Gaddafi’s ‘Flying Palace’ returns home after nearly a decade
A private plane belonging to Libya’s late leader Muammar Gaddafi has landed in the capital Tripoli after nearly a decade in France for safekeeping and maintenance, domestic and pan-Arab outlets have reported.
The giant plane, an Airbus A340, flew over the skies of Tripoli before landing at Mitiga International Airport near the capital city, pan-Arab Al Arabiya TV highlighted on the morning of 21 June.
Several media outlets quoted statements from Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who was at the airport to see the plane arrive the previous evening.
He said that the plane’s maintenance and other procedures had been completed, with the interim government paying all the needed costs for its return to Libya, the prime minister’s office announced the same evening on Facebook.
Mr Dbeibah said that of the remaining 14 jets, 12 were scheduled to fly back to Libya, while the government was working on the return from abroad of the two outstanding ones.
According to Al Arabiya, Gaddafi’s jet, also known as the “Flying Palace”, flew at low altitude over Tripoli’s historical landmarks and circled the area before touching down.
Speaking to journalists about the plane, Mr Dbeibah said “the Libyan people are the ones who will decide its fate” and whether it would be used by the authorities or for other, public purposes, according to Al Arabiya.
He noted that the famous plane’s return to the country was a “positive step for Libya, its security and wealth”, the channel said.
The luxurious plane, described by some as “the Airbus with the [James] Bond villain interior”, has attracted the attention of international media over the past years.
Gaddafi – who led Libya for six decades – and who was known as an eccentric figure who appeared on the world’s stage in his own unique style, was killed in his hometown of Sirte in October 2011 during hostilities triggered following a popular rebellion in February the same year.
Libya’s new governing authority, the Government of National Unity (GNU) led by Mr Dbeibah, took over power from the previous Tripoli-based government and was sworn in in March following elections earlier this year in a UN-sponsored process.
Zambia’s first leader, Kenneth Kaunda to be interred on July 7
Zambia’s first leader, Kenneth Kaunda to be interred on July 7
Zambia’s founding president Kenneth Kaunda will be buried on July 7, three weeks after he died aged 97, the presidency announced on Monday.
The hero of the struggle against white rule in southern Africa “shall be put to rest… at a very private ceremony for family and selected invited mourners,” Vice President Inonge Wina said on state television.
He will be buried at the country’s presidential burial site situated opposite the cabinet office in Lusaka, following a state memorial to be held at the city’s 60,000-seat National Heroes Stadium on July 2.
In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, foreign leaders may be accompanied by just one official, she said.
Ahead of the funeral, Kaunda’s remains will be transported to the country’s 10 provinces starting Wednesday for people to pay their last respects to Zambia’s founding president, who ruled from 1964 until 1991 when he lost power to labour leader Fredrick Chiluba.
Wina said Kaunda’s body will be in a closed casket.
Kaunda died Thursday at a military hospital where he had been admitted days earlier with pneumonia.
The river of boiling lava stopped short of Goma, a city of two million just south of the volcano.
Horror of Congo’s Mount Nyiragongo volcanic eruption
Hundreds of residents have been returning to their destroyed houses after Mount Nyiragongo erupted on Saturday, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The river of boiling lava stopped short of Goma, a city of two million just south of the volcano.
The lava halted near Buhene district, on the outskirts of Goma, burying hundreds of houses and even large buildings.
The AFP news agency has filed pictures from the affected areas.
Nigeria: Army Chief, wife die in air crash 2 weeks after presidency alleged plans to overthrow Buhari
Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru on Friday died, alongside his aides, in an air crash of Nigeria’s military aircraft Beachcraft 350. Attahiru was in Kaduna, North-Central to attend an official meeting
The aircraft crashed at the airport’s runway about 6pm. Attahiru’s wife, Fatimah is reported to have died alongside 7 other occupants of the aircraft.
President Muhammadu Buhari has described Attahiru’s death as the one that hit the “ Nigeria’s underbelly”.
Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigeria, Akin Olateru, said eight souls died onboard.
“Beachcraft 350. 8 souls on board. Unfortunately all dead,” he wrote.
Also, Nigerian Air force spokesperson Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, confirmed that a crash involving its plane occurred in Kaduna but did not provide any details of those onboard.
“An air crash involving a @NigAirForce aircraft occurred this evening near the Kaduna International Airport. The immediate cause of the crash is still being ascertained. More details to follow soon,” Gabkwet said in a tweet.
General Attahiru with Army Number 8406 was appointed army chief by President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021. He was born on August 10, 1966.
He is from Kaduna North Local Government Area of Kaduna state and a member of the Regular Course 35 of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).
Before his appointment as the Chief of Army Staff, he was the General Officer Commanding 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu. He was also a former Theatre Commander of the Operation Lafiya Dole.
Two weeks ago, Nigeria’s Presidency raised alarm over ‘unimpeachable evidence’ that some people wanted to topple the government of Muhammadu Buhari in an undemocratic way.
However, the Nigerian defence issued a statement, saying that the military was solidly behind the administration of Buhari, warning politician to desist from plans to topple the government.
The Guardian of Nigeria reported that what began as a rumour or idle talk – whispers of a putsch – gathered a life of its own as state actors kept giving life to the notion, which is turning and turning in the widening gyre.
“First was the pledge by the military that it would not overthrow President Muhammadu Buhari, a former army general and head of state whose government has come under strident criticisms over growing insecurity in the country.
“In a statement issued by Acting Director, Defence Information, Brigadier-General Onyema Nwachukwu, the military said it has no intention of taking over power again in Nigeria. This, it said, is because it believes that despite tough times, democracy is the way to go and militarism is no longer fashionable. The army also warned politicians nursing ambition of ruling Nigeria outside the ballot box, saying it would continue to defend the country’s democracy.
“We shall continue to remain apolitical, subordinate to the Civil Authority, firmly loyal to the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari and the 1999 Constitution as Amended. We shall continue to discharge our constitutional responsibilities professionally, especially in protecting the country’s democracy, defence of the territorial integrity of the country as well as protection of lives and properties of citizens,” the statement said in part.
This statement was in reaction to agitation by some secessionist and opposition figures for a restructuring of the government, coming two days after the Department of State Services (DSS) also issued same warning.
Immediately after the army’s pledge of loyalty, the Presidency, raised the alarm, warning of a subliminal plot by some past leaders working with foreigners to forcefully sack President Buhari from office. However, it did not provide names of the leaders and their cohorts.
The Presidency predicated its conclusion on what it described as ‘unimpeachable’ evidence made available to it by DSS operatives. It, however, warned of dire consequences of such plot, especially where the citizens have opted for democratic rule, saying the only accepted way to change a democratically elected government is through elections.
In a statement issued by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the Presidency said: “The Department of State Services (DSS), on Sunday alerted on sinister moves by misguided elements to wreak havoc on the government, sovereignty and corporate existence of the country.
“Championed by some disgruntled religious and past political leaders, the intention is to eventually throw the country into a tailspin, which would compel a forceful and undemocratic change of leadership.
“Further unimpeachable evidence shows that these disruptive elements are now recruiting the leadership of some ethnic groups and politicians round the country, with the intention of convening some sort of conference, where a vote of no confidence would be passed on the President, thus throwing the land into further turmoil.
“The agent provocateurs hope to achieve through artifice and sleight of hands, what they failed to do through the ballot box in the 2019 elections. Nigerians have opted for democratic rule, and the only accepted way to change a democratically elected government is through elections, which hold at prescribed times in the country. Any other way is patently illegal, and even treasonable. Of course, such would attract the necessary consequences.”
In response to the salvo fired by the Presidency, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the allegation that some Nigerians were plotting a forceful and undemocratic change of leadership, as a resort to blackmail in the face of failure. The PDP, in a statement by its national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, asked Buhari to look closely at his past before accusing it of plot to overthrow democratically elected government.
