DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Air strike on Sudan's Omdurman kills 22, health ministry says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CAIRO, July 8 (Reuters) - At least 22 people were killed and scores injured in an air strike by Sudan's army on western Omdurman, the Khartoum state health ministry said on Saturday, as the war between the country's military factions entered its 12th week. While the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) quickly dominated the capital Khartoum and its sister cities Omdurman and Bahri after fighting broke out on April 15, the army has launched air and artillery strikes. At least 1,133 people have been killed in the fighting, according to the federal health ministry, which has flared in the capital and the Kordofan and Darfur regions, sparking ethnic violence in West Darfur state. Strikes, including overnight on Friday, have also centred on the country's state broadcasting complex in eastern Omdurman. The army said in a post on Facebook that special forces had killed 20 "rebel soldiers" and destroyed their weaponry.

Persons: Moaz Abd, Khalid Abdelaziz, Mark Potter, William Maclean Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Facebook, Thomson Locations: CAIRO, Omdurman, Khartoum, Bahri, East, Horn of Africa, Sahel, Red, Kordofan, Darfur, West Darfur, Cairo, Dubai

☆ SPECIAL REPORT-Inside the subsea cable firm secretly helping America take on China
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Joe Brock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +23 min

Reuters is revealing details of the Diego Garcia project and SubCom’s deepening ties with the Pentagon. SubCom’s loyalty is especially important because it is the only major U.S. subsea cable company. Rather, they carefully obscured the U.S. military component within a larger private-sector cable project, according to four subsea cable industry sources with knowledge of the arrangement. That project, known as the Oman Australia Cable, was spearheaded by SUBCO, a Brisbane-based subsea cable investment company owned by Australian entrepreneur Bevan Slattery. Once the Navy project was complete, AT&T’s submarine cable project morphed into a commercial business, the former employees said.

Persons: Diego Garcia, SubCom, Cerberus, Stephen Feinberg, Donald Trump, Feinberg, Joe Biden, Biden, Eckhard Bruckschen, They’ve, ” Bruckschen, Trump, Brad Smith, –, Mao Ning, ”, Jacob Helberg, Bevan Slattery, SUBCO’s, Richard Payne, Payne, “ We’re, ” Payne, Alex Kerska, Catherine Creese, Creese, David Coughlan, Coughlan, Slattery, SubCom’s Coughlan, Rich, Australia West Express –, John Mariano, Anthony Albanese, Albanese, Caesar, Kellee Wicker, ” Wicker Organizations: CS, SubCom, Google, Microsoft, Meta, ., U.S, Navy, Cerberus Capital Management, U.S . Navy, President’s Intelligence, Board, U.S . Navy’s Pacific Fleet, U.S . Pacific Fleet, U.S ., Pentagon, America Inc, Cable Consultancy, Reuters, Japan’s NEC Corporation, France’s Alcatel Submarine Networks, China’s HMN, U.S . Department of Defense, White, U.S . Department of Justice, Foreign, Oracle, China Economic, Security, Commission, U.S . Department of Transportation, Department of Defense, government’s, Cable Security Fleet, Oman Australia Cable, SUBCO, The, The U.S . Pacific Fleet, SUBCO’s Oman Australia Cable, Facebook, Defense, Intelligence, SubCom’s, London Stock Exchange Group, U.S . Coast Guard, Naval, Cable, Office, Tyco Telecommunications, Australian, Financial, Australia West Express, GoTo Networks, couldn’t, Netflix, AT, Tyco International, Tyco, New, Washington, Science, Technology, Wilson, “ Cables Locations: Diego, Indian, China, New Jersey, United States, U.S, Soviet, Washington, New York, Philippine, South China, Beijing, America, American, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Eatontown , New Jersey, British, Britain, Australian, Australia, Oman, Brisbane, Southeast Asia, The U.S, SUBCO’s Oman, Perth, SubCom, Guam, U.S . Pacific, Republic of Djibouti, of Africa, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, Scotland, Newfoundland

