Africa 54 - November 2, 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: Fears are growing for construction workers trapped in the rubble of an under-construction high-rise building, which collapsed in Nigeria's mega city Lagos on Monday. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has said he is alarmed over reports that rebellious Tigrayan forces have captured two towns in the neighboring Amhara region. The United Nations on Monday accused the Democratic Republic of Congo's army of beating to death a human rights activist protesting illegal taxes in the war-torn east of the country. Cabral Yombo, the leader of a civil society group in Hombo town, was killed by soldiers operating on the alleged orders of local administrative officials, the U.N. Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) said on Twitter. An army spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. Partnership for Integrated Protection, a local human rights group, said Yombo was tortured on Friday and died of his injuries at a hospital in the city of Bukavu on Sunday. Early results from South Africa’s local elections on Tuesday gave the ruling African National Congress (ANC) 46% of the vote, with results in just over a quarter of polling stations nationwide. The electoral commission said it expected 90% of results to be finalized by Tuesday evening, in a poll widely seen as a referendum on the ANC’s 27-year stint in charge of Africa’s most industrialized nation. World leaders are gathered in Glasgow Scotland this week for a pivotal climate summit, COP26. Experts warn that climate change and global warming may reach catastrophic levels if more is not done to address issues such as cutting greenhouse gas emissions. According to the United Nations, about four billion people have been affected by events related to the changing climate over the last decade, including deadly floods, wildfires, drought, and malnutrition. Africa 54 Correspondent Linord Moudou spoke in an exclusive interview with Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who joined her from the climate summit and asked him how concerned we should be about climate change. At the U.N. Climate Change Conference, COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, U.S. President Joe Biden apologized for the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 Paris climate accord under his predecessor, Donald Trump. Biden said the U.S. is now back at the table to lead on climate. But as White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports, it’s unclear just how much he can deliver. There are stark warnings from scientists that a failure to agree to much deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions will result in catastrophic and irreversible climate change. But as Henry Ridgwell reports from Glasgow, Scotland, hopes are already fading that the COP26 climate summit will result in any new deal to save the planet. Visually impaired people too often struggle to get ahead, especially in developing countries, including Zimbabwe. But Zimbabwe this month appointed its first visually impaired judge to the country’s High Court bench. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare, Zimbabwe. The different diaspora groups that make up the United States inevitably have fought for representation through the voting process. VOA is profiling a group of emerging politicians with direct ties to Africa who are changing the face of American politics. One is Naquetta Ricks, who came from Liberia.