sudan,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. His actions have fueled war in Sudan “and brutal RSF atrocities against civilians, which have included war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing,” Miller said. AFP
Countless Numbers Could Die in Sudan Without Immediate Action, UN Official Says
“Malnourished children and mothers are dying due to lack of access to care, and cholera is spreading in many parts of [Sudan]. Aid workers face immense challenges,” WHO regional director Hanan Balkhy told a briefing in Cairo. “Without immediate intervention, famine and disease will claim countless more lives.” Estimates of the number of deaths run into tens of thousands but are highly uncertain, with control of the country split between the army and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and health facilities crippled. In the capital, Khartoum, 75% of health facilities are out of operation while the situation in the west and south of the country is worse, according to the WHO. More than 20,000 cholera cases have been recorded this year in half of Sudan’s 18 states, an outbreak spreading faster than another one in 2023, said Richard Brennan, a WHO regional emergency director. An oral vaccination campaign is due to start this week following the arrival of 1.4 million doses, with another 2.2 million doses expected later, he said.
Cholera Cases, Deaths Surge More than 200% in Nigeria
The Nigerian Center for Disease Control said in this week’s epidemiological report that the country has recorded nearly 11,000 cases of cholera this year — a 220% increase compared with the same point in 2023. The report said fatalities over the same periods have increased from 106 to 359 — a rise of 239%. The state of Lagos accounted for 43% of the nation’s cases, while Kano, Katsina, Jigawa and Borno also recorded significant numbers. Last month, the worst flooding in 30 years ravaged conflict-ridden Borno state, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation there. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced and moved to overcrowded camps…“The floods have created ideal conditions for the spread of waterborne diseases like cholera by contaminating water sources and disrupting sanitation systems,” [Borno Health Commissioner Baba Mallam Gana] said…Nigeria’s Health Ministry is sending hundreds of thousands of doses of cholera vaccine to the affected areas. Borno alone received 300,000 doses, and state authorities say the vaccine has been distributed to camps for those displaced by the floods. VOA
Hundreds Dead, More than 1 Million Displaced Due to Niger Floods
Torrential rains in Niger have left 339 people dead and more than 1.1 million displaced since June, state media reported Tuesday, updating a previous toll. Niger’s interior minister last month stated at least 273 were dead and more than 700,000 affected as extreme weather slammed the Sahel nation. As of September 23, the floods had impacted more than 1.1 million people, resulting in 339 fatalities and leaving another 383 injured, state news agency ANP said Tuesday, quoting the country’s civil protection agency…The floods also resulted in “major losses” of equipment, livestock and food supplies…Normally lasting from June to September, Niger’s rainy season often exacts a heavy toll, with 195 people dying in 2022. Scientists have long warned that climate change driven by fossil fuel emissions is making extreme weather events such as floods more frequent, intense and longer-lasting. AFP
An ‘Elegant’ Idea Could Pay Billions to Protect Trees
Brazil is proposing [the Tropical Forests Forever Facility], a fund that would pay countries to protect tropical forests that are crucial to curbing climate change…Farming, logging and other industries that drive forest destruction can boost local economies, but Brazil’s fund would effectively pay countries for services that tropical forests now perform for free, such as storing planet-warming carbon and regulating rain patterns…Countries have been losing roughly nine million acres of tropical forest a year over the past two decades. These forests are crucial for storing planet-warming carbon and curbing biodiversity loss…Here is how it would work: Rich nations and big philanthropies would loan the fund $25 billion, to be repaid with interest…That money would then help attract another $100 billion from private investors. Those investors would be paid a fixed rate of return, just as if they had invested in something with slightly higher projected returns than Treasury bonds. The T.F.F.F. would then reinvest the $125 billion in a diversified portfolio that could generate enough returns to repay investors. The excess returns would be used to pay roughly 70 developing countries based on how much tropical forest they still have standing. The New York Times
Kenya’s Parliament Overwhelmingly Votes to Impeach the Country’s Deputy President
