DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Death toll from flooding in Somalia climbs to nearly 100
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOGADISHU, Nov 25 (Reuters) - The number of people killed by floods from heavy rains in Somalia has climbed to 96, state news agency SONNA said on Saturday. "Somalia's flood death toll climbs to 96," SONNA said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, adding the figure had been confirmed by Mahamuud Moallim, the head of the country's disaster management agency. Like the rest of east and Horn of Africa, Somalia has been battered by relentless heavy rains that begun in October, caused by the El Nino and Indian Ocean Dipole weather phenomena. The flooding has been described as the worst in decades and has displaced about 700,000 people, according to the United Nations. The intense rains have unleashed widespread flooding across the country, triggering displacement and exacerbating an already existing humanitarian crisis caused by years of insurgency.

Persons: SONNA, Mahamuud Moallim, Abdi Sheikh, Abdiqani, Elias Biryabarema, Mark Potter Organizations: El Nino, United Nations, Kenyan, Cross, Thomson Locations: MOGADISHU, Somalia, Horn of Africa, Kenya

Now they say they have nowhere to hide from intense flooding as rainfall exacerbated by the weather phenomenon El Nino pummels large parts of Somalia. Somalia's federal government declared a state of emergency in October after extreme weather exacerbated by El Nino destroyed homes, roads and bridges. Scientists believe climate change is making El Nino stronger. Hakima said her family may be safe from flooding in their camp, but they are hungry and desperate for warm shelter. At least 53 people have been confirmed killed by flooding across Somalia, said Hassan Issee, who manages emergency operations at the Somalia Disaster Management Agency.

Persons: Nino, Hakima Mohamud, “, El Nino, El, Beledweyne, Hakima, ”, Mukhtar Moalim, Hassan Issee, Hamza Abdi Barre Organizations: El Nino, Information Management, Somalia Disaster Management Agency Locations: MOGADISHU, Somalia, Ethiopia, Beledweyne, Shabab, Somali, Kutiimo, Horn of Africa, Kenya, Hiran, Mogadishu, Dollow, Gedo, Africa, africa

☆ An Italian ski resort shut down by climate change plans to reopen with artificial snow. Not everyone is happy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Barbie Latza Nadeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Now, plans to build a multi-million-dollar ski facility on a snowless northern Italian mountain may prove equally challenging. The Lake Como town of Bellagio is among communities backing the reopening of ski facilities. Old turnstiles, ski lift pillars, and even a map of now-vanished pistes can still be found on the mountain. Snow could become even more scarce in the future as the impacts of the climate crisis accelerate. The first plans for the Monte San Primo ski area were passed and the money pledged in early 2022.

Persons: Matteo Colombo, ”, Roberto Fumagalli, Fumagalli, doesn’t, Monte, George Clooney “ We’ve, George Clooney, “, hasn’t, ” Fumagalli, Snow, Roberto Fumagalli ‘, Angelo Barindelli, Alessandro Fermo, It’s, won’t Organizations: CNN, Getty, World Wildlife Fund, Italian Alpine, Alamy, Hollywood, Protesters, Lombardy Regional Council, Facebook, Monte Locations: Messina, Venice, San, Lake Como, Bellagio, Monte San, Mauritius, Cardiff, Bristol, Italy, Ethiopia, of Africa, Lombardy, Monte San Primo

The documentary, which will air this Sunday on “The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper,” exposes an RSF-led campaign to enslave men and women in El Geneina, the largest city controlled by the paramilitary group in Sudan’s Darfur region. Several former Darfuri abductees told CNN that fighters from the RSF and their Arab militia allies hurled racist abuse at them during their captivity. ‘They flogged us with whips’Another woman told CNN she and the female members of her family were raped in captivity for four days. Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/ReutersCNN also found evidence of the enslavement of males as part of the attack on El Geneina. They felt his biceps because they said they “wanted a strong one,” he told CNN.

