Africa 54 - October 8, 2021 You are watching Africa 54, your daily news and feature magazine-style program, from the Voice of America. Host Esther Githui-Ewart 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: Nigerian police say 187 people have been freed from armed gangs of kidnappers amid a security crackdown in the restive Zamfara state. Moderna plans to invest about $500 million to build a factory in Africa to make up to 500 million doses of mRNA vaccines each year, including its COVID-19 shot, as pressure grows on the pharmaceutical industry to manufacture drugs on the continent. With the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa has seen hunger increase nearly threefold, according to a national survey. One man is helping to tackle the problem by launching community farms to help feed inner city residents. Google plans to invest $1 billion in Africa over the next five years to ensure access to fast and cheaper internet and will back startups to support the continent's digital transformation. German officials unveiled this week what they said is the world's first commercial plant for making synthetic kerosene. It’s seen as a climate-friendly way to produce jet fuel and could potentially be game-changing. Aviation currently accounts for about 2.5 percent of worldwide emissions of CO2, a not-so-friendly greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. Three years after the murder of Washington Post columnist and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, human rights activists and many others around the world are furious the United States has failed to sanction Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is accused of ordering the killing. Inspired by his love of Jet Li movies, Uganda's Kizza Ssejjemba took up Kung Fu. Today he has trained with Chinese experts, stars in action films and is training a new generation. Burkina Faso has been making headlines for an Islamist insurgency that has created one of the world's fastest growing humanitarian crises. But one man is showcasing what the country has to offer beyond conflict with a group he created called “Burkina Faso is Chic.” In this week’s entertainment takes a look at this summer’s music hits with Heather Maxwell’s Top 3. And she has a surprise guest that you may recognize