Nairobi (AFP) March 9, 2022 The United Nations warned Wednesday that it faces a crippling lack of funds to tackle Somalia’s devastating drought, which has been “overshadowed” by other humanitarian crises including the war in Ukraine. The troubled Horn of Africa nation is being ravaged by drought, which has affected 4.5 million people – nearly 30 percent of its population – as of February, following … Continue reading UN worried about lack of funds to tackle Somalia drought

Kyiv (AFP) March 9, 2022 Russia and Ukraine agreed to open more humanitarian corridors on Wednesday to evacuate terrified civilians from bombarded cities, while new concerns emerged over the Chernobyl nuclear plant after a power cut. As fighting raged on the 14th day of the invasion, safe routes were opening out of five Ukrainian areas including suburbs of the capital Kyiv that have been devastated … Continue reading Fresh evacuation efforts for devastated Ukraine cities

Istanbul (AFP) March 9, 2022 More than 200 Thursday flights have been cancelled at Istanbul’s two airports because of expected snowfall, Turkey’s top airlines said. Turkey’s national flag carrier, Turkish Airlines, said on Wednesday that it had cancelled 185 flights at Istanbul airport on Thursday, 114 of them domestic and 71 international. The airline cancelled another 20 domestic flights of AnadoluJet, its subsidihttp://dlvr.it/SLQ0wh Continue reading Over 200 flights cancelled in Istanbul because of snow

Catania, Italy (AFP) Feb 21, 2022 Mount Etna, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, belched smoke and ashes in a new eruption on Monday, briefly forcing the closure of the airport of Catania in Sicily. The ash cloud rose 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) into the air above a crater on the southeast of the volcano, the INGV National Institute for Geophysics and Vulcanology said … Continue reading Italy’s Etna spews smoke and ashes, closing airport

Sigtuna, Sweden (AFP) Feb 21, 2022 There is no sign of Nils van der Poel, Sweden’s double Olympic speed-skating champion in Beijing, but that does not stop over 500 competitors from gliding elegantly around a vast frozen lake just outside Stockholm. It is a thrilling sight as they hurtle around the 50-kilometre course at speeds of 30 kilometres per hour (20 miles per hour) and … Continue reading Swedish skaters return to frozen lake in style

Colombo (AFP) Feb 21, 2022 Sri Lanka shipped out to Britain on Monday the last of several hundred containers filled with thousands of tonnes of illegally imported waste, officials said. Several Asian countries have in recent years been pushing back against an onslaught of refuse from wealthier nations and have started turning back unwanted shipments. The waste from Britain arrived in Sri Lanka between 2017 … Continue reading Sri Lanka completes return of illegal waste to Britain

Cairo (AFP) Feb 21, 2022 The United States and Egypt on Monday launched a working group to prepare for the COP27 climate summit this year, with US envoy John Kerry urging more countries to come on board. The meeting will take place in November in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, seeking to build on gains made at the previous conference in Glasgow … Continue reading US climate envoy Kerry in Egypt to discuss COP27 summit

Rabat (AFP) Feb 21, 2022 Morocco has established a new military zone bordering Algeria, a Moroccan military publication said Monday, amid mounting tensions between the two North African countries. The establishment of the new zone redefines Morocco’s military borders, introducing a new eastern military zone alongside the previously designated northern and southern military zones. Algeria borders Morocco to the lhttp://dlvr.it/SKRZ2k Continue reading Morocco creates new military zone along Algeria border

Hong Kong (AFP) Feb 21, 2022 Covert meetings, whispered threats, and mysterious phone calls – warnings of reprisals by authorities from shadowy messengers are hounding Hong Kong’s civil society as China flattens a pro-democracy movement. Unlike the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong long hosted a vibrant landscape of citizens’ groups who cultivated rights advocacy, union mobilisation and civil disobedience as a key fabric ofhttp://dlvr.it/SKN8wJ Continue reading The shadowy messengers delivering threats to Hong Kong civil society

Paris (AFP) Feb 21, 2022 In the 60 years since Algeria won independence from France, it has gone through multiple crises with its former occupier, often fuelled by domestic politics. Yet the two sides had surprisingly good relations for the first four decades, and it was only in the 1990s that things started to fall apart, experts say. “Generally, despite appearances and criticism, there has … Continue reading Algeria’s 60 years of complex relations with former occupier France