☆ Inside the subsea cable firm secretly helping American take on China
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +24 min

Persons: Diego Garcia, SubCom, Cerberus, Stephen Feinberg, Donald Trump, Feinberg, Joe Biden, Biden, Eckhard Bruckschen, They’ve, ” Bruckschen, Trump, Brad Smith, –, Mao Ning, ”, Jacob Helberg, Bevan Slattery, SUBCO’s, Richard Payne, Payne, “ We're, ” Payne, Alex Kerska, Catherine Creese, Creese, David Coughlan, Coughlan, Slattery, SubCom’s Coughlan, Rich, Australia West Express –, John Mariano, Anthony Albanese, Albanese, Caesar, Kellee Wicker, ” Wicker, Joe Brock, Mohammad Kawoosa, Edgar Su, Catherine Tai Design, Eve Watling, Marla Dickerson Organizations: CS, SubCom, Google, Microsoft, Meta, ., U.S, Navy, Cerberus Capital Management, U.S . Navy, President’s Intelligence, Board, U.S . Navy’s Pacific Fleet, U.S . Pacific Fleet, U.S ., Pentagon, America Inc, Cable Consultancy, Reuters, Japan’s NEC Corporation, France’s Alcatel Submarine Networks, China’s HMN, U.S . Department of Defense, White, U.S . Department of Justice, Foreign, Oracle, China Economic, Security, Commission, U.S . Department of Transportation, Department of Defense, government’s, Cable Security Fleet, Oman Australia Cable, SUBCO, The, The U.S . Pacific Fleet, SUBCO’s Oman Australia Cable, Facebook, Defense, Intelligence, SubCom’s, London Stock Exchange Group, U.S . Coast Guard, Naval, Cable, Office, Tyco Telecommunications, Australian, Financial, Australia West Express, GoTo Networks, couldn’t, Netflix, AT, Tyco International, Tyco, New, Washington, Science, Technology, Wilson, “ Cables Locations: Diego, Indian, China, New Jersey, United States, U.S, Soviet, Washington, New York, Philippine, South China, Beijing, America, American, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Eatontown , New Jersey, British, Britain, Australian, Australia, Oman, Brisbane, Southeast Asia, The U.S, SUBCO’s Oman, Perth, SubCom, Guam, U.S . Pacific, Republic of Djibouti, of Africa, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, Scotland, Newfoundland

☆ Last month was the planet’s hottest June on record by a huge margin
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The analysis from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service found that last month was the planet’s hottest June by a “substantial margin” above the previous record, which was set in 2019. The nine hottest Junes have all occurred in the last nine years, according to the agency – evidence the human-caused climate crisis is driving temperatures to unprecedented levels. This is exactly what global warming looks like.”Scientists have warned that these record temperatures bear the fingerprints of the climate crisis. Northwest Europe experienced record-breaking temperatures last, including the UK, which logged its hottest June on record, according to the UK Met Office. “The ocean warming is even more concerning because as the oceans warm, they expand, which means higher sea levels, larger storms surges and more flooding of coastal communities,” Marlon said.

Persons: Copernicus, ” Jennifer Marlon, “, Greenlee Beal, El Niño, ” Marlon, — Organizations: CNN, Southern, Yale School of Environment, Northwest, UK Met Office, Reuters, Climate, Atlantic Locations: Southern US, Mexico, El, Pacific, Northwest Europe, Canada, United States, Asia, Australia, Texas, Central America, Ireland, Baltic, Europe, Iceland, Russia, Turkey, Kosovo, Romania, Scandinavia, America, Horn of Africa, South America, Antarctica

☆ El Niño is here and the world must prepare for more extreme heat, UN weather agency warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The WMO said there was a 90% probability of El Niño continuing during the second half of 2023 at moderate strength. Along with increased ocean warming, El Niño events are usually associated with increased rainfall in parts of southern South America, the southern United States, the Horn of Africa and central Asia. In India, a major rice producing nation, El Niño can weaken the monsoon that brings the rainfall the country relies on to fill aquifers and grow crops. El Niño this year could also dent US economic growth, potentially impacting everything from food prices to winter clothing sales, a recent study found. The study attributed $5.7 trillion in global income losses to the 1997-98 El Niño and $4.1 trillion in losses to the 1982-83 El Niño.

