- The month of December has brought in two threats to Kenya: bloody political crisis and the infestation of large swarms of locusts in the country's North-East district of Mandera.
The locusts are not only destroying crops, but they are also laying eggs. Kenya had not been stormed by such a huge number of locusts for many decades. The pests are believed to have migrated from the neighbouring Somalia.
Locusts are generally known for their ability to quickly destroy anything they found along their way - be they crops or leaves. The insects, that hatch their eggs within two weeks, eat more than the food of several thousand humans.
But Kenya's Agricultural Ministry would not allow the locusts to hatch their eggs and has since been combating them with chemical sprays.
The government has set aside Sh 28 million to avert food insecurity in the Mandera.
Naftali Mung'athia, the District Commissioner of Mandera, explained how locusts destroyed farms along the River Dauwa close to the Kenya-Ethiopia border.
It is reported that more than 200 families have had their crops ravaged by the locusts. Most people are worried that the locust may cause yet another shortages of pasture in the region. The area lost large number of livestock to drought last year.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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