This Week in the Great Lakes: Rwanda is obstructing the trade of ... something
(Read article summary)A roundup of this week's news from Africa's Great Lakes region, from biofuels in Rwanda to threatened terrorist attacks against Burundi and Uganda by Somali Islamist militias.
Kigali, Rwanda
Rwanda is accused of obstructing trade in electro-welded black tubes from Uganda. No word on what those are. Police intercept a car carrying 2.3 million Rwandan francs (nearly $4,000) worth of Hotel Waragi. That one's easier: It's an illegal and “lethal” Ugandan home brew, classified by Rwanda as an illicit drug.
After tapping methane in Lake Kivu, the country gets into the biodiesel game, urging residents to cede arable land to the jatropha tree. “Every family should grow at least 100 trees on his plots, mixed with other crops,” one mayor insists. The climate event La Nina is expected to leave food shortages around the region, after likely flooding in Uganda and drought in parts of Rwanda and Burundi over the next six months.