Persons: El Niño, El, ”, Petteri Taalas, Niño, Chris Hewitt, “ Organizations: CNN, World Meteorological Organization, WMO, United Nations, El Locations: El, South America, United States, of Africa, Asia, Australia, Indonesia, Central America, Pacific, India, Paris, Europe, Americas

☆ Temperatures seen surging as El Nino weather pattern returns
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

El Nino, a warming of water surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, is linked to extreme weather conditions from tropical cyclones to heavy rainfall to severe droughts. The world's hottest year on record, 2016, coincided with a strong El Nino - though experts says climate change has fuelled extreme temperatures even in years without the phenomenon. The World Health Organization said last month it was preparing for an increased spread of viral diseases such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya linked to El Nino. During El Nino, winds blowing west along the equator slow down, and warm water is pushed east, creating warmer surface ocean temperatures. In the past, it has caused severe droughts in Australia, Indonesia, parts of southern Asia, Central America and northern South America.

Persons: El, Maria Neira, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Andrew Heavens, Alex Richardson, Christina Fincher Organizations: WHO, El, World Meteorological Organization, El Nino, WMO, Prediction Service, World Health Organization, Environment, Health, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Pacific, Geneva, South America, United States, of Africa, Central Asia, Australia, Indonesia, Asia, Central America

☆ Ethiopia asks to join BRICS bloc of emerging economies
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 29 (Reuters) - Ethiopia, one of Africa's fastest-growing economies, has asked to join the BRICS bloc of emerging markets, the foreign ministry said on Thursday. The term BRIC was coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill in 2001 to describe the rise of Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa joined in 2010. Ethiopia will continue to work with international institutions that can protect its interests, he said. BRICS countries account for more than 40% of the world's population and about 26% of the global economy.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Jim O'Neill, Meles Alem, Vladimir Putin, Hereward Holland, Deepa Babington Organizations: International Monetary Fund, West ., Thomson Locations: Ethiopia, Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, ENA, Africa, Argentina, West, West . South Africa

[1/2] Internally displaced Ethiopians queue to receive food aid in the Higlo camp for people displaced by drought in the town of Gode, Somali Region, Ethiopia, April 26, 2022. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File PhotoNAIROBI, June 19 (Reuters) - The U.N. World Food Programme hopes to resume some food aid distribution in Ethiopia as soon as next month once it has received greater control over how beneficiaries are selected, a senior WFP official said on Monday. It paused food aid to the northern Tigray region in May and then to all of Ethiopia this month in response to widespread theft of donations. The WFP has been providing emergency food assistance to nearly 6 million of them. Valerie Guarnieri, WFP assistant executive director for programme and policy development, said the agency wanted to reduce the authority of local and regional government officials to decide who qualified for food aid.

Persons: Valerie Guarnieri, Guarnieri, Aaron Ross, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, Tiksa, WFP, Reuters, U.S . Agency for International Development, USAID, Ethiopian, Thomson Locations: Gode, Somali Region, Ethiopia, NAIROBI, Tigray, States

The Dar Masalit report accuses the RSF and allied Janjaweed militias of the killings and other crimes, as published by the sultanate. The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) said Monday that two more members of the organization have been killed in West Darfur by the RSF and their militias, without specifying the day of the reported killings. The report cited the neighborhoods that came under the most fire, including Al Jamarek, Al Buhaira, Al Thawrah, Al Tadamon, Al Madaris, Al Mansoura, and Al Jabal among others. CNN cannot independently verify all incidents as outlined in the Dar Masalit report. But CNN has confirmed and reported on thousands of civilians fleeing Geneina and West Darfur.

