Kenya torches massive ivory bonfires to save elephants

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who was the first to light the semi-circle of tusks expected to burn for days in Nairobi's national park, on Friday demanded a total ban on trade in ivory to end trafficking and prevent the extinction of elephants in the wild.

"To lose our elephants would be to lose a key part of the heritage that we hold in trust. Quite simply, we will not allow it," Kenyatta said at a meeting of African heads of state and conservationists. "We will not be the Africans who stood by as we lost our elephants."

The historic bonfires were the largest-ever torching of ivory, involving 105 tonnes from thousands of dead elephants, dwarfing by seven times any stockpile burned before.

Another 1.35 tonnes of rhino horn will also be burned, representing the killing of some 340 of the endangered animals.

In response to the burning, France announced on Saturday it will ban all trade in ivory on French territory.

Shocking scale of slaughter

Africa is home to between 450,000 to 500,000 elephants, but more than 30,000 are killed every year on the continent to satisfy demand for ivory in Asia, where raw tusks sell for around $1,000 (€800) a kilo (2.2 pounds).

The pyres prepared in Nairobi contain some 16,000 tusks and pieces of ivory.

Kenya has a long history of ivory burnings, spearheading a wider movement of public demonstrations across the world, but nothing on this scale before.

On the black market, such a quantity of ivory could sell for over $100 million, and the rhino horn could raise as much as $80 million.

Rhino horn can fetch as much as $60,000 per kilo -- more than gold or cocaine.

But despite the staggering size of the piles to be burned, totalling some five percent of global stocks, the ivory represents just a fraction of the animals killed every year.

'Extreme temperatures'

The ivory here seized from poachers and smugglers over several years -- plus a small fraction from animals who died naturally -- is equivalent to just a quarter of the number of elephants massacred every year to feed demand in growing economies in Asia, eager for an elephant's tooth as a status symbol.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) banned the ivory trade in 1989.

Activists say destroying the stocks will put anti-trafficking efforts at the top of the agenda at the next CITES conference.

China, which has tightened its laws on ivory imports, allows the resale of ivory bought before the 1989 ban, but activists say the trade in legal ivory acts as a cover for illegal imports and call for a complete ban on sales.

Ivory itself does not burn, and so the fire will be fuelled by a mix of thousands of litres diesel and kerosene injected though steel pipes buried in the ground leading into the heart of the pyramids.

A former film special effects specialist turned pyrotechnic expert has organised the fuel-fed fires, drawing on his expertise to ensure the stockpiles burn as planned despite torrential rain, and the area around the ivory burn a muddy quagmire.

'Corruption, greed and incompetence'

Richard Leakey, Kenya Wildlife Service chief, promised the ivory piles "will burn, even if it snows".

The ceremony, expected to be attended by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and President Ali Bongo from Gabon, is due to begin at around 3pm (1200 GMT).

UN Environment Programme deputy chief Ibrahim Thiaw on warned Saturday that "extinction is already happening" as he backed the burning, saying it showed how "efforts to tackle this crisis are increasingly backed by a growing public, political and private sector force for change".

But Kenyan media, who have covered multiple ivory burns ever since the first large pyre was torched in 1989, as well as the killing of elephants that continued unabated once the publicity event was over, appeared far more cynical.

All three main newspapers ran cartoons questioning the long term impact and motivation, pointing to the government's accountability in allowing the animals to be killed in the first place, and warning that without tackling corruption, poaching would continue.

The Standard newspaper's cartoon showed one image of the pyre on fire today, and another tomorrow with vultures marked corruption, greed and incompetence feasting on a freshly killed elephant.

• Equatorial Guinea
• presidential elections

Africa

Equatorial Guinea president extends 36-year rule

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© Pius Utomi Ekpei, AFP | Archival picture shows Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema

Text by NEWS WIRES

Latest update : 2016-04-28

Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has won re-election, securing 93.7 percent of votes cast in an April 24 poll to extend his 37-year rule over the Central African oil producer, a government statement said on Thursday.

Obiang, Africa’s longest-serving leader, has ruled the former Spanish colony since 1979 when he staged a bloody military coup and ousted his uncle, who was later executed.

Obiang’s closest challenger in the polls was Avelino Mocache Benga, who won just 1.5 percent of the vote, according to complete provisional results.

Turnout was 92.9 percent, the statement from Equatorial Guinea’s Office of Information and Press said.

