Dakar (AFP) Sept 10, 2024 Senegal’s navy said Tuesday that at least 26 people died after a migrant boat sank off the coast two days earlier, in the latest migration-linked tragedy to occur off West Africa. In a post on X, the navy said it had recovered “17 lifeless bodies” on Tuesday, bringing the toll to 26 after nine were initially announced dead following the … Continue reading Senegal migrant shipwreck death toll climbs to at least 26: navy

Johannesburg (AFP) Sept 5, 2024 Mozambique has approved Africa’s largest mangrove restoration project with 200 million trees to be planted over 60 years, the developer which bagged the licence said on Thursday. Gulf-based Blue Forest said it would start work in November, adding it had obtained the licence after around two-and-a-half years of feasibility studies. “We will start planting the first of the 200 million … Continue reading Mozambique okays Africa’s largest mangrove restoration project

Tripoli (AFP) Sept 8, 2024 A year after flooding in eastern Libya killed thousands and razed entire neighbourhoods, reconstruction is allowing military strongman Khalifa Haftar to wield further power in the divided country, experts say. On September 10, 2023, extreme rainfall from the hurricane-strength Storm Daniel caused two dams to burst in the coastal city of Derna, some 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) east of the … Continue reading A year on, rebuilding Libya’s flood-hit Derna plagued by politics

Ha Long, Vietnam (AFP) Sept 8, 2024 Super Typhoon Yagi ripped roofs off buildings, sank boats and triggered landslides in Vietnam, leaving nine people dead as of Sunday, after tearing through southern China and the Philippines. A family of four was killed in a landslide in the mountainous Hoa Binh province of northern Vietnam early Sunday morning, according to state media. The landslide happened around … Continue reading Super Typhoon Yagi toll rises to 9 in Vietnam after landslide

Frankfurt, Germany (AFP) Sept 7, 2024 Hundreds of firefighters backed by aeroplanes and helicopters on Saturday battled a massive forest fire in the mountains of central Germany for a second day. The blaze began in the Harz Mountains a day earlier, and prompted the evacuation of about 500 hikers and other tourists from the area. About 250 firefighters were deployed on Saturday to fight the … Continue reading Firefighters, planes tackle blaze in German mountains

Beijing (AFP) Sept 6, 2024 China’s years of splashing cash on big-ticket infrastructure projects in Africa may be over, analysts say, with Beijing seeking to shield itself from risky, indebted partners on the continent as it grapples with a slowing economy at home. Beijing for years dished out billions in loans for trains, roads and bridges in Africa that saddled participating governments with debts they … Continue reading China pushes smaller, smarter loans to Africa to shield from risks

Washington (AFP) Sept 7, 2024 The United States on Friday warned of growing risks for businesses operating in Hong Kong, saying that routine activities could run afoul of the financial hub’s new national security regulations. China had agreed to a “One Country, Two Systems” approach for Hong Kong before the territory was handed over from Britain in 1997. But Beijing has clamped down since mass … Continue reading US warns of growing risks of business in Hong Kong

Nairobi (AFP) Sept 5, 2024 A five-year-old child has been mauled to death by a hyena in Kenya, the East African country’s wildlife service said Thursday, promising that it was tackling the “rising hyena attacks”. “Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) deeply regret to the tragic loss of a 5-year-old child caused by a hyena attack,” it said. The KWS said the attack occurred on Wednesday evening … Continue reading Five-year-old child killed by hyena in Kenya

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Sep 05, 2024 Photosynthesis can occur even under extremely low light conditions, according to an international study that examined Arctic microalgae’s development at the conclusion of the polar night. Conducted during the MOSAiC expedition at 88 degrees northern latitude, the study found that microalgae can build up biomass through photosynthesis as early as the end of March, despite the sun barely rising … Continue reading Arctic microalgae photosynthesize in near-darkness, study finds

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Sep 05, 2024 An interdisciplinary team from the University of Cologne’s Institute of Geophysics and Meteorology, along with the Department of Prehistoric Archaeology, has developed the “Our Way Model,” offering new insights into the movements and population densities of early humans in Europe during the Aurignacian period (approximately 43,000 to 32,000 years ago). The model identifies four distinct phases ihttp://dlvr.it/TCv3sM Continue reading New model sheds light on human dispersal phases across Europe