Persons: CNN —, El, Dar, ”, –, Masalit, Health Haitham Ibrahim, Ibrahim, Khamis Abbaker, Tariq Hassan Yaqoub Al, Malik, Sadiq Muhammad Ahmed Haroun, El Geneina, Abdel, Rahman Gumma, “, Gumma, General Antonio Guterres, Al Jamarek, Al Buhaira, Al Thawrah, Al Tadamon, Al Madaris, Al Mansoura, Jabal, CNN geolocated, El Geneina “, …, Geneina, haven’t Organizations: CNN, Rapid Support Forces, Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, Darfur Victims Solidarity Association, Strategic Initiative, Women, Health, West Darfur, Darfur Bar Association, Al, United Nations Mission, Twitter, UN Human Rights, Dar, US Locations: Darfur, Sudan, North Darfur, North Darfur’s, West Darfur’s, El Geneina, West Darfur, Chad, “, Horn of Africa, Saudi, Khartoum, West, El, Geneina, ”, Dar, Chadian, Adré, Saudi Arabia

☆ Sudan: Testimonies detail atrocities by Wagner-backed militia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Nima Elbagir Tamara Qiblawi Barbara Arvanitidis Gianluca Mezzofiore Pallabi Munsi Ingrid Formanek Saskya Vandoorne | Nima Elbagir | Tamara Qiblawi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

“I sat next to her in the car,” said Butheina Nourin, describing her perilous escape from Sudan’s Darfur region alongside the dead woman. A months-long CNN investigation uncovered an increase in Wagner supplies to the RSF that began in the run-up to Sudan’s conflict. Reports of atrocities committed by RSF fighters and their allied militias, clearly identified by their uniforms, are consistent across dozens of testimonies. Then-President Bashir was charged by the International Criminal Court in 2010 with crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in relation to the Darfur conflict. “Nobody in Sudan has more blood on their hands than Hemedti,” said Sudan analyst Eric Reeves.

Persons: wailed, “, ”, Butheina Nourin, Fatima, I, Nourin, Zohra Bensemra, Abdul Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Wagner, General Burhan, entrenching, –, Omar al, Bashir, Hemedti, Sergey Lavrov, Hussein Haran, ” Haran, Khamis Abbakar, Kholood Khair, ” Khair, Gen, Mahmoud Hjaj, Hala, SIHA, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalos, Hussein Malla, ” “, Gueipeur Denis Sassou, Eric Reeves, Al Jazeera, Karib, “ It’s, RSF –, Wagner –, Yeveny Prigozhin, Sudan ”, Hussein Organizations: CNN, ” Fighters, Sudanese, Rapid Support Forces, Reuters, Central African, Russian, Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, UN, Strategic Initiative, Women, International Criminal Court, ICC, United Arab, United Nations, SIHA, Getty, European, US State Department, State Department Locations: Chad, Sudan, Sudan’s Darfur, Darfur, Borota, Latakia, Libya, Bangui, Central African Republic, Moscow, Ukraine, Khartoum, el, Geneina, Horn of Africa, State, Sudan’s, Yemen, Saudi, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Daman, AFP, Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Europe, EU, ”, Africa

☆ Many culprits stole food aid in north Ethiopia, investigation finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Giulia Paravicini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NAIROBI, June 15 (Reuters) - Regional and federal government officials as well as Eritrean soldiers were involved in the theft of food aid in northern Ethiopia's Tigray region, the head of an investigation by the Tigrayan authorities said on Thursday. The U.N. World Food Programme and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) paused food distribution last month in war-scarred Tigray because they said significant amounts of aid had been stolen. The two agencies then suspended food aid across all of Ethiopia last week for the same reason. An internal humanitarian memo said USAID believes food has been diverted to Ethiopian military units as part of a scheme orchestrated by federal and regional government entities. Ethiopia's army has denied its forces benefited from any stolen food aid.

