Your otherwise excellent article (The world in 2017: how much do you know?, theguardian.com, 25 December), uncharacteristically fails to mention two changes in Zimbabwe which could become the most important developments in Africa’s history since the advent of independence almost 60 years ago. In a continent universally known for unspeakable political violence and senseless destruction of lives and property, Zimbabwean soldiers have become the unlikely heroes by staging Africa’s first bloodless coup, in which no one was killed or injured. Equally welcome was the return of a white farmer’s land, which suggests a return to the rule of law.

African leaders, especially the leaders in Burundi, the Central African Republic, Eritrea and South Sudan should take note of the developments in Zimbabwe and use them as a template if the continent is to achieve lasting peace and sustainable development, which is the only way to tackle the root cause of African migration.

Sam Akaki

Executive director, African Solutions to African Migration

• In your roundup of significant events in 2017, you failed to mention the awarding of the Nobel peace prize to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. Ican was established through the frustration of people across the world at the failure to achieve any progress at the UN on nuclear disarmament. Ican therefore set about forming a global coalition of organisations committed to nuclear disarmament, including CND and Scottish CND. By October last year, they had achieved a draft nuclear ban treaty signed by 122 states, although it was not supported by Nato or the nine known nuclear-armed states, which include the UK. The Nobel peace prize committee rightly recognised the huge significance of this – moving forward, for example, in the way the landmines and cluster bombs treaties were brought about. It is high time that UK politicians began to consider this in the context of the US Trident nuclear-armed submarines based in Scotland, with a total cost to the public purse for their replacement of an estimated £205bn.

Rae Street

Littleborough, Lancashire

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