CONTINENTAL DRIFT
Ethiopia gets royal lock back
The National Army Museum in the United Kingdom is due to return a lock of hair that belonged to Ethiopia’s Emperor Tewodros II. The Ethiopian government last year stepped up its campaign for important artefacts looted by British soldiers to be returned. The emperor is said to have taken his own life towards the end of the 1868 British invasion, rather than be taken prisoner. He used a duelling pistol given to him by Queen Victoria. Ethiopia is now seeking the return of the bones of Tewodros’s son Alemayehu, who died in Britain.
The king and Cyril meet
President Cyril Ramaphosa and King Mswati III met this week in eswatini to discuss strategies to improve bilateral relations between the two countries. South Africa is the kingdom’s largest trading partner and has exported R30-billion over the past two years, a figure the countries hope to increase. South Africa and the Kingdom of eswatini cemented their relations in 2004 when they formed the Joint Bilateral Commission on Co-operation to ensure that signed agreements in several industries are implemented.
Mauritius going batty
Mass culls since 2015 have resulted in Mauritian fruit bats being driven to near extinction on the same island where other species — including the flightless dodo, a number of other birds and the giant tortoise — went extinct. It is thought that more than 50 000 of the bats, also known as flying foxes, have been killed to protect fruit in orchards. A group of scientists is suing the government on the grounds of animal welfare, saying the bats account for only 10% of damage to fruit.
Togo aims for the sun
The government of Togo — where only 28% of the population have electricity — is turning to solar solutions to power up their country. The country hopes to provide electricity to everyone by 2030. About 10 000 kits were installed in rural Togo last year. Another 100 000 households are due to be connected by 2020, and a total of 550 000 by 2030. The government will issue monthly vouchers to households operating these systems to cover the price of the hardware.
Zambian fixer in a fix
Zambia’s anti-corruption commission is investigating Boniface Mwamelo, the former vice-president of the country’s football association, for match fixing. Last week Mwamelo was handed a lifetime ban after it was alleged that he received bribes from a known international match fixer. According to the BBC, Mwamelo has denied any wrongdoing and has indicated that he will appeal the sentence.
Sour milk
A 25-year-old Nigerian woman was arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi for attempting to smuggle narcotics out of Kenya. Princess Okoye had allegedly swallowed 15 drug pellets and 77 were hidden in plastic bottles of milk. The woman was about to board a flight to Italy when she was caught by Kenyan police. She has not been charged but remains under observation. — Briefs compiled by Aaisha Dadi Patel, Mashadi Kekana and Sarah Smit, sourced from Al Jazeera, the BBC, EWN and National Geographic