[350Africa.org] The 30 oil and gas blocks auction that has been underway for more than two years for a procedure that cannot exceed 18 months has been finally put to an end to the delight of climate change activists. On Monday 14 October, the Ministry of Hydrocarbons in DRC represented by Mr. Aimé Molendo Sakombi issued a cancellation statement and plan to immediately relaunch the auction to avoid the irregularities previously encountered and above all to hold hydrocarbon rights for better ecological preservation.

Tomson Phiri has warned of a human catastrophe as 27 million people are facing hunger in Southern Africa Read Full Article at RT.com

Ukraine has reportedly been pushing the Financial Action Task Force to rank Moscow as a high-risk jurisdiction Read Full Article at RT.com

An attack on an apartment block in the north of the country on Monday reportedly claimed 23 lives, with six more injured Read Full Article at RT.com

Þórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir, leader of the Pirate Party, says the decision of Svandís Svavarsdóttir, the leader of the Left-Green Movement, to resign from the temporary acting government is a sign of freezing temperatures between her and Bjarni Benediktsson, the leader of the Independence Party.

Under the EU Treaties, Member States have to consider their economic and employment policies as a common concern, and coordinate their action within the Council. The Council adopts employment guidelines that must be reflected in the Member States' employment policies and reform programmes. Before adopting these guidelines, Parliament is consulted on the draft, but the Council is not bound by Parliament's opinion. During the October II plenary session, Parliament is due to adopt an opinion on this year's employment guidelines, based on the report from the Employment and Social Affairs Committee. Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Copper is a relatively common element with a variety of suppliers, and that should typically mean a stable market. However, the copper market has recently been showing unusual instability. New EU legislation, though not always directly related, seems to be having a significant impact on copper prices. This is the case for the Chips Act and the Critical Raw Materials Act – designed to make EU industry more resilient by improving strategic autonomy – but also for laws concerning energy, artificial intelligence and digitalisation. New factors, including looming shortages in strategic raw materials – such as copper – may strongly influence political action. Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Following lengthy negotiations, the Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement on 6 March 2024 on rules for more efficient air traffic management and to improve sustainability in the aviation sector. The Council adopted the agreed text on 26 September 2024 and it now needs to be adopted by Parliament. Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Regions and cities play an important role in the implementation of EU laws, as many EU policies are executed at local or regional level. Regions and cities are usually the first point of contact between citizens and political authorities. Engaging with them can have a positive impact on the implementation of EU policies, and may also help to bring the EU closer to its citizens, thus enhancing its democratic legitimacy. During the October II plenary session, the European Commission is due to give a statement on the topic. A debate in the European Parliament comes at a time when the future of cohesion policy – the main policy supporting regions and cities – is at stake. Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

The EU will provide a new macro-financial assistance (MFA) loan of up to €35 billion to Ukraine as part of a G7 initiative to support Ukraine with a loan of up to US$50 billion (€45 billion). The new Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism will provide revenues originating from immobilised Russian sovereign assets, so that Ukraine can service and repay loans from the EU and other G7 lenders. Parliament is expected to adopt the proposal during its October II plenary sitting. Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Mogadishu (HOL) — Djibouti and Egypt have signed a landmark agreement to build a 276.5-kilowatt solar power plant in Djibouti. The deal, signed during a virtual meeting, is expected to boost Djibouti’s energy independence while deepening ties between the two countries.

Mogadishu (HOL) — The United Kingdom has announced an additional £7.5 million in funding to support the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), bringing its total contribution to £77 million since 2021.

Mogadishu (HOL) — Egypt's Minister of Transport, Kamel El-Wazir, along with a delegation of Egyptian businessmen, is expected to visit Somalia in the coming days to explore potential investment opportunities.

The number of food orders at Pictou County Food Bank East jumped more than 30 per cent between 2020 and 2023. With the rising demand and soaring expenses, the food bank announced this month it’s cutting back on certain food items, including canned meat, tomatoes, corn and juice, in its food packages.

Isabella D'Aquila scored twice, but Christine Sinclair was the star of the show Tuesday as her Portland Thorns blanked the Vancouver Whitecaps Girls Elite FC 6-0 in the CONCACAF W Champions Cup.

Right now, Canada's renewable energy infrastructure — both solar panels and wind turbines — is fairly new. But according to the Smart Prosperity Institute, by 2050 the country will be dealing with hundreds of thousands of tonnes of unusable panels and blades.