Persons: Chad CNN — Mahdi, “, ” Mahdi, “ I’d crouch, –, Anderson Cooper, ”, Zohra Bensemra, El Geneina, Wagner —, Khalid, Alex Platt, —, Mahdi, abductees, Raghm, ’ ”, ’, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah, Wagner Organizations: Chad CNN, CNN, Rapid Support Forces, Red Cross, Reuters, Chadian, El, Industrial School, Strategic Initiative, Women, Unit, CNN Rights, Darfur —, Human Rights, Reuters CNN Locations: Chad, West Darfur, El, El Geneina, Darfur, Sudan's Darfur, Ourang, Adre, Russian, Sudan —, Sudan, Horn of Africa, Khartoum, “

☆ Gruelling African World Cup qualifying gets under way
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Mark Gleeson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The New York/New Jersey's FIFA World Cup 2026 logo is revealed during the kickoff event in Times Square in New York City, U.S., May 18, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCAPE TOWN, Nov 14 (Reuters) - More places for Africa at the next World Cup finals has not lessened the intensity of the qualifying process, often described as the toughest in world football, and which kicks off this week. Carlos Queiroz, who coached Colombia, Egypt, Iran, Portugal, South Africa and now Qatar, once described the African preliminaries as "a nightmare". For the 2026 World Cup, the 54 African entrants were divided into nine groups with only the winners assured of a place at the finals. A total of 13 African countries, starting with Egypt in 1934, have played at the World Cup finals.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Carlos Queiroz, Ed Osmond Organizations: New, FIFA, REUTERS, U.S, Mauritius, D, Eritrea, January’s Africa, Nations, Rwanda, Wednesday’s, Central African, Thomson Locations: York, New York City, U.S, Africa, Asia, South America, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Egypt, Iran, Portugal, South Africa, Qatar, Cameroon, Douala, Libya, Morocco, Tanzania, January’s, Ivory Coast . Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Lesotho, Namibia, Niger, Sao Tome e Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan

☆ Mummified baboons found in Egypt have puzzled scientists for 118 years. Now we finally might know how they got there and why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Mummified remains of baboons in Egypt found over a century ago have long puzzled researchers. AdvertisementAdvertisementNew research on the mysterious remains of mummified baboons, found far from their natural habitat over a hundred years ago in Egypt, has shed light on the sacred significance of the primates in the ancient Arabian Peninsula. Kopp's discovery is the first time ancient DNA from a mummified non-human primate has successfully been analyzed to this extent. The exact location of Punt, Kopp told Insider, has long puzzled researchers due to references to the town being found in significant texts and artwork but not found on existing maps. And they even mummified baboons, which any primatologist will tell you is puzzling."

Persons: —, Gisela Kopp, Kopp, Gabbanat, Patrick Ageneau Kopp, they're, Pesky, Nathaniel Dominy, Dominy, you'd, Thoth Organizations: Service, University of Konstanz, Musee des Confluences, Dartmouth College Locations: Egypt, Adulis, Eritrea —, Africa, Eritrea, Punt, Lyon, France, Qurud

☆ Ethiopia PM Abiy Seeks to Quell Neighbours' Concerns Over Invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

"Ethiopia has never invaded any country and now Ethiopia has no intention to invade any country," Abiy told thousands of soldiers gathered in the capital Addis Ababa to celebrate the national army on Thursday. Abiy said Ethiopia would not pursue its interests "through force", and that "it wouldn't pull the trigger on its fellow brothers." Abiy won a Nobel peace prize in 2019 for his peacemaking efforts which ended two decades of hostility with Eritrea. "There are major concerns around the region that the relationship could deteriorate further and risk outright hostility." (Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw and Giulia Paravicini, writing by Giulia Paravicini; Editing by Hereward Holland and Christina Fincher)

Persons: Dawit Endeshaw, Giulia, Abiy Ahmed, Abiy, Alan Boswell, Horn, Alexis Mohamed, Somalia's, Giulia Paravicini, Hereward Holland, Christina Fincher Organizations: Ethiopian, Crisis Locations: ADDIS ABABA, NAIROBI, Ethiopia, Horn of Africa, Coastal Eritrea, Addis Ababa, Eritrea, Bure, Tigray, Asmara, Djibouti, United States, China

Storms, floods, fires and other extreme weather events led to more than 43 million displacements involving children between 2016 and 2021, according to a United Nations report. But while catastrophes intensify, the world has yet to recognize climate migrants and find formal ways of protecting them. Nearly a third, or 43 million of the 134 million times that people were uprooted from their homes due to extreme weather from 2016-21 included children. Floods displaced children more than 19 million times in places like India and China. Many are enduring “overlapping crises” — where risks from climate extremes are compounded by conflict, fragile institutions and poverty, Healy said.

