NAIROBI – Turkey yesterday said it was committed to deepening relations with Africa, which it urged to back diplomatic support for Palestinians, as it held its latest African summit in Djibouti. Turkey has invested heavily across Africa in recent years, with president Recep Tayyip Erdogan carrying out 50 visits to 31 countries during his two...
GABORONE – The arid and sparsely-populated country of Botswana yesterday counted the votes from elections expected to return president Mokgweetsi Masisi to office after a first term marked by growing unemployment and concerns over the diamond-dependent economy. Voting on Wednesday was orderly in a country proud of its democratic system installed on independence from Britain...
MAPUTO – Social media access in Mozambique was restricted for a second time in a week yesterday, a global internet watchdog said, as the opposition called for nationwide strikes over disputed presidential election results. Tensions soared in the southern African nation after the ruling Frelimo party, which has held power for 49 years, won an...
GAZA STRIP – A senior Hamas official yesterday said the group rejects any proposal for a temporary halt to more than a year of fighting in Gaza, and insists on a lasting ceasefire. “The idea of a temporary pause in the war, only to resume aggression later, is something we have already expressed our position...
MANILA – At least 11 people were killed in southern Philippines during a fierce gun battle and knife fight that broke out between warring command units of an armed rebel group, authorities said yesterday. The Philippines’ army and police reported 11 dead during the clash that broke out Wednesday afternoon in a remote village of...
Diamond-rich Botswana went to the polls yesterday, with voters concerned about high unemployment and an economic slump as the ruling party vies to extend its nearly six decades in power, and hand president Mokgweetsi Masisi a second term. Some of the one-million registered voters queued for several hours before polling stations opened in a country...
BAALBEK – Residents of Baalbek rushed out of their homes yesterday after the Israeli army ordered Lebanon’s main eastern city and its outskirts evacuated for the first time in more than a month of war.The Israeli army urged residents of Baalbek and surrounding villages to leave immediately, warning it was preparing attacks on Hezbollah targets....
VALENCIA – Floods triggered by torrential rain in Spain’s eastern Valencia region have left at least 51 people dead, rescuers said yesterday, as authorities scrambled to respond to the rare disaster. Heavy rain and fierce winds have lashed southern and eastern Spain since the beginning of the week, sparking floods in Valencia and the southern...
Ukraine under the Zelensky regime is a place that is difficult to comprehend. It has a “democracy”, but no functioning opposition. It features the usual “vibrant civil society” that every monoglot Western correspondent loves to hang out with in up-to-date coffee shops, but it has no independent media. Last but not least, its far-right is either simply not there...
PORT SUDAN – The World Food Programme has called on the warring parties in Sudan’s conflict to grant full access to the agency as the country faces the imminent threat of famine. Sudan has been gripped by war since April 2023 between the regular armed forces led by the country’s de facto leader Abdel Fattah...