Persons: General Fiseha Kidanu, Tigrai, Giulia Paravicini, Aaron Ross, Alex Richardson Organizations: Food, U.S . Agency for International Development, USAID, Ethiopian, WFP, Thomson Locations: NAIROBI, Ethiopia's Tigray, Tigray, Ethiopia

☆ Without climate change, these extreme weather events would not have happened
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

People often want to know if an extreme weather event happened because of climate change, said Friederike Otto, climate scientist and co-lead of the World Weather Attribution initiative. And, more often than not, they are finding the clear fingerprints of climate change on extreme weather events. “We’re always going to have extreme weather, but if we keep driving in this direction, we’re gonna have a lot of extreme weather,” said Ted Scambos, a glaciologist at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty ImagesSiberian heat wave, 2020In 2020, a prolonged, unprecedented heat wave seared one of the coldest places on Earth, triggering widespread wildfires. A study from the journal Nature Climate Change found the period from 2000 to 2021 was the driest the West has ever been in 1,200 years, noting human-caused climate change made the megadrought 72% worse.

Persons: Friederike Otto, Otto, We’re, we’re, ”, Ted Scambos, Alexander Nemenov, Andrew Ciavarella, Kathryn Elsesser, San Salvador de la, Aitor De Iturria, ” Otto, Mamunur Rahman Malik, “, Fadel Senna, Debarchan Chatterjee, Saeed Khan, koalas, David Paul Morris, Lake Powell, Hurricane Ian, Ricardo Arduengo, Ian, Lawrence, Abdul Majeed, António Guterres Organizations: CNN, University of Colorado -, Getty, UK’s Met, Oregon Convention, Northern, World Health Organization, South Asia, Bloomberg, Western, Stony Brook University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ., UN Locations: University of Colorado - Boulder, Siberia, AFP, Oregon, Portland, Pacific, . Oregon, Washington, Canada, British Columbia, Canadian, Lytton, San Salvador de, Cercs, Catalonia, Spain, North America, Europe, China, Dahably, Wajir County, Kenya, Africa, Horn of Africa, Somalia, Ethiopia, Masseoud, Morocco, Portugal, Algeria, Kolkata, India, South Asia, South, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Bangladesh, Thailand, New South Wales, Australia, Oroville, Oroville , California, States, California, Lake Oroville, Lake Mead, Lake, Nevada, Arizona, Mexico, Hurricane, Matlacha , Florida, Caribbean, Florida, Swat, Bahrain, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Sindh, Balochistan

"The internal dynamic of this war is a bit beyond what an external actor can really influence". After the latest 24-hour truce expired on Sunday, residents in Khartoum and capital area reported fresh artillery fire and clashes. The United States and Saudi Arabia, which lies across the Red Sea from Sudan, have sponsored talks in the Saudi port city of Jeddah. EXODUSThe failure of talks has put the nation, which was already reliant on aid, in a perilous humanitarian state. It could take generations to try to put back together," said Alan Boswell, Horn of Africa Director for Crisis Group.

Persons: Magdi El, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Mokhtar, Hemedti, Mokhtar, Omar al, Bashir, Mahasin Ibrahim, Alan Boswell, Horn, Aidan Lewis, Khalid Abdelaziz, Daphne Psaledakis, Nafisa, Edmund Blair, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: Rapid Response Forces, United Arab Emirates, Valley Institute, U.S . State Department, Reuters, Crisis, Thomson Locations: Jeddah, Khartoum, CAIRO, truces, United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Saudi, UAE, Cairo, Abu Dhabi, African Union, KHARTOUM, Omdurman, Bahri, Darfur, North Kordofan, Port Sudan, El Geneina, Chad, Sudanese, Africa, East, Europe, Dubai, Washington

On Thursday, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) declared that an El Nino is now underway. The last time a strong El Nino was in full swing, in 2016, the world saw its hottest year on record. 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? 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: El Nino, Michelle L'Heureux, El, Tom DiLiberto, DiLiberto, La Nina, Nina, Gloria Dickie, Angus MacSwan Organizations: El Nino, U.S . National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, El, Graphics, el nino, NINO, U.S . West, Nino, La, El Ninos, Thomson Locations: Americas, El, Pacific, Peru, Philippines, United States, Canada, Central, South America, Australia, of Africa, Eastern Pacific, El Nino, London

