NDNU African Studies 2019

Kruger National Park were a very misfortunate poacher met his faith.  The man’s accomplices in the illegal poaching told his relatives that they had been in the park to poach rhinos on Tuesday night when he was killed by an elephant, the four accomplices were arrested after their testimony for illegal poaching and trespassing . A search party was sent, this included vehicles, airplanes and even rangers on foot, they were unable t o find the body as night was approaching. On Thursday morning the search body found remains.  Glenn Phillips gave his condolences to the dead man's family and informed that his corpse was eaten by lions, he stated that "e ntering Kruger National Park illegally and on foo t is not wise, i t holds many dangers and this incident is evidence of that. Kruger National Park is two million hectares and is home to animals such as lions, elephants, rhinoceroses, leopards, and African buffaloes.  Rhino horn is worth about $9,000 per pound in Asia,

Kampala Uganda is one of the most popular safari destinations, despite its beautiful vegetation and ecos ystem  Kimberly Sue Endicott, and the guide is Jean-Paul Mirenge Remezo were kidnapped. A group of gunmen stopped the tourist vehicle and seized the guide and women, they later took Kimberly's phone and contacted the police wanting $500,000 dollars in ransom. This is not the first time this has happened, in 1999 eight tourists were kidnapped and four Ugandan park employees were kidnapped and later killed in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The kidnappers are believed to be part of Hutu militia that took part in the 1994 Rwanda Genocide.  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/03/world/africa/american-kidnap-safari-uganda.html

Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, nations that are devastated by Cyclone Idai, considered to be a category four storm. The storm brought weeks of rain which resulted in floods and strong winds which damage infrastructure. Mozambique of all nations suffered the most deaths from the storm, a total of 450 people died compared to Zimbabwe with 260 deaths and Malawi with 55 deaths. An estimate of three million people are affected by the storm,  Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations considers this storm to be one of the worst weather-related catastrophes in African h istory.  The first cases of cholera have been reported by local health officials in Beira, the World Health Organization is also expecting a spike in malaria cases. Aid efforts are affected by flooded roads and bridges. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/world/africa/cyclone-idai-africa-mozambique-zimbabwe.html

US military airstrikes in Somalia have killed and wounded nearly two dozen civilians reported by an international human rights group, but US Africa Command officials deny the allegation stating that their military has investigated 18 cases of possible civilian casualties since 2017 and found that none were credible. US defense officials state that casualty allegations in Somalia are questionable because al-Shabaab militants make false claims and force local citizens to do the same.  The rate of US airstrikes in Somalia has escalated with the Trump administration, from a total of 47 airstrikes in 2018 to 28 already this year, more than 230 militants have been killed in 2019, compared to a total of 338 killed of 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/19/somalia-us-airstrikes-civilian-deaths-amnesty-international

Africa's history is laced with decades of colonial exploitation, but they have since the early 2000's china has shown a lot of strategic interest. China is after resources such as oil, gas, and metalsin order to meet their quota of energy imports and construction deamnds in order to sustain their manufacturing industry. Many African leaders embrace and promote economic engagemtn with China, it does offer some benefit such as improving the continesnt infrastructure deficite. The problem is many African nations such as  Zambia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mozambique, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti are in debt to China forcing many of them to hand over assets or resources since many loans have a form of collateral in the terms of agreement.  In the DRC, in return for the US$9 billion loan to upgrade road and rail systems that connect routes to extractive industries, China gained rights to extract up to 10 million tons of copper and 420 000 tons

A small clinic in the heart of Bangui located in the Central African Republic is changing lives by providing many amputees with prosthetics. Due to the rise of conflict in CAR, many civilians had been in the crossfire of the conflict resulting in the need for prosthetics. The clinic in Bangui is the only place where prosthetics are available in CAR. In the past six years, the demand for prosthetic has risen,  the UN reported that more than six in 10 people in CAR require urgent humanitarian assistance.  Last year 353 patients received an artificial limb, a fraction of the number of amputees who are still waiting for treatment.  Anrac is planning to build new premises this year, which is set to be 15 times as big and will include dormitories for those who travel from long distances, which will be supported by the ICRC and the government. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/feb/19/prosthetics-hope-central-african-republic