Africa 54 - October 20, 2021 | Airstrikes in Tigray, Food Crisis in Northeast Nigeria, & more You are watching Africa 54, your daily news and feature magazine-style program, from the Voice of America. Managing editor Vincent Makori and a team of correspondents zero in on the big stories making news on the continent and around the world with context and analysis. Top Stories: Ethiopia launched its third airstrike this week on the capital of the northern Tigray region on Wednesday, stepping up a campaign to weaken rebellious Tigrayan forces in an almost year-old war. Tigrai Television, controlled by the region's Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), said the attack targeted the center of the city of Mekelle but gave no details of casualties or damage. Ethiopia's government said the airstrike targeted buildings where Tigrayan forces were repairing armaments. The World Food Program says it urgently needs funds or it may have to cut food rations to more than 500-thousand people in Nigeria's conflict-ravaged Northeast. A year after Lagos bloodshed, Nigerians say promises of police reform prove hollow. Demonstrators said soldiers and police opened fire on October 20, though both denied firing live rounds. Rights group Amnesty International said 12 protesters were killed in two districts that night, triggering the worst street unrest since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999. Laborers from Kenya say they have endured abuse in the Middle East, often at the hands of their employers. But an aid agency is offering them a chance at rehabilitation and reintegration. Hundreds of survivors of forced labor are now able to access support offered by a group that provides a soft landing for those in need. Ahead of the COP26 climate conference, a report is warning of the dire consequences for Africa from global warming, and the continent's lead negotiator says more money and better tracking of funds is needed. Senegal seized more than two tonnes of pure cocaine from a ship off its Atlantic coast, the navy said on Tuesday, in the West African country's largest-ever cocaine bust. The 2,026 kg of cocaine was found on a ship 363 km (226 miles) off the coast by naval forces backed by air support from the French air force, the navy said in a statement. The ship had five crew members aboard, it added. Approval of U.S. leadership around the world rebounded during the first six months of President Joe Biden’s term, after a record low in the last year of President Donald Trump’s administration. This is according to a new Gallup survey of people in nearly 50 countries. In support of the International Decade for People of African Descent, proclaimed by the United Nation's General Assembly resolution to be observed from 2015 to 2024, the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) identifies high achievers of African descent in public and private sectors from all around the globe. Earlier this month, MIPAD unveiled two global 100 lists of Most Influential People of African Descent in the creative industry. Africa 54's Technology Correspondent Paul Ndiho, via Skype, spoke to Kamil Olufowobi, Chief Executive Officer, MIPAD in New York. The 12th Silicon Valley African Film Festival, which took place over an October weekend in San Jose, California, featured 116 films from 36 countries. More than half of those were directed by women. Collectively, these films are changing visions of Africa. In New York City, artist Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada unveiled a unique piece of art called The Hug, created to honor those impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. At the unveiling, the artist was joined by a very special orchestra