☆ US suspends food aid to Ethiopia, says it's not reaching needy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Giulia Paravicini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/Pool/File PhotoNAIROBI, June 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said on Thursday it was suspending food aid to Ethiopia because its donations were being diverted from people in need. The USAID spokesperson said the agency intended to resume food assistance as soon as it was confident in the integrity of the system. USAID and the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) had already suspended food aid to the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray last month in response to information that large amounts of aid there were being diverted. In the 2022 fiscal year, USAID disbursed nearly $1.5 billion in humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia, most of it food aid. WFP is also investigating "systemic" food diversion across Ethiopia, according to an email sent last week by the agency's deputy director to staff in Ethiopia.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Sean Jones, Finance Ahmed Shide, Demeke Mekonnen, Blinken, Giulia Paravicini, Doina Chiacu, Christina Fincher, Mark Potter Organizations: Logistics Center, USAID, Ethiopian, Finance, REUTERS, Tiksa, U.S . Agency for International Development, Reuters, Resilience, Spokespeople, The State Department, Food Programme, WFP, Thomson Locations: Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, NAIROBI, United States, Tigray, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopian, Washington

☆ Uganda confirms casualties among country's soldiers in Somali attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The assailants numbered about 800 and during the attack the Ugandan troops were forced to withdraw to a nearby base, about nine kilometres away, he said. Al Shabaab fighters targeted the base early on Friday in Bulamarer, 130 km (80 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu. Al Shabaab said in a statement at the time that it had carried out suicide bomb attacks and killed 137 soldiers at the base. Al Shabaab tends to give casualty figures in attacks that differ from those issued by the authorities. ATMIS has so far not said how many troops were killed or wounded in the attack.

☆ Somalia says it will revert to direct vote for officials starting next year
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOGADISHU, May 28 (Reuters) - Somalia will start electing its president and other officials by direct vote next year, the government announced on Sunday, ending a system of indirect voting in the Horn of Africa country that has endured three decades of conflict and clan battles. "Starting next year, there will be a one person, one vote election held every five years," said a statement tweeted by Somalia's state media SONNA. "The Premier post will be abolished and replaced with a presidential system where the president and vice president are elected directly by the people on a single ticket." The decision was reached after a four-day meeting in the capital Mogadishu, chaired by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Reporting by Feisal Omar and Abdiqani Hassani Writing by Elias Biryabarema Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Southern Europe braces for climate change-fuelled summer of drought
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

As climate change makes the region hotter and drier, years of consecutive drought have depleted groundwater reserves. CLIMATE CHANGE TRENDSouthern Europe is not alone in suffering severe water shortages this year. The Horn of Africa is enduring its worst drought in decades, while a historic drought in Argentina has hammered soy and corn crops. "In terms of the climate change signal, it very much fits with what we're expecting," said Hayley Fowler, Professor of Climate Change Impacts at Newcastle University. Some 90% of the mainland is suffering from drought, with severe drought affecting one-fifth of the country - nearly five times the area reported a year earlier.

[1/4] Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki shake hands as they attend a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 15, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/PoolBEIJING, May 15 (Reuters) - China's Premier Li Qiang told visiting Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on Monday their countries should "deepen mutually beneficial win-win cooperation and continuously enrich their strategic partnership" at a meeting in Beijing. Eritrea also shares a border with Djibouti, where China's People's Liberation Army set up its first overseas military base in 2017. The "marginalised continent of Africa and the rest of the world will heavily defend and expect more contributions from the People's Republic of China," Afwerki said. Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Drone footage shows clouds of black smoke over Bahri, also known as Khartoum North, Sudan, in this May 1, 2023 video obtained by REUTERSThe International Rescue Committee anticipates "a secondary humanitarian crisis" as refugees pour into neighboring countries escaping the escalating conflict in Sudan. Around 45 million people remain in Sudan, facing acute shortages of fuel, food, water and medical access. Multiple ceasefires have quickly dissolved into further violence, making it difficult for international bodies and NGOs to get humanitarian aid into the vast, sprawling country. According to the IRC, 30,000 refugees have crossed the border from the Darfur region in western Sudan into Chad since April 15. A further 15,000 have fled to South Sudan, many of whom are returnees that had previously fled their own country's conflict south of the border, while several thousand have also crossed into Ethiopia.

Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia have endured five failed consecutive rainy seasons since October 2020, with aid groups labeling it 'the worst drought in 40 years'. "Climate change has made this drought exceptional," said Joyce Kimutai, a climate scientist with the Kenya Meteorological Department who worked with WWA to tease out climate change's role. Unlike with extreme heat and heavy rainfall, scientists have a harder time pinning down climate change's contribution to droughts around the world. Using computer models and climate observations, the WWA team determined climate change had made the Horn of Africa's long rains from March through May twice as likely to underdeliver, and the short rains from October through December wetter. In addition to less rain falling on the Horn, a warming climate means more water is evaporating from soil and transpiring from plants into the atmosphere.

☆ Catastrophic drought that’s pushed millions into crisis made 100 times more likely by climate change, analysis finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The unrelenting drought that has devastated the Horn of Africa and left more than 20 million people facing acute food insecurity would not have been possible without climate change, a new analysis has found. In a world without human-caused climate change, this devastating drought would not have happened. The organization is made up of a team of international scientists who, in the immediate aftermath of extreme weather events, analyze data and climate models to establish what role climate change played. The scientists also looked at whether climate change was to blame for the lack of rain, but concluded there was no overall impact. “The country continues to pay the price of global warming and climate change,” he added.

CNN —The violence that has exploded in Sudan as the country’s two top generals grapple for power has unfolded at a terrifying, breakneck speed. Hemedti uses this discourse as a bloody shirt to maintain his influence and military forces for future use,” Fareid said. Marwan Ali/APFrom a subclan of the Mahariya Rizeigat tribe, nomadic people that herded camels in Darfur, Hemedti got his start as a commander of the Janjaweed. Unlike Sudan’s former dictator, Hemedti has not faced charges from the International Criminal Court. The general’s shared sense of impunity was underlined in October 2021, when they staged a coup, arresting Hamdok and his cabinet.

☆ A 'tinderbox' with no easy off-ramps: What the Sudan conflict means for the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Smoke rises during clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum, Sudan on April 19, 2023. "We urge the Sudanese army to respect the ceasefire and its conditions to alleviate the suffering of innocent civilians. - | Afp | Getty ImagesNotorious Russian mercenary force Wagner Group has been linked to various commercial and military operations in Sudan. Italian citizens are boarded on an Italian Air Force C130 aircraft during their evacuation from Khartoum, Sudan, in this undated photo obtained by Reuters on April 24, 2023. "The RSF is likely to target oil infrastructure linking South Sudan with Khartoum and the export terminal at Port Sudan," Verisk Maplecroft's Hunter suggested.

☆ Explainer: Sudan's conflict and what worries neighbours, the U.S. and others
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Five of Sudan's seven neighbours - Ethiopia, Chad, Central African Republic, Libya and South Sudan - have faced political upheaval or conflict themselves in recent years. Smoke rises from burning aircraft inside Khartoum Airport during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan April 17, 2023. SOUTH SUDAN - South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan in 2011 after a civil war lasting decades, exports its oil output of 170,000 barrels per day via a pipeline through its northern neighbour. Analysts say neither side in Sudan's conflict has an interest in disrupting those flows but South Sudan's government said this week fighting had already hampered logistics and transport links between the oilfields and Port Sudan. THE UNITED STATES AND THE WEST - The United States, like other Western powers, was happy to be rid of Bashir, who was charged with genocide and war crimes by the International Criminal Court over the Darfur conflict.

Search resuls for: "Horn of Africa"

25 mentions found