Persons: Shukri Mohamed Ibrahim, Ibrahim, That’s, ” Ibrahim, ”, Laura Healy, Healy, Kumar, ” Kumar, Meera Devi, Shiv Kumar, hasn’t, Mimi Vu, “, we’re, ” Healy, ___ Ghosal, Fassett, Omar Faruk, Piyush, Teresa de Miguel Organizations: United, UNICEF, Monitoring, AP Locations: United Nations, Somalia, Mogadishu, Philippines, India, China, U.S, Canada, Geneva, Horn, Africa, Caribbean, New Delhi, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Hanoi, Seattle, New York

☆ Mysterious ‘fairy circles’ of Namibia and Australia aren’t so rare after all, study says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Round discs of barren dirt known as “fairy circles” look like rows of polka dots that can spread for miles over the ground. Fairy circles were previously spotted only in the arid lands of Southern Africa’s Namib Desert and the outback of Western Australia. The results showed 263 dryland locations where there were circular patterns similar to fairy circles in Namibia and Australia. Fairy circles’ mysterious originsThe study authors also compiled environmental data where circles were spotted, collecting evidence that might hint at what causes them to form. But the question “What shapes fairy circles?” is complex, and factors that create fairy circles may differ from site to site, the study authors reported.

Persons: ”, Emilio Guirado, Guirado, “, Stephan Getzin, Getzin, Fiona Walsh, Walsh, ” Walsh, ” Guirado, Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, National Academy of Sciences, Multidisciplinary Institute, Environmental Studies, University of Alicante, University of Göttingen, University of Western, “, Scientific Locations: Southern, Western Australia, Spain, Namibia, Australia, Africa, Western Sahara, of Africa, Madagascar, Midwestern Asia, Southwest Australia, Germany, University of Western Australia, Northern Territory

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — If you listen to the African leaders addressing the U.N. General Assembly this year, the message is emphatic and unanimous: The continent is done being a victim of a post-World War II order. It is a global power in itself and must be partnered with — not sidelined. There’s also a new boldness that comes with the African Union’s G20 seat. With the largest bloc of countries at the United Nations, it is understandable that African leaders increasingly demand a bigger voice in multilateral institutions, said Murithi Mutiga, program director for Africa at the Crisis Group. As African leaders spoke glowingly about the continent as a force on the global stage, some at home said the leaders must begin by delivering the dividends of democracy to their people.

Persons: —, There’s, William Ruto, Nana Akufo, Addo, Africa’s, Cyril Ramaphosa of, ”, Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, Murithi Mutiga, Rashid Abdi, Horn of, ” Abdi, Felix, Antoine Tshisekedi, Filipe Nyusi, Nyusi, Ibrahim Mayaki, Mayaki, Grace Agbu, Mamadi Doumbouya Organizations: General Assembly, Kenyan, United Nations, Crisis, African Development Bank, Gulf, Slave Trade, SEAT, Economic Cooperation, Development, Democratic, Africa Center, ” Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria, Africa, Russia, Ukraine, Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Horn of Africa, Nairobi, Europe, United States, Paris, Democratic Republic of, Congo, New York, Nigeria’s, Abuja, “, ”

☆ EU executive says aid payments for Somalia 'temporarily suspended'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Gabriela Baczynska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Ayenat Mersie//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsUNITED NATIONS, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The European Union's executive said on Tuesday that disbursements of humanitarian aid in Somalia were "temporarily suspended" after a U.N. probe found widespread theft and misuse of support meant to avert famine. Quoting senior EU officials, Reuters reported exclusively on Monday that the European Commission had temporarily suspended funding for the World Food Programme (WFP) in Somalia because of the U.N. findings. Donors boosted funding to Somalia last year as humanitarian officials warned of a looming famine due to the Horn of Africa's worst drought in decades. The U.N. humanitarian aid budget for Somalia is envisaged at 72 million euros ($77 million), of which 10 million euros ($10.68 million) are earmarked for the WFP. Three months ago the WFP and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) suspended food aid to neighboring Ethiopia in response to a widespread diversion of donations.

