Gunfire and explosions rock the Somali capital Mogadishu

Mogadishu: The Somali capital, Mogadishu, witnessed shootings and explosions in the early hours of Wednesday morning, as al-Shabab militants attacked several police stations and security checkpoints, the Somali Minister of Internal Security said.

Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab, which seeks to overthrow the central government and impose its strict interpretation of sharia, occasionally launches attacks on government targets, such as last week's attack on a minibus carrying delegates involved in selecting parliamentarians.

"The terrorists attacked the outskirts of Mogadishu, targeting police stations and checkpoints," Minister Abdullahi Nour wrote on Twitter.

"Our security personnel defeated the enemy," he added.

There were no immediate details of casualties. The minister said the police would provide more details about the attacks.

Al-Shabab has not yet commented.

Africa pays the heavy price of climate change

The numbers speak for themselves. According to the UN by 2030 more than 100 million Africans will be affected by global warming. Droughts, floods, melting of rare glaciers in the near future... extreme climatic events accentuate food insecurity and poverty. The cost is heavy for a low-income continent.

The climate will be one of the issues at the summit on Thursday and Friday between the African Union and the European Union

"It is estimated that the devastating effects of climate change will in fact increase (to reach) more than 50% of the continent's GDP by 2030. And that is a bitter pill to swallow, given that the African continent contributes only 4% of total greenhouse gas emissions" explained Robert Muthami, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Kenya, Climate Change Expert member of the COP 2021 delegation.

Africa has warmed faster than the global average, the UN points out. Climatic phenomena extremely threaten agricultural production and access to water. These tensions could lead to the displacement of 86 million people by 2050. For the European Union, the issue is climatic but it is also a question of social justice.

"Industrialized countries pollute much more but the African continent suffers much more. So we must pace everything on a new understanding of justice and cooperation. We must not forget that CO2 emissions per capita in Africa are the lowest , while the production of CO2 emissions per capita on the globe is the highest in Europe, the United States and Asia" declared Andreas SCHIEDER, MEP (S&D).

However, not all African countries are ready to immediately give up the financial windfall generated by the large reserves of fossil fuels present on the continent.

Nigeria: a shortage of gasoline in the country of oil

Nigeria, the largest oil producer in Africa, has been affected for a week by a gasoline shortage. The importation of a large quantity of adulterated gasoline would have contaminated the market.

The situation is comical to say the least, even if it is far from amusing Nigerians: the first oil producer in Africa has been confronted for a week with a shortage of petrol which is causing major traffic jams in the main cities of the country.

In front of the gas stations still open in Abuja and Lagos, a bubbling economic capital of 20 million inhabitants, the lines of cars stretch for hundreds of meters. This shortage is due according to the National Oil Company (NNPC) to the import of a large quantity of adulterated gasoline. Despite all the oil it extracts, Nigeria must indeed import the majority of its fuel. The four refineries in this country of 220 million inhabitants are not working, or are below capacity.

Consequences for Nigerians

Last week several motorists and motorcycle drivers had their vehicles damaged by this "fuel". The national oil company has been working for several days to withdraw the contaminated product from the market.

The consequences are numerous on the daily lives of Nigerians: a large number use gasoline or diesel generators to power homes and businesses. The cost of transport has also risen and has become exorbitant in several cities of the country, forcing the population to use other means of transport such as cycling or walking.