Good morning.

🇹🇷 Hundreds Arrested in Istanbul

Turkish authorities arrested 382 people for "non-authorised demonstrations" in Istanbul as 50,000 police officers were deployed to enforce a May Day protest ban, with public transportation shut down to prevent people from reaching Taksim Square. The crackdown comes amid heightened tensions following the March arrest of opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, which had sparked mass demonstrations from hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy supporters. Rights group Amnesty International has urged Turkey to lift the demonstration ban, calling the restrictions "based on entirely spurious security and public order grounds." More - BBC

Africa Stability Ratings and News Summary

More Unstable

🇩🇿 Algeria, 🇧🇯 Benin, 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso, 🇧🇮 Burundi, 🇨🇲 Cameroon, 🇨🇫 Central African Republic, 🇹🇩 Chad, 🇰🇲 Comoros, 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic Of The Congo, 🇩🇯 Djibouti, 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea, 🇪🇷 Eritrea, 🇸🇿 Eswatini, 🇪🇹 Ethiopia, 🇬🇦 Gabon, 🇬🇭 Ghana, 🇬🇳 Guinea, 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau, 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast, 🇰🇪 Kenya, 🇱🇸 Lesotho, 🇱🇷 Liberia, 🇲🇬 Madagascar, 🇲🇼 Malawi, 🇲🇱 Mali, 🇲🇷 Mauritania, 🇲🇦 Morocco, 🇲🇿 Mozambique, 🇳🇦 Namibia, 🇳🇪 Niger, 🇳🇬 Nigeria, 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo, 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone, 🇸🇴 Somalia, 🇿🇦 South Africa, 🇸🇸 South Sudan, 🇸🇩 Sudan, 🇬🇲 The Gambia, 🇹🇬 Togo, 🇺🇬 Uganda, 🇪🇭 Western Sahara, 🇿🇲 Zambia, 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

More Stable

No countries were more stable over this period

Unchanged

🇦🇴 Angola, 🇧🇼 Botswana, 🇨🇻 Cape Verde, 🇲🇺 Mauritius, 🇷🇼 Rwanda, 🇸🇳 Senegal, 🇸🇹 São Tomé and Príncipe, 🇹🇿 Tanzania

Regional News Summary

In recent developments across Africa, significant strides towards peace and stability have emerged, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. A historic peace framework agreement has been signed between the two nations, facilitated by U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. This agreement not only aims to end years of conflict but also seeks to harness the region's vast mineral wealth, marking a crucial step towards regional stability [SOURCE - UPI]. The US has played a pivotal role in brokering this peace declaration, highlighting the importance of mineral ambitions as a driving force behind the negotiations [SOURCE - Rio Times].

In Uganda, a significant milestone has been achieved with the declaration of the end of the latest Ebola outbreak, a development that brings relief to the region and showcases the effectiveness of coordinated health efforts [SOURCE - AsiaOne]. However, the political landscape remains tense as opposition headquarters have been surrounded by security forces ahead of upcoming elections, raising concerns about political suppression and the integrity of the electoral process [SOURCE - France 24].

Meanwhile, in Nigeria, a tribunal has upheld a substantial fine against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, amounting to $220 million. This decision reflects growing concerns over misinformation and hate speech on social media platforms, underscoring the need for accountability in the digital space [SOURCE - The Economic Times]. Additionally, a tragic explosion in northeastern Nigeria has claimed 26 lives, highlighting ongoing security challenges in the region [SOURCE - TASS].

In Sudan, the humanitarian crisis deepens as the World Food Programme faces a staggering $698 million shortfall, leading to reduced food support for millions who rely on aid. This funding crisis exacerbates the already dire situation, with the UN warning of significant cuts to essential services [SOURCE - The Sun]. The UN rights chief has called for the protection of civilians amidst rising violence in North Darfur, further complicating the humanitarian landscape [SOURCE - Jurist].

In the realm of economic development, Zambia is taking steps to promote investments through a partnership between the Zambia Development Agency and the National Pension Scheme Authority. This collaboration aims to attract more investors and stimulate economic growth, reflecting a proactive approach to enhancing the country's economic climate [SOURCE - Zambia News Diggers!]. However, the country is also grappling with a concerning rise in gender-based violence, with over 11,000 cases reported in the first quarter of 2025, highlighting the urgent need for social interventions [SOURCE - Zambia News Diggers!].

Weekend Diversions

 🌱 My very good friend Alex just wrote a paper on why capitalism shouldn’t be a bad word in sustainability circles. (He should know: he’s on the founding team of the Green Stock Exchange.) Read “It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane…Capitalism is sustainability’s superhero savior, not its archnemesis.” in The Digital Economist

🚢 There’s a black hole in America’s supply chains. The size of each depends upon whose supply chain we’re talking about but I need to do some research on this over the weekend. I stumbled across this little great little article to kick things off: Is Apple’s Supply Chain Really the No. 1? A Case Study in SupplyChain247

🤖 Ouch! An aggressively confident but wrong answer in the AI tournament pushed us from #2 to #30. Yikes! That’s a big hole to climb out of so some care and attention of the bots is in order this weekend….

Have a great weekend.

Carpe tomorrow!