Persons: Ayenat, Balazs Ujvari, Gabriela Baczynska, Howard Goller Organizations: REUTERS, UNITED NATIONS, European, Reuters, European Commission, Food Programme, WFP, U.S . Agency for International Development, USAID, Thomson Locations: Dollow, Somalia, Muri, Mogadishu, United States, Ethiopia

The second senior EU official confirmed that. A third source, also an EU official, said the Commission was "cooperating actively with WFP to resolve systemic defects" but said no aid was suspended at this stage. Last year, it contributed more than half of the $2.2 billion of funding that went to the humanitarian response there. The U.N. report did not attempt to quantify the amount of aid that was diverted but said its findings "suggest that post-delivery aid diversion in Somalia is widespread and systemic". In all, investigators collected data from 55 IDP sites in Somalia and found aid diversion in all of them, the report said.

Persons: Ayenat, Balazs Ujvari, Antonio Guterres, Devex, Jessica Jennings, gatekeepers, Gabriela Baczynska, Michelle Nichols, Aaron Ross, Emma Farge, Daphne Psaledakis, Joe Bavier, Howard Goller Organizations: REUTERS, UNITED NATIONS, European Union, Food Programme, Reuters, European Commission, EU, WFP, U.N, U.S . Agency for International Development, USAID, European, Somali Disaster Management Office, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Dollow, Somalia, NAIROBI, GENEVA, Ethiopia, United States, Nairobi, Geneva

☆ US, Norway to launch Africa agriculture fund, commit $70 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Daphne Psaledakis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The United States and Norway will pledge a total of $70 million on Monday to launch a fund, reported here for the first time, to help farmers and agricultural businesses in Africa, a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) spokesperson said. BY THE NUMBERSThe fund aims to reach a total of $200 million through additional contributions from donors and has the potential to benefit nearly 7.5 million people, the spokesperson said. USAID and Norway will each commit an initial $35 million. The fund has the potential to support 500 small- and medium-sized agricultural businesses, 1.5 million smallholder farmers and nearly 60,000 private sector jobs. The fund aims to spur hundreds of millions more dollars in commercial financing by reducing the risk of investing.

Persons: Mor Kabe, Zohra, Samantha Power, Power, Daphne Psaledakis, Howard Goller Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Agency for International Development, USAID, of International, General Assembly, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Notto, Diama, Thies, Senegal, United States, Norway, Africa, Norwegian, Russia, China, Europe, West Africa

The continent is rich in the commodities needed for the green energy transition and has abundant solar power, but many governments are also burdened with cripplingly high debts. "Eighty percent of the infrastructure Africa needs by 2050 has not yet been built," Gamboa said at the IMPACT conference. "They've come to a recognition that it is good development to leapfrog and go into the clean energy transition now." "We cannot and will not run away from doing fossil fuel-based investing because the development needs of the continent are so huge," the AFC's Gupta said. "The world still needs energy security, the world still needs energy source diversity.

Persons: John Muchucha, it's, Andrew Steer, Freddy, we've, Tom Mitchell, Sanjeev Gupta, Gupta, Cristina Gamboa, " Gamboa, ActionAid, Gloria Dickie, Jane Wardell, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Earth, Reuters IMPACT, International Institute for Environment, Development, London, African Finance Corporation, International Energy Agency, IMPACT, AFC, Thomson Locations: Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, London, Horn of Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar, Sharm el, Sheikh, Lagos, Global South, Paris

☆ Africa endures more severe warming than elsewhere, posing risk of conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Africa is responsible for only a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions but is suffering disproportionately from climate change," the State of the Climate in Africa 2022 report said. On average, each African produced 1.04 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2021, less than a quarter of the global average. The report said the average rate of warming in Africa was 0.3 degrees Celsius per decade in the 1991-2022 period, compared with 0.2 degrees in the world as a whole. The warming has been fastest in North Africa which has been subject to multiple heatwaves since last year. Overall, the report said that agricultural productivity had fallen due to climate change, noting a decline of 34% since 1961 which is set to drive up import needs sharply.

Persons: Thomas Mukoya, Emma Farge, Peter Graff Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, stoke, World Meteorological Organization, Thomson Locations: Industrial, Nairobi, Kenya, Africa, North Africa, West Africa

Together, experts say, these efforts aim to enhance China’s military reach, which currently includes only one operational overseas naval base in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa. “It’s a question of when – not if – China will secure its next overseas military outpost,” he said. This photo taken on August 1, 2017, shows Chinese People's Liberation Army personnel attending the opening ceremony of China's new military base in Djibouti. The Hambantota commercial port in Sri Lanka has long been considered a prime candidate for a Chinese naval base. However, China’s path to developing permanent overseas bases, if indeed that is its aim, is not straightforward.