“Perhaps, the Presidency has forgotten that in 1983, Brigadier Muhammadu Buhari, as he was then known, led a military coup to truncate a democratically elected government thereby causing our nation a huge drawback on democratic governance.”
Following the death of Magafuli, Vice-President Samia Hassan (l) is set to be sworn in as president
Tanzania’s VP to be sworn-in as President world mourns Pres. Magafuli
Tributes have been rolling in with respect to the death of Tanzannia’s President, John Magafuli on Wednesday. Magafuli’s death from suspected COVID-19 complications has also caused a shift as his Vice, Madam Samia Suluhu Hassan will be sworn in as the new president and should serve the remainder of Mr Magufuli’s five-year team which he began last year, according to the constitution.
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has eulogised President John Magufuli as a “pragmatic leader who believed in and worked for the economic empowerment of East Africans”.
“We join Tanzania in mourning the passing of a great son of Africa,” he tweeted.
Kenya called off football friendly with Tanzania. The country’s football federation cancelled a friendly match against Tanzania that was scheduled to be played on Thursday in the capital, Nairobi.
Coach Jacob Mulee, in a morning radio show, said the match was called off following the death of Tanzania’s President John Magufuli.
He did not indicate if it had been postponed to a later day.
The friendly match was part of Kenya’s preparation for Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Egypt and Togo scheduled for later this month.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his “deep sadness” on the death of Tanzania’s President John Magufuli.
In a statement, President Ramaphosa said he had spoken to Tanzanian Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan “to express condolences in his personal capacity and on behalf of all South Africans”.
“South Africa is united in grief with the government and people of Tanzania as they go through this difficult moment,” he said.
Meanwhile, a past video of Tanzania’s President John Magufuli telling people that they would remember him once he was gone has surfaced on social media.
“One day you will remember me… I know one day you will remember me, not for bad things but for the good deeds… because I have sacrificed my life for the poor in Tanzania,” President Magufuli says in the video.
The Tanzanian president died on Wednesday from heart complications at a hospital in Dar es Salaam, according to an announcement by Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan on state television.
Ms Hassan will be the sixth president of Tanzania and the second from the country’s semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar.
After taking the oath of office, she will consult with her ruling CCM party to nominate a vice-president.
According to the constitution, since she hails from Zanzibar, her deputy is required to come from the mainland.
The nominee must be confirmed by a minimum of 50% of MPs.
Should Ms Hassan stay on as president for three years or more, the law states that she will be allowed to run for the presidency only once.
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta says he’s learned “with profound sorrow” and sadness the death of Tanzania President John Magufuli.
He has conveyed his condolences to widow Janet Magufuli, the government and people of Tanzania.
President Kenyatta said Mr Magufuli was a champion of pan-Africanism.
“I have lost a friend, colleague and visionary ally,” he said.
Mr Kenyatta, who is the current chairman of the East African Community, has declared a seven-day period of national mourning in Kenya.
He said the flag of the East African Community and Kenya’s flag would be flown at half-mast throughout Kenya and all its diplomatic missions abroad until sunset on the day of Mr Magufuli’s funeral.
Tanzania’s opposition leader Tundu Lissu lives in exile in BelgiumImage caption: Tanzania’s opposition leader Tundu Lissu lives in exile in Belgium
Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu has said President John Magufuli’s death has offered an opportunity to “chart a new course and step back from the brink of disaster”.
Speaking to BBC Newsday programme on Thursday, Mr Lissu said Mr Magufuii’s “politics, policies and Covid denialism” had “driven the country towards disaster”.
Earlier, Mr Lissu told Kenya’s private television station KTN that President Magufuli’s death had not come as a surprise to him.
Mr Lissu, who lives in exile in Belgium, said he had known that Mr Magufuli was gravelly ill all along since he tweeted on 7 March asking about the whereabouts of the president.
He says he had learned from “very credible sources in government” that the president was ill with Covid-19.
