DAKAR – The UN World Food Programme sounded the alarm on Friday over escalating hunger in west and central Africa as needs reach “record levels”. More than 36 million people are struggling to meet their food needs, a number that could rise to 52 million people during the lean season between harvests this summer, the...
PORT SUDAN – Paramilitary drones struck army-held areas of eastern and southern Sudan for a fifth straight day yesterday, army sources said, prompting an exodus of civilians from Port Sudan, seat of the army-backed government. The attacks targeted the country’s main naval base outside Port Sudan, as well as fuel depots in the southern city...
GAZA CITY – First responders in Gaza yesterday said their operations were at a near standstill, more than two months into a full Israeli blockade that has left food and fuel in severe shortage. Israel denies a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the Gaza Strip, where it plans to expand military operations to force Hamas...
KYIV – Ukraine’s parliament yesterday was set to vote on ratifying a resources deal with the United States that Kyiv hopes will pave the way to further military support. The deal, signed last week in Washington, will see Washington and Kyiv jointly develop Ukraine’s natural resources and minerals. Securing a fresh agreement was seen as...
NEW DELHI – India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh said yesterday that missile strikes against Pakistan were a “carefully-planned” operation that exercised New Delhi’s “right to respond”.India’s military said the strikes destroyed “nine terrorist camps” belonging to those it blames for an attack last month in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people. Pakistan said 21 civilians...
RAMALLAH – Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Mustafa appealed to the international community yesterday to put a stop to the “deliberate humanitarian crime” of famine, which he said was being perpetrated in Gaza.“We appeal to the conscience of humanity. Do not let the children of Gaza starve to death. Do not allow food and water to...
LIBREVILLE – Big challenges await Gabon’s new president Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema as he takes the reins of a country rich in oil, but struggling with debt. The general was sworn in on Saturday after winning 94.85% in the 12 April vote in which international observers signalled no major irregularities. His victory followed a 19-month...
NAIROBI – Rwanda’s foreign minister yesterday said a final peace deal to end a crisis gripping the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo would be signed in mid-June in Washington. M23 fighters, who UN experts and the United States say have received military support from Rwanda, have made rapid advances in the eastern DRC since January,...
PARIS – At the annual gathering of France’s finest chefs for the Michelin Guide awards this year, the talk was not only about whose restaurants had gained or lost a star. “Everyone’s discussing AI. I was at a table of 12 other chefs and it was the main thing we talked about,” Matan Zaken, who...
NAIROBI – A US$500-million fund aimed at improving maternal and neonatal health in sub-Saharan Africa was launched in Abu Dhabi, the United Emirates(UAE) on Tuesday, at a time Western countries were sharply cutting aid to Africa. The Beginnings Fund brings together philanthropists including the Gates Foundation and the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity, run...