Persons: FDD, Craig Singleton, “, –, ”, Tea Banh, FDD’s Singleton, Tang Chhin Sothy, Singleton, Xi Jinping, Stringer, ” AidData, Stephen J, Townsend, ” Townsend, Bata, Ali Bongo Ondimba, Ken Ishii, ’, ” Singleton, China’s, Aaron Favila, Isaac Kardon, Kardon, ” Kardon, BlackSky Singleton, Rob Wittman, Fu Tian, Seth Moulton, ” Moulton, Martin Meiners Organizations: South Korea CNN, People’s Liberation Army Navy, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, People’s Liberation Army, PLA, Ream, Base, CNN, China’s Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ream Naval Base, ” Cambodian Defense, Cambodian, Getty, Fleet, Communist Party, US, Liberation Army personnel, William & Mary University, Sri Lankan Navy, US Africa Command, Gabonese, of, Xinhua, Naval Research Academy, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, East China Seas, China, Control, Organization, Force, Strategic, International Studies, Defense Department, Chinese Communist Party, ”, Virginia Republican, The Defense Department, Qingdao Port, People's Liberation Army Navy, China News Service, America, Pentagon, US Defense Department Locations: Seoul, South Korea, China, Beijing, Washington, Cambodia, Argentina, Cuba, Djibouti, of Africa, Africa, West Asia, Gulf, Thailand, United States, Preah Sihanouk, AFP, Horn of Africa, “, South, Taiwan, Virginia, —, Sri Lanka, Bata , Equatorial Guinea, Gwadar, Pakistan, Kribi, Cameroon, Ream, Vanuatu, Nacala, Mozambique, Nouakchott, Mauritania, Colombo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, West Africa, South China, East Asia, East, Asia, Washington In Washington, Nanchang, Qingdao, Shandong province, Massachusetts

☆ African climate summit seeks to shift focus to finance from floods, famine
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Duncan Miriri | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A report last year by the non-profit Climate Policy Initiative found Africa has received only 12% of the finance it needs to cope with climate impacts. The thousands of delegates are expected to debate solutions ahead of a U.N. climate summit next month in New York in September and the COP28 U.N. summit in the United Arab Emirates from the end of November. The summit's organisers also say they expect deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars to be concluded in Nairobi. In June, it hosted an auction where companies from Saudi Arabia bought more than 2.2 million tonnes of carbon credits. One project generating carbon credits in Kenya is BURN Manufacturing's production of clean cooking stoves to replace heavily polluting wood and charcoal-based fires.

Persons: Finbarr O'Reilly, Soipan Tuya, Amos Wemanya, Chris McKinney, Joseph Ng'ang'a, Duncan Miriri, Christophe Van Der, Aaron Ross, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Initiative, Kenyan Environment, United, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Africa Carbon Markets, Thomson Locations: Haute Uele, Congo, Rights NAIROBI, Africa, Nairobi, New York, United Arab, Gabon, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Egypt

Human Rights Watch/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsDUBAI/HARAR, Ethiopia, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian border guards have killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants, including women and children, who attempted enter the kingdom along its mountainous border with Yemen, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday. In a 73-page report, the rights group said Saudi guards used explosive weapons to kill some migrants and shot at others from close range. Saudi authorities have also strongly denied allegations made by U.N. officials in 2022 that border guards systematically killed migrants last year. HRW said it based its report on witness testimony as well as 350 videos and photos of wounded and killed migrants, and satellite imagery showing the location of Saudi Arabian guard posts. A letter issued by the kingdom's U.N. mission in March 2023 rejected the allegation, saying that Saudi border security regulations "ensure humane treatment...no form of mistreatment or torture is tolerated."

Persons: U.N, Nadia Hardman, Hardman, Mustafa Sofian Mohammed, Mustafa, Sofian Mohammed Abdulla, Mustafa's, Stephane Dujarric, Andrew Mills, Emma Farge, Daphne Psaledakis, Dawit, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Human Rights, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Rights Watch, Saudi, Ethiopian, Reuters, State Department, Al, Al Thawra Hospital, International Organization for Migration, Hallelujah, HRW, Rehabilitation, Torture, UN Human Rights, Gulf Bureau, Tiksa, Milan Pavicic, Thomson Locations: Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Rights DUBAI, HARAR, Saudi Arabian, Saudi, Addis Ababa, U.S, Tigray, Horn of Africa, Aden, Ethiopian, Harar, Al Thawra, Sanaa, Addis, New York, Gulf, Tiksa Negeri, Milan, Gdansk, Geneva, Washington