With territory divided between the African mainland and islands in the Gulf of Guinea, Equatorial Guinea boasts the highest GDP per capita in Africa thanks to its extensive oil and gas reserves.

However, it ranks 144 out of 187 states listed on the United Nations’ 2014 Human Development Index.

Critics say oil money is funnelled to a rich elite while much of the country lives in poverty.

A 2004 U.S. Senate probe showed millions of dollars channelled by Obiang and his relatives into the disgraced Riggs Bank.

(REUTERS)

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga speaks to FRANCE 24

In tonight's bulletin: Raila Odinga reacts to the collapse of the ICC's case against William Ruto; Unicef says Boko Haram is using children as suicide bombers in one out of five attacks; Italy's foreign minister visits Tripoli to boost the unity government; and the deputy leader of South Sudan's rebels arrives in Juba under a peace deal. 

The UN highlights the plight of the growing number of children being used as suicide bombers by Boko Haram. Describing them as victims, not perpetrators, UNICEF reckons many are captives who are drugged or brainwashed by the Nigerian extremists exploiting them.

Also, in the hope that Libya's UN-backed unity government can make inroads into returning stability to the country, Italy's foreign minister heads to Tripoli in a show of support for the fragile administration.

And we are joined by Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga to discuss his take on the ICC's approach to Africa, the dropping of charges against Vice President William Ruto and his plans for 2017 elections.

South Africa imports U.S. white maize for first time since 2004

A hawker prepares a cob of corn at his makeshift shop in Soweto, January 27, 2016.

Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko

JOHANNESBURG South Africa imported white maize from the United States last week for the first time since 2004, the country's Grain Information Service (SAGIS) said on Tuesday.White maize is the staple source of calories in South Africa and industry sources estimate imports of over a million tonnes of this variety of the grain in the coming marketing season between May and April next year after the domestic crop was scorched by drought.
In the current marketing year, which ends April 30th, South Africa has already imported over 70,000 tonnes of white maize from Mexico and Zambia, according to SAGIS data.
Last week it imported 1,330 tonnes from the United States, the data showed.
Wandile Sihlobo, economist with producer group Grain SA, said it was the first time South Africa had imported U.S. white maize since 2004.
He said the importers probably wanted to check the quality of the U.S. white maize and also ensure it was not genetically modified (GMO). Most of South Africa's maize crop is GMO but it differs from the U.S. varieties.
"If it's fine, we might see an increase in imports from the United States," Sihlobo said.
Zambia and other countries in the region have also been hit by drought and so will not be able to export enough white maize to meet South Africa's needs. That leaves Mexico and the United States as the main sources for the grain.
The white maize contract for July eased 1.57 percent on Tuesday to 4,440 rand ($310.90) a ton but remains within range of its historic peak of 5,165 rand a ton scaled in January, according to Thomson Reuters data.

South Sudan peace at risk - monitors

Image copyright AFP

Image caption Riek Machar (R) is to be vice-president in a new unity government led by President Salva Kiir (L)

South Sudan strife

The peace deal in South Sudan is at risk after the failure of rebel leader Riek Machar to return to the capital, Juba, the monitors who brokered the agreement have warned.

He had been due on Monday to take up the post of first vice-president in a new unity government.

This is a key part of the deal aimed at ending more than two years of conflict.

The US said it was disappointed by Mr Machar's "wilful decision" not to abide by his own commitments.

His team said the delay was caused by logistical and administrative issues and that he planned to return on Wednesday.

A statement from the government on Tuesday had said Mr Machar's return was delayed as "he wanted to come with an arsenal of arms... anti-tanks, laser guided missiles and heavy machine guns".

Chairman of the regional monitors, Botswana's former President Festus Mogae, urged both sides to "ensure that the spirit of reconciliation, compromise and dialogue embodied by the agreement" be protected.

This view had been echoed by US State Department spokesman John Kirby, who said that the US and other partners had gone to great lengths to facilitate Mr Machar's return.

"His failure to go to Juba despite efforts from the international community places the people of South Sudan at risk of further conflict and suffering," he said.

It also undermined "the peace agreement's reform pillars, which are demilitarising South Sudan, injecting transparency of public finances, and pursuing justice and reconciliation, all of which offer South Sudan a chance for renewal," the spokesman added.

The civil war broke out over tensions between President Salva Kiir and Mr Machar, who was sacked as vice-president in July 2013.