Kenya’s lawmakers approved a motion Tuesday to impeach the country’s deputy president, following daylong discussions and after Rigathi Gachagua appeared in parliament to defend himself against several charges, including allegations that he supported anti-government protests in June. The motion was approved by a 281-44 vote in favor of impeachment, well above the 117 votes constitutionally required. The motion now goes to the parliament’s upper house, which will debate the matter and also hold a vote. For impeachment to be final, it will need the additional backing of two thirds of senators in the upper house. It’s not clear when that vote will take place. Under Kenya’s constitution, the removal from office is automatic if approved by both chambers, though Gachagua can challenge the action in court — something he has said he would do. AP
UN Rights Council Says Human Rights in DR Congo on a Downward Spiral
Kicking off a discussion of the DRC at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged the international community to pay more attention to the plight of Congolese civilians victimized by a “volatile mix of escalating violence, regional and international interests, exploitative businesses and weak rule of law.” He said the number of victims of human rights violations is growing, with armed groups fighting in the eastern provinces responsible for most of these violations, including “deadly attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals.” He said sexual violence is spreading despite efforts to prevent and investigate cases. VOA
UN Weighs Suspending Relief to Ethiopia’s Amhara after Aid Workers Attacked, Document Shows
The United Nations is considering suspending relief operations, including food aid deliveries, in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, following deadly attacks on humanitarian workers, according to a draft proposal seen by Reuters and verified by two diplomats. Five aid workers were killed in the first six months of 2024, 10 were physically assaulted or injured and 11 kidnapped by unidentified criminal groups, according to the document which is dated August 2024…A cessation of relief operations would have a dire impact on more than 2.3 million people in Amhara who rely on food aid to survive, two donor nations and an NGO opposed to the suspension told Reuters…Amhara is home to more than 36 million people as well as the first stop for thousands of refugees fleeing the war in neighbouring Sudan. Fighting between Ethiopia’s army and Amhara Fano militiamen broke out in July 2023 and has killed hundreds and displaced thousands according to U.N. estimates. Reuters
Cameroon Takes Unusual Step of Insisting Its President Has Not Died
Cameroon President Paul Biya is alive and in “excellent” health, the central African country’s government has said in an attempt to quell intense speculation about the wellbeing and whereabouts of the world’s oldest leader…The 91-year-old, who has been in power since 1982, has not been pictured since attending a China-Africa summit in Beijing at the start of September. He missed the UN General Assembly meeting in New York at the end of last month and cancelled a planned appearance at last week’s International Organisation of La Francophonie summit in Paris. The Paris no-show in particular raised eyebrows, given his country’s warm ties with France and his presence at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in the city in July…That Biya did not make the short flight to Paris fuelled speculation in his home country that he was seriously ill, or even dead…The statements are unlikely to quell unease in Cameroon, where the nonagenarian president has become an increasingly isolated figure, with only a small band of advisers and family members, including first lady Chantal Biya, having unfettered access to him. Financial Times
Chagos Islands Returned to Mauritius, but Tensions over Evictions Persist
After decades of legal battles, Britain has agreed to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a former colony. The remote Indian Ocean archipelago will continue to host a US military base…The agreement made on 3 October comes after nearly two years of negotiations and marks a significant turnaround after decades of British dismissals of Mauritian sovereignty claims…Despite the enthusiasm from officials that the deal will resolve “wrongs of the past”, not everyone is satisfied. One ongoing issue is the plight of local people who were forced into exile when the military base was built…Today, around 10,000 Chagossians and their descendants are spread between Mauritius, the Seychelles and Britain…Regardless of the next steps, the deal marks a huge shift in post-colonial relations between the UK and Mauritius, possibly serving as a blueprint for other countries. African Union chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat wrote on X that the October deal “marks a major victory for the cause of decolonisation, international law and the rightful self-determination of the people of Mauritius”. RFI