CNN —Saudi border guards killed “hundreds” of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers crossing the Yemen-Saudi border between March 2022 and June 2023, Human Rights Watch alleged in a report released Monday. Several videos purportedly recorded near an informal migrant camp appear to show Saudi border guard posts, and newly constructed fences next to one. “Saudi border guards have used explosive weapons indiscriminately and shot people at close range, including women and children, in a pattern that is widespread and systematic. But despite a reduction in abuses, human rights groups say violence has continued, and some migrants HRW interviewed said they had fled because of the recent conflict. Interviewees described being attacked by Saudi border guards, describing their uniforms and describing the explosive weapons being “like a bomb.”“We were fired on repeatedly.

Persons: HRW, ” HRW, ” Organizations: CNN, Human Rights Watch, HRW, Maxar Technologies CNN, Saudi, Human Rights, Reuters, United Nations Locations: Saudi, Yemen, Al Raqw, Horn of Africa, Aden, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia’s, Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, Djibouti, Houthi, Saada, United States, Iran

☆ Safaricom launches M-Pesa mobile money service in Ethiopia
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Dawit Endeshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A customer displays the package of a Safaricom Ethiopia sim card during the service launch in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, October 6, 2022. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsADDIS ABABA, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Safaricom's (SCOM.NR) M-Pesa mobile money service went live in Ethiopia on Wednesday, in a boost to the Kenyan telecoms operator as it seeks to kickstart growth in one of Africa's biggest economies. The company also faces stiff competition from Ethio Telecom, whose profits more than doubled in its latest financial year. In July, Ethio Telecom reported having more than 34 million subscribers to its mobile money service Telebirr. Mobile money services are common in East Africa, allowing customers to send and receive money and pay for goods and services.

Persons: Safaricom, Stanley Njoroge, Dawit, Elias Biryabarema, Aaron Ross, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, Tiksa, South Africa’s Vodacom, Britain’s Vodafone, Democratic, Ethio Telecom, Thomson Locations: Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, ADDIS ABABA, Horn of Africa, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, Mobile, East Africa

A partial view of the Lalibela town in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia, January 25, 2022. In that war, federal forces faced battle-hardened fighters loyal to Tigray's ruling party, who at one point advanced hundreds of kilometres towards the capital Addis Ababa. Following the Tigray deal, his government held preliminary talks with rebels in the Oromiya region, Ethiopia's largest, about ending a decades-long insurgency. But anger was building in Amhara, where the Tigray deal deepened existing suspicions of Abiy's government. It said the status of lands claimed by both Amhara and Tigray, which Amhara forces captured during the war, should be resolved "in accordance with the constitution".

Persons: Abiy, Tewodrose Tirfe, Temesgen, Ethiopia's, Fano, Addisu Lashitew, Befekadu Hailu, Aaron Ross, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Tiksa, Fano, Amhara Association of America, Brookings Institution, Protesters, Thomson Locations: Amhara Region, Ethiopia, NAIROBI, Tigray, Amhara, Fano, Africa, Eritrea, Sudan, Addis Ababa, Oromiya

☆ Somalia says Russia grants relief on debt worth $684 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOGADISHU, July 27 (Reuters) - Russia has granted debt relief on over $684 million owed by Somalia in a deal finalised on the sidelines of a Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg, officials from the Horn of Africa nation said. Emerging from decades of civil war, Somalia is seeking to secure sweeping external debt relief under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. The agreement signed on Wednesday between Egeh and Russian deputy finance minister Timur Maksimov concerned Paris Club loans, Somali Deputy Prime Minister Salah Ahmed Jama told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. Somalia owed Moscow nearly $695 million in 2019, according to the IMF. Reporting by Hereward Holland, Abdi Sheikh and Rachel Savage; editing by Joe Bavier and Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bihi Egeh, Timur Maksimov, Salah Ahmed Jama, Jama, Vladimir Putin, Putin, pare, Hereward Holland, Abdi Sheikh, Rachel Savage, Joe Bavier, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: International Monetary Fund, Somali Finance, Moscow, Paris Club, RIA Novosti, African, IMF, Thomson Locations: MOGADISHU, Russia, Somalia, Africa, St Petersburg, Horn of Africa, Egeh, Paris, Russian, Moscow, Ukraine

