South Sudan’s leader Salva Kiir on Tuesday pledged that delayed elections set for next year would go ahead as planned and that he would run for president. Kiir, a towering guerrilla commander, has been the nation’s only president since he led it to independence from Sudan in 2011. The world’s youngest nation has lurched from crisis to …

South Sudan’s Kiir pledges country’s first electionTue, 04 Jul 2023 17:29:18 GMT Read More »

Humanity’s failure to draw down planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions — 41 billion tonnes in 2022 — has thrust once-marginal options for capping or reducing CO2 in the atmosphere to centre stage in climate policy and investment.Carbon capture and storage (CCS) and direct air capture (DAC) are both complex industrial processes that isolate CO2 but these …

Carbon ‘capture’ climate tech is booming, and confusingTue, 04 Jul 2023 16:13:03 GMT Read More »

The number of people diagnosed with severe malnutrition in Ethiopia’s war-scarred Tigray region has increased sharply, with conditions set to worsen following a recent halt to food aid, the United Nations said in its latest update.The UN’s World Food Programme and USAID suspended food aid to Africa’s second most populous nation last month, citing the …

Ethiopia’s Tigray sees ‘sharp increase’ in hunger: UNTue, 04 Jul 2023 16:05:50 GMT Read More »

The United Nations on Tuesday warned the world to prepare for the effects of El Nino, saying the weather phenomenon which triggers higher global temperatures is set to persist throughout 2023.El Nino is a naturally occurring climate pattern typically associated with increased heat worldwide, as well as drought in some parts of the world and …

UN warns world to prepare for El Nino impactTue, 04 Jul 2023 13:19:43 GMT Read More »

Duane Vermeulen will stand in for injured Siya Kolisi as captain of Rugby World Cup title-holders South Africa when they face Australia on Saturday in a Rugby Championship first round match.Kolisi suffered a serious knee injury last April and will be available only in August, when the Springboks play three warm-up games before the World …

Veteran Vermeulen to lead South Africa against AustraliaTue, 04 Jul 2023 12:53:06 GMT Read More »

Senegal’s President Macky Sall, who announced Monday that he would not seek a controversial third term in office, has a soft-spoken demeanour that observers say belies stubbornness and hidden fire.He “is genuinely shy but misleadingly gentle”, said Cheikh Yerim Seck, author of a book on life in Senegal under Sall.The 61-year-old president has ended months …

‘Mr. Stony Face’: Senegalese President Macky SallMon, 03 Jul 2023 21:21:57 GMT Read More »

Senegal’s President Macky Sall on Monday ended months of tense uncertainty by saying he would not seek a third term next year, clearing the way for open elections in the West African nation, long considered a bastion of democracy in a troubled region.Sall had until now remained coy about his ambitions, stoking tensions over whether …

Senegal’s Macky Sall rules out controversial third termMon, 03 Jul 2023 21:14:03 GMT Read More »

The Zulu king, head of South Africa’s most influential traditional monarchy, said on Monday he was “fit and sound,” and denied rumours he had been poisoned.”I’m very well, I’m very fit and sound,” Misuzulu Zulu told AFP in a phone interview from the neighbouring country of Eswatini, where he is undergoing a medical check-up.The 48-year-old …

S.Africa’s Zulu king says ‘fit’, denies being poisonedMon, 03 Jul 2023 20:31:34 GMT Read More »

Explosions again rocked Sudan’s capital Khartoum on Monday as the army rallied civilians to take up arms against a renewed onslaught by its paramilitary foes.The sound of artillery fire shook the dawn in northwest Khartoum and progressed towards the centre and east of the city, witnesses told AFP.The fighting “began at 4:00 am (0200 GMT) …

Blasts in Khartoum as Sudan army renews call for volunteersMon, 03 Jul 2023 16:56:55 GMT Read More »

Explosions again rocked Sudan’s capital Khartoum on Monday as the army rallied civilians to take up arms against a renewed onslaught by its paramilitary foes.The sound of artillery fire shook the dawn in northwest Khartoum and progressed towards the centre and east of the city, witnesses told AFP.The fighting “began at 4:00 am and is …

Blasts in Khartoum as army renews call for volunteersMon, 03 Jul 2023 14:30:14 GMT Read More »