The BJP continues to mock Congress after securing Haryana's chief minister position by celebrating with 'jalebi'. Congress prematurely celebrated early leads, but BJP's comeback saw them dominate the elections. BJP leaders humorously referenced Congress's earlier jalebi remarks, even sending a box to Rahul Gandhi. BJP's Nayab Singh Saini is now the legislature party leader.

The Supreme Court has asked Delhi's lieutenant governor VK Saxena to file an affidavit on actions taken against those responsible for felling nearly 1,100 trees in Delhi's Ridge area for road widening. The court seeks clarification on permission discussions, timing of LG's awareness about the need for permission, and measures taken against the erring officers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi enrolls as the first active member of the BJP's new membership drive, Sakriya Sadasyata Abhiyan, aimed at strengthening grassroots presence. Active members must enroll at least 50 new members and can contest elections starting from the Mandal Committee level.

Arvind Kejriwal criticizes BJP, claiming his imprisonment was due to their insecurity over his effective governance in Delhi. He alleges attempts to halt his work and life-threatening treatment in jail. Kejriwal warns that BJP's potential control in Delhi could end public benefits and harm schools and hospitals.

A fuel tanker explosion in northern Nigeria has killed almost 100 people and left 50 injured, police said on Wednesday. Many of the victims had been trying to collect fuel spilt on the road after the tanker crashed in northern Jigawa state late on Tuesday, police spokesman Lawan Shiisu Adam told AFP. The tanker had veered to avoid colliding with a truck in the town of Majia, he said. «We have so far confirmed 94 people dead and around 50 injured,» he said, warning the death toll could rise. Following the crash, residents crowded around the vehicle, collecting fuel that had spilt on the road and in drains, Adam said. He said the residents had «overwhelmed» officers trying to stop them. The Nigerian Medical Association has urged doctors to rush to nearby emergency rooms to help with the influx of patients. Fuel tanker explosions are common in Africa's most populous nation, where roads can be poorly maintained and residents often look to siphon off fuel following accidents. Fuel has become an even more precious commodity as Nigeria suffers its worst economic crisis in a generation. The price of petrol has soared fivefold since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu scrapped subsidies last year, and there are often shortages. Desperation rose further last week after the state oil company hiked prices for the second time in just over a month. - Dangerous roads - Accidents involving tankers are frequent in the country, with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) recording 1,531 in 2020, causing 535 deaths. Last month, at least 59 people died when a fuel tanker collided with a truck carrying passengers and cattle in northwestern Niger state. The FRSC said more than 5,000 people died in road accidents in Nigeria in 2023, compared to nearly 6,500 the previous year. But according to the World Health Organization, the figures do not include accidents that are not reported to the authorities. It estimates annual road accident deaths in Nigeria to be closer to 40,000, it said in a report published last year. Deadly fires and explosions also take place across fuel and oil infrastructure in Nigeria, one of the continent's largest crude producers. © Agence France-Presse  

Israel conducted strikes on Wednesday targeting Hezbollah's main bastion and a city in southern Lebanon where it holds sway, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed calls for a ceasefire. The strike on south Beirut, the militant group's main stronghold, was the first in several days of calm in the area, after an intense period of bombardment earlier in the Israel-Hezbollah war. On Wednesday, warplanes pounded the city of Nabatiyeh in south Lebanon, where Hezbollah and its ally Amal hold sway, with the strikes sending a thick plume of smoke billowing over houses, palm trees and the blue-tipped minaret of a mosque. The Lebanese health ministry said five people were killed in the Nabatiyeh strikes on two municipal buildings, while a local official said the mayor was among the dead. Israel ramped up its bombardment mainly of Hezbollah strongholds in late September, and sent ground troops across the Lebanese border on September 30. The Israel-Hezbollah war has left at least 1,356 people dead in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures, though the real toll is likely higher. Hezbollah started low-intensity strikes on Israel in October last year, in support of its ally Hamas following the October 7 attack that triggered the Gaza war. With Hamas weakened but not crushed, Israel widened the focus of its military operations to include Lebanon, vowing to fight until tens of thousands of Israelis forced by Hezbollah's fire to flee their homes are able to return. The war in Lebanon, which has suffered years of economic and political crisis, has displaced at least 690,000 people, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration. - No ceasefire - The latest strikes came hours after Netanyahu told French President Emmanuel Macron he was «opposed to a unilateral ceasefire, which does not change the security situation in Lebanon, and which will only return it to the way it was», according to a statement from his office. Netanyahu and the Israeli military have insisted there must be a buffer zone along Israel's border with Lebanon where there are no Hezbollah fighters. «Prime Minister Netanyahu clarified that Israel would not agree to any arrangement that does not provide this (a buffer