☆ Senior US Treasury official to raise Russia grain deal in visit to Kenya, Somalia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Daphne Psaledakis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - A top U.S. Treasury official will highlight Washington's efforts to facilitate Russian grain and fertilizer exports during a visit to Kenya and Somalia and stress that Moscow's exit from the Black Sea grain deal will hurt African states, a spokesperson said on Monday. This week's visit by Brian Nelson, Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to host African leaders in St. Petersburg on Thursday and Friday and promises them free Russian grain "to replace Ukrainian grain." BLACK SEA GRAIN DEALRussia quit the deal allowing Black Sea exports of Ukrainian grain last week, saying that demands to improve its own food and fertilizer exports had not been met, and that not enough Ukraine grain had reached the poorest countries under the Black Sea deal. Since Russia quit the deal and began attacking Ukrainian food-exporting ports on the Black Sea and Danube river, global wheat and corn futures prices have risen sharply. The Black Sea grain deal was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey a year ago to combat a global food crisis worsened by Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Persons: Brian Nelson, Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, Nelson, Russia's, Daphne Psaledakis, Don Durfee, Cynthia Osterman, Sonali Paul Organizations: U.S, Treasury, Reuters, Biden, Islamic, Black, Thomson Locations: Kenya, Somalia, St . Petersburg, Nelson's, Africa, East Africa, U.S, Nairobi, Somalia's, Mogadishu, Islamic State, al Shabaab, Sudan, Russia, Ukrainian, Turkey, Ukraine, Moscow

In June, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) declared that an El Nino is now under way. Meteorologists expect that this El Nino, coupled with excess warming from climate change, will see the world grapple with record-high temperatures. Here is how El Nino will unfold and some of the weather we might expect:WHAT CAUSES AN EL NINO? El Nino could offer a reprieve to the Horn of Africa, which recently suffered five consecutive failed rainy seasons. Historically, both El Nino and La Nina have occurred about every two to seven years on average, with El Nino lasting 9 to 12 months.

Persons: Kim Hong, heatwaves, El, El Nino, Michelle L'Heureux, Tom DiLiberto, DiLiberto, La Nina, Nina, Gloria Dickie, Jake Spring, Angus MacSwan, Sandra Maler Organizations: REUTERS, Nino, Reuters, El Nino, U.S . National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, El, Graphics, el nino, NINO, U.S . West, La, Sao Paulo, Thomson Locations: Cheongju, South Korea, China, United States, Beijing, Rome, Americas, Asia, El, Pacific, Peru, Philippines, Canada, Central, South America, Australia, of Africa, Eastern Pacific, El Nino, London, Sao

☆ Russia halts grain deal in what UN calls blow to needy people everywhere
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres signalled that Russia's withdrawal meant that the related pact to assist Russia's grain and fertilizer exports was also terminated. Moscow said it would consider rejoining the grain deal if it saw "concrete results" on its demands but that its guarantees for the safety of navigation would meanwhile be revoked. REUTERS/StringerUkrainian forces have been striking Russian supply lines as it pursues a counteroffensive to drive Russian forces out of its south and east. On Monday it reported two more civilians killed by Russian forces, which it said had begun a major push in the northeast. The grain deal was hailed as preventing a global food emergency when brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last year.

Persons: Dmitry Peskov, Antonio Guterres, Moscow, Antony Blinken, Saraf, Halima Hussein, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Stringer, Hanna Maliar, Serhiy Cherevatyi, Vladimir Putin, Marat Khusnullin, Putin, Artem Dekhtyarenko, Max Hunder, Michelle Nichols, Abdi Sheikh, Ron Popeski, Lidia Kelly, Peter Graff, Philippa Fletcher, Alex Richardson, Grant McCool Organizations: UN, Russian Federation, International Rescue, REUTERS, Stringer Ukrainian, Lyman, Ukrainian Armed Forces, TV, Reuters, Ukraine's Security, Ukraine, United, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Crimea, Ukraine, Russian, KYIV, Russia, Moscow, Ukrainian, Washington, AFRICA Ukraine, East Africa, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia's, Mogadishu, Kyiv, Turkey, Kerch, Kupiansk, Kharkiv, United Nations, New York

Search resuls for: "Horn of Africa"

25 mentions found