Then, in December 2013, Mr Machar was accused of trying to organise a coup. He denied the accusation but it set off a round of tit-for-tat killings, which developed into a full-blown conflict.

The government and the rebels have been slow to implement the peace deal, with reports of ceasefire violations on both sides.

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South Sudan: The world's youngest country

• Split from Sudan in July 2011 after an independence referendum
• One of Africa's least-developed economies. Highly oil-dependent
• Relations with Sudan strained by disputes over oil revenue sharing and borders
• Power struggle led to civil war in December 2013
• An estimated 2.2 million fled their homes during conflict
• A tentative, internationally mediated, peace agreement signed in August 2015

Zambia xenophobic riots: Two burned alive in Lusaka

 

               Shops have been broken into and looted

                

Two people were burned to death on Monday during xenophobic violence in Zambia's capital, Lusaka, police have said in a statement.

The riots started after rumours that Rwandans were behind recent ritual killings in the city.

The two were Zambian nationals killed "in the confusion" Home Affairs Minister Davies Mwila reportedly said.

More than 250 people have been arrested after more than 60 Rwandan-owned shops were looted in two days of violence.

The two Zambians had been burned with firewood and vehicle tyres, according to police quoted by the AFP news agency.

Six people have been murdered since March and their body parts removed.

Rumours circulated that the body parts would be used as charms to ensure success in business.

Police spokeswoman Charity Munganga urged Zambians not to believe "false rumours".

"No baby or human body parts were found in any fridge belonging to any foreign national. These statements are coming from people with criminal minds to create alarm among the members of the public and justify their criminality," she said in a statements.

          

She warned that it was an offence to spread rumours that caused alarm and the police would not hesitate to arrest those doing so "regardless of the medium they are using".

"We are appealing to the members of the public not to believe any statement they see on social media which is not confirmed by the police."

Rwandans are the largest group of immigrants in Zambia, owning shops in the densely populated areas which have been affected by the riots.

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Why are 6,000 Rwandans living in Zambia?

BBC Great Lakes service analysis:
In the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, two million ethnic Hutus fled as the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) rebels captured the capital Kigali in July, ending 100 days of ethnic killings. Some 800,000 people had been slaughtered by Hutu extremists.
Many of those who left settled in camps set up across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
But others continued walking - some across the vast country into Angola, before settling in neighbouring Zambia, in the Meheba refugee camp in north-west of the country where many stayed for nearly two decades.
In July 2013, the UN said it was safe for Rwandans across Africa to go back home, and revoked their refugee status, encouraging voluntary repatriation.
Despite diplomatic efforts and assurances, about 4,000 Rwandans in Zambia do not want to go back - and are trying to get Zambian citizenship.
In the last five years, they have been joined by several hundred Rwandans who say Zambia is more conducive for business, as taxes are not as high as at home.
Rwanda: 100 days of slaughter

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The BBC's Meluse Kapatamoyo in Lusaka says the riots began in two poor neighbourhoods on Monday and spread to other areas on Tuesday.
Young men ransacked shops, possibly reflecting growing frustration at the high levels of unemployment and the rising cost of living, our correspondent says.
Riot police had to be deployed and many Rwandans fled to police stations to take shelte              
Ms Munganga said police officers were still deployed to all areas. No rioting has been reported on Wednesday.
The violence shocked many Zambians, who say they cannot recall such hostility towards foreigners, our reporter says.
Ritual killings are also rare in in the southern African nation, she says.
The home affairs minister said on Tuesday, after visiting areas hit by the riots, that 11 people had been detained on suspicion of being involved in ritual killing

French & UK envoy's visit Libya for the first time since 2014

The ambassadors of Britain, France and Spain arrived in the Libyan capital on Thursday to support the new unity government seeking to end the country’s turmoil, an AFP journalist said.

It is the first visit by the European envoys to Tripoli since European Union member states decided to close their embassies in mid-2014 because of unrest.

French ambassador Antoine Sivan, British envoy Peter Millet of Britain and Spain’s Jose Antonio Bordallo arrived at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport before heading to the naval base where the unity government has set up operations.

World powers see the establishment of the unity cabinet as vital to tackling a raging jihadist insurgency and rampant people smuggling in the North African state.

The oil-rich country has had two rival administrations since mid-2014 when a militia alliance overran Tripoli, setting up its own authority and forcing the recognised parliament to flee to the remote east.

Italy’s Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said during a visit to Libya on Tuesday that embassies would be reopened in the capital in “the near future”.