“The only thing that surprises me is the fact they continued to lie, even now his government continues to lie.
“Magufuli died of corona, that’s one. Two, Magufuli did not die this [ Wednesday] evening…I have information from the same sources that Magufuli had [already] been dead,” Mr Lissu told KTN.
Tanzania Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan, in an address on state television on Wednesday, said President Magufuli had died hours earlier from heart complications at a hospital in Dar es Salaam.
The president had not been seen in public for more than two weeks, and rumours have been circulating about his health.
Timeline of key events in President Magufuli’s life
Here is a timeline of the events in the life of Tanzania’s President John Maguifuli.
1959: Born in Chato in north-western Tanzania.
1995: Elected as an MP for the first time.
2000: Appointed to the cabinet for the first time as minister of works.
2015: Elected president for his first term.
2020: Elected for a second term as president.
2020: 5 November – sworn in for a second term.
2021: 6 March – admitted to Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute for cardiovascular problem.
2021: 7 March – rumours begin to circulate about his whereabouts after a week-long absence.
2021: 11 March – various opposition parties in Tanzania want to know the whereabouts of the president.
2021: 12 March – Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa denies that President Magufuli is ill and says he is “in good health and working”.
2021: 14 March – rushed to Mzena Hospital in Dar es Salaam for further treatment.
2021: 15 March – Vice-President Samia Suluhu gives Tanzanians “greetings” from President Magufuli amid growing fears about his condition and whereabouts.
2021: 17 March – dies at 18:00 local time.
2021: 17 March – Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan announces on television the death of President Magufuli. Fourteen days of mourning are declared.
Mozambique: AfDB purchases cast bridges to replace infrastructure destroyed in cyclones
Mozambique Cyclone: AfDB buys cast bridges to replace destroyed ones
The African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) has finalized the purchase of 26 modular steel bridges to replace infrastructure that was destroyed in weather disasters in Mozambique.
The modular bridges are due to be installed in coming months after the appointment of local contractors. The goal is to restore transport connections to the isolated regions of Manica, Sofala, Nampula and Cabo Delgado. An estimated 500,000 people are expected to benefit.
With a service lifespan of up to 100 years, the bridges will provide a temporary solution in areas that are vulnerable to extreme weather while the government invests in climate-smart permanent bridges.
“We are delighted to be able to deliver this important contribution to Mozambique and respond to the recent climate disasters while investing to building back better,” said Pietro Toigo, the African Development Bank’s country manager for Mozambique. “The Bank will remain at the forefront of the fight to mobilize climate finance for adaptation and contribute to climate justice for the African continent.”
The bridges are funded under the Post Cyclone Idai and Kenneth Emergency Recovery and Resilience Program, which was approved in the wake of these two cyclones that struck Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi in 2019 and affected around 3 million people in the three countries.
The program is being implemented over four years, ending in December 2023, at a total cost of UA 70.86 million ($100 million) of which UA 66.01 million is to be paid by the Bank and the remainder by the affected governments. The funding was provided by the African Development Fund, the concessional arm of the African Development Bank Group.
João Osvaldo Machatine, Minister of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources, said: “The government of Mozambique is delighted to be working with the African Development Bank to help build resilience to climate and disaster risk management in the country.”
Central Mozambique has been hit by extreme climate events in recent years. Cyclones Idai and Kenneth passed through the same region of the country in March and April 2019, also affecting neighboring countries. Disaster struck again with Tropical Storm Chalane in December 2020 and Cyclone Eloise in January 2021.
Mozambique is regarded as one of the world’s most climate-stressed countries. In its 2018-2022 Country Strategy Paper for Mozambique, the African Development Bank identifies climate change as a key development challenge, and has directed roughly $120 million to strengthening the country’s climate resilience.
2021 critical in fight against COVID-19, climate change–UN’s Guterres
African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) President Akinwumi Adesina on Monday joined world leaders to discuss the global transition to clean power as part of a green recovery and identify actions that can be taken to support this.
