TAFEGHAGHTE, Morocco, Sept 10, 2023 (AFP) – Using heavy equipment and even their bare hands, rescuers in Morocco on Sunday stepped up efforts to find survivors of a devastating earthquake that killed more than 2,100 people and flattened villages. The first foreign rescuers flew in to help after the North African country’s strongest-ever quake killed at least 2,122 people and injured more than 2,400, many seriously, according to official figures updated late on Sunday. Friday’s […]
Africa
Morocco mourns quake victims as death toll passes 2,000
TAFEGHAGHTE, Morocco, Sept 10, 2023 (AFP) – Moroccans on Sunday mourned the victims of a devastating earthquake that killed more than 2,000 people, as rescue teams raced to find survivors trapped in the rubble of flattened villages. The strongest-ever quake to hit the country has killed at least 2,012 people and injured over 2,059, many of them critically, according to the latest official figures. Friday’s 6.8-magnitude quake struck 72 kilometres (45 miles) southwest of the […]
S.African rhino farm, world’s largest, bought by NGO
The largest rhino farm in the world, which is home to 2,000 animals and located in South Africa, has been bought by the NGO African Parks, the organisation said Monday. Home to nearly 80 percent of the world’s rhinoceroses, South Africa is a poaching hotspot, driven by demand from Asia, where horns are used in traditional medicine for their supposed therapeutic effect. The government said 448 of the rare animals were killed across the country […]
In Africa first, Uber launches electric motorcycles in Kenya
Uber has announced the launch of electric motorcyle taxis in the Kenyan capital Nairobi in what it says is a first for the company in Africa. The move by the US app-based taxi service comes as the Kenyan government prepares to roll out electric vehicles across the country as part of a green mobility scheme. Uber announced the introduction of the Electric Boda in Kenya on Thursday, with about 3,000 bikes planned initially, saying it […]
Military coup in Gabon, president under house arrest
LIBREVILLE, Aug 30, 2023 (AFP) – Rebel officers in the oil-rich central African state of Gabon announced on Wednesday they had seized power following disputed elections in which President Ali Bongo Ondimba, in power since 2009, had been declared victor. Bongo, 64, whose family has ruled Gabon for over 55 years, was placed under house arrest and one of his sons arrested for treason, the coup leaders said. A worried-looking Bongo, in a video from […]
BRICS leaders to debate expanding membership at summit
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 23, 2023 (AFP) – BRICS leaders on Wednesday will debate admitting new members to their five-nation bloc as it pursues a bigger role in shaping world affairs it sees as dominated by western powers. China is seeking to rapidly grow the club of large emerging economies amid rising competition with the United States, and more than 40 nations are lining up to join. But the BRICS other major power, India, is wary of […]
Three candidates nominated for Singapore president vote
SINGAPORE, Aug 22, 2023 (AFP) – Three candidates were nominated Tuesday to run next week in Singapore’s first contested presidential vote in more than a decade, officials said. While the role is largely ceremonial, there are stringent requirements for the position, which formally oversees the city’s financial reserves and holds the power to veto certain measures and approve anti-graft probes. Incumbent Halimah Yacob ran unopposed for her six-year term in 2017. Election officials announced the […]
Air strike kills at least 26 in Ethiopia’s Amhara
NAIROBI, Aug 14, 2023 (AFP) – An air strike has killed at least 26 people in Ethiopia’s embattled Amhara region, a hospital official and a resident told AFP on Monday, as deadly clashes rock the region. The strike in Finote Selam on Sunday was the most severe since clashes between members of the Ethiopian army and a local militia known as Fano erupted in towns and cities across Amhara after months of tensions. The hospital […]
Concern mounts for detained president in Niger’s coup crisis
NIAMEY, Niger, Aug 11, 2023 (AFP) – Fears for Niger’s detained president mounted on Friday, a day after West African leaders declared they would muster a “standby” force in their efforts to return him to power. The European Union and African Union joined the United States and other voices in sounding the alarm for democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who was ousted by members of his guard on July 26. “Bazoum and his family, according […]
Philippines takes second place in 2023 UN Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation
In a significant achievement reported by the Bureau of Customs on Tuesday (August 8, 2023), the Philippines secures the second rank in Southeast Asia within the UN Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation 2023. This achievement is underscored by the Philippines’ Trade Facilitation score of 87.10%. This ascent from the third position in the 2021 survey underscores the nation’s unwavering momentum in modernizing trade processes and achieving top-tier customs administration standards, as stated […]
US envoy meets Niger coup leaders but sees no headway
NIAMEY, Niger, Aug 8, 2023 (AFP) – The second-ranking US diplomat met Niger’s military leaders on Monday to press to reverse a coup but reported no headway a day after an ultimatum from the West African bloc was ignored. Victoria Nuland, a veteran envoy and acting deputy secretary of state, said she met for more than two hours with military chiefs who ousted democratically elected Western ally Mohamed Bazoum on July 26. Nuland’s trip, conducted […]
Why is a rusty Philippine warship involved in the South China Sea dispute?
By Cecil MORELLA MANILA, Aug 7, 2023 (AFP) – A crumbling World War II-era Philippine navy vessel stranded on a submerged reef in the South China Sea has long been a flashpoint between Manila and Beijing in their territorial dispute over the waters. Tensions flared again on Saturday when the China Coast Guard allegedly blocked and fired water cannon at Philippine vessels seeking to deliver food, fuel and water to Filipino troops stationed on the […]