News that matter

Donald Trump becomes the first US president to be impeached for a second time. The House has voted to impeach Donald Trump on the charge of incitement of insurrection, after the president incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol last week, resulting in five deaths. The final vote was 232-197, with 10 House Republicans supporting the measure. The matter will now go before the Senate, which will decide whether Trump should be convicted and removed from office. The trial will likely conclude after Joe Biden takes office anyway, but a conviction would prevent Trump from running for president again.

Italy starts biggest mafia trial in decades. One of Italy’s most major mafia trails in decades started in the city of Lamezia Terme on Wednesday. The trial which earmarks what is arguably the biggest mafia group in the country, the ‘Ndrangheta clan’ will feature over 320 suspects. The majority of the suspects are white-collar workers including lawyers and police officers who prosecutors say helped strengthen the empire.

Condemnation trails Trump administration over execution of only woman on US federal death row. Donald Trump’s administration has been accused of the ‘unnecessary and vicious use of authoritarian power’ following the execution of Lisa Montgomery, a 52-year-old woman sentenced to death in 2007 for murder. Montgomery was killed by lethal injection on Wednesday, making her the 11th prisoner to be killed by lethal injection since Trump resumed federal executions last year.

Contenu partenaire

Geneva Solutions Daily Brief. Inscrivez-vous au tout nouveau média en anglais sur la Genève internationale. Le GS Daily Brief, envoyé du lundi au samedi à 6h, couvre le monde de la coopération internationale et du développement. De grandes actualités thématiques (climat, santé globale, paix et aide humanitaire, technologie, et affaires et finances durables) ainsi qu’une sélection de news internationales.

On the radar today

Uganda heads to the polls in highly contested elections. It may be the most contested elections in the country’s history. 38-year-old musician turned politician, Bobi Wine is the opposition candidate looking to oust the incumbent 78-year-old, Yoweri Museveni who has been in power for 35 years and is running for a sixth term. People have fled the capital city, Kampala, fearing election violence. Over 50 people were killed in the pre-election riots in November and on Tuesday, social media was shut down in the country.

Tunisia marks 10 years since revolution that ousted dictator It’s ten years today since the uprising that led to the fall of former Tunisian president and dictator, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. Protests began in Tunisia in 2011 when a young street vendor set himself on fire after being cheated by local officials. Ten years later, the mood in Tunisia is far from celebratory, as some people do not think the revolution changed a lot (see also Sami’s report below).

Community land ownership might save Africa’s largest forest. Indigenous communities can now legally own parts of the land on which they reside in Congo, a strategy that is being employed to save Africa’s largest forest from deforestation. The Congo rainforest is central to regulating the world’s climate and for the first time in history, community members have the legal right to own and oversee the forest.

In the African lab

Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, the young founders of Paystack.

Guess who raised $1.3b in 2020? African startups. Despite several predictions in 2020 about a drop in African VC investments, African startups recorded $1.3 billion in investments, a new report has revealed. This includes deals from 70 African startups, including Nigeria’s Flutterwave, Paystack’s $200 million deal with Stripe, and South Africa’s Jumo among others.

Africa’s green energy boom may not happen this decade. The renewable energy boom Africa is working towards may not happen this decade, according to a new study. While there are around 2,500 power plants planned across the continent, less than 10% of the new power generated will come from wind or solar. The study estimates that by 2030, coal and gas will continue to be the primary source of electricity for 54 African countries with only 9.6% coming from renewable sources.

Kenyan agricultural data startup raises $85 million in Series B funding. Gro Intelligence dreams of becoming the world’s leading data firm for agriculture and climate risk modeling. It is now $85 million closer to that dream as the Kenyan startup announced they recently raised $85 million in Series B funding. The startup and its dedication to canvassing for agricultural data were instrumental in combatting the locust crises in East Africa last year.

En français tout de même: les articles de Heidi.news

L’équipe de foot de Chebba qui, privée de championnat, a provoqué la protestation la plus radicale de Tunisie: toute la ville a décidé d’émigrer vers l’Italie. Photo: Sami Zaïbi.

L’impossible n’est pas chebbien. Cet épisode de Sami au pays de son père est une lecture parfaite 10 ans jour pour jour après le départ de Ben Ali. C’est dans la petite ville de Chebba et autour de son club de foot que se trame l’histoire la plus incroyable et la plus représentative de la Tunisie post-révolutionnaire contestataire.

Donald Trump est un négationniste. Psychiatre et psychanalyste que nos lectrices et lecteurs connaissent bien depuis l’Exploration qui lui a été consacrée, Robert Neuburger livre pour Heidi.news son analyse de la personnalité de Donald Trump au moment où ce dernier est à n ouveau mis en accusation.

Au procès Steinmetz, le drôle d’itinéraire d’un apporteur d’affaires en Afrique. Hier, Frédéric C. a parlé pour la première fois depuis 7 ans, au Palais de justice de Genève. Grâce à des cadeaux au personnel du Novotel de Conakry, il avait accès à tous les fax que recevaient les clients. Cela l’a mis sur la piste d’un deal à plusieurs millions, qui le conduira en prison.

Pourquoi j’irai tout de même me faire vacciner. Notre journaliste Yvan Pandélé est plutôt jeune et en bonne santé, pourquoi irait-il se faire vacciner? Voici une question que beaucoup seront amenés à se poser tôt ou tard. Il s’agit de peser les pour et les contre. Il s’est adonné à l’exercice.

It might surprise you

The EU Food Safety agency says it’s safe for you to eat yellow mealworms. If you live within Europe, expect to see the yellow mealworm as finger food, burger, and even a smoothie soon, as the insect has been certified by the EU food safety agency to be suitable for human consumption. This also makes it the first insect to be certified fit for humans to eat in the EU.

Nigeria is charging people for ‘attempted adultery’. Five people including a spokesman for a major political party in Nigeria are being charged with ‘attempted adultery’ for organizing a sex party in Kaduna state, northern Nigeria. The hotel where the party whose flyer circulated on social media was billed to hold was demolished last week.

Brexit may also mean you have to give up your lunch! A new video has shown Dutch border officials confiscating food including meat sandwiches from travelers from the UK because of strict rules against the import of meat, fruit, vegetables, and fish from outside the EU. Post-Brexit, these restrictions also affect products like cheddar, clotted cream, and Scottish haggis.

Pleased to meet you… Hi, I am a Nigerian journalist working between Lagos, Nigeria, and Kampala, Uganda. I’ve worked with the AFP, written for CNN, BBC, Aljazeera, The Guardian UK, etc, and I am one of three co-founders of a media startup, Minority Africa which is looking to improve the coverage of minorities across the continent. Now, I’ll be consolidating my experience to bring you this newsletter from Lagos twice a month. I look forward to it!