The virtual COP26 Roundtable on Clean Power Transition, under the theme “Achieving a rapid shift to green, affordable and resilient power systems” was held amid growing recognition that climate change remains one of the greatest challenges facing humanity.
Participants included UN Secretary General António Guterres, COP26 President Alok Sharma, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Luigi Di Maio, and representatives from governments, multilateral development banks, the private sector and international organisations.
Guterres said the year ahead would be critical “not only in beating the COVID-19 pandemic but in meeting the climate challenge”. He said African countries in particular were vulnerable and renewed his call for developed nations to fulfill their longstanding pledge to provide $100 billion a year for developing countries to support both climate mitigation and adaptation.
“Huge amounts of money have been earmarked for the COVID-19 recovery and stimulus measures. But sustainable investments are still not being prioritized,” Guterres said. “We must invest in the future of affordable renewable energy for all people, everywhere.”
These discussions have gained an added urgency in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has strained fiscal resources that are available to cope with global crises. The accelerated transition to green, affordable and resilient power systems has been identified as a top priority for COP26 under the presidency of the United Kingdom, which has established the Energy Transition Council to drive the transformation.
One of the most direct impacts of the pandemic was the disruption it caused to the 2020 edition of the global climate change talks known commonly as COP, hosted annually by the United Nations. The event was postponed to November this year, when it is due to be held in Scotland.
COP26 President Sharma said the global transition to clean power must move at least four times the current pace to achieve targets set out in Paris Agreement on climate change. He called for enhanced global cooperation to boost innovation and economies of scale.
“This is our moment in history to make those vital decisive and positive choices so that we can protect the future of our planet and our peoples. So, let’s continue to work together to bring the benefits of clean affordable and resilient power to the world,” Sharma said.
Di Maio, whose government co-hosted Monday’s event, said a clean energy transition “must be a universal goal in the interests of the entire international community.”
“Italy has been working with international agencies and private sector to foster smart and digital power infrastructure in African countries. Such an improvement would boost energy efficiency and facilitate energy access for all local communities.”
Reiterating that the African Development Bank will no longer finance coal projects, Adesina said the Bank had prioritized renewables as the mainstay of its Light Up and Power Africa strategic priority, as a result of which the share of renewable energy in the Bank’s power generation investments now stands at 80%.
“The Bank has been at the forefront of transformative renewable energy projects in Africa, including large-scale concentrated solar projects in Morocco – one of the largest in the world – and the Lake Turkana wind power project, the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Adesina said.
The Bank expects to invest $10 billion in the energy sector over the next five years, Adesina said. One of its flagship projects is the $20 billion Desert-to-Power program, which strives to build the largest solar zone in the world in the Sahel and to provide electricity to some 250 million people.
“When we light up and power Africa – based on an energy mix aligned to a low carbon transition and prioritizing renewable energy sources – we will achieve a more economically prosperous Africa,” Adesina said.
Jerry Rawlings: Ghana’s Strongman bows to death aged 73
Jerry Rawlings: Ghana’s Strongman bows to death aged 73
Jerry Rawlings held sway in Ghana for long: he seized power twice through military coup and won democratic elections twice. He was the only Ghanaian who had such privilege to power.
Born of Scottish father and Ghanaian mother, Rawlings rose to senior military position in Ghana Airforce, a platform he led a coup in 1979, before handing over to a civilian government. He again staged a coup two years later.
He headed the junta until introducing multi-party elections in 1992, when he was elected president. He stepped down in 2001 after serving two terms.
A charismatic figure, he came to power in 1979 railing against corruption.
Reports from Ghana say that the former president died in hospital in the capital, Accra, after a short illness.
In the few months that he led the country in 1979, he was responsible for executing several former heads of state and army generals after accusing them of corruption and mismanagement.
He was also seen as a champion of the poor and began his leadership of the country as a committed socialist.
Ralwings later introduced free-market reforms and ushered in a long period of political stability, that continues today, after a tumultuous series of coups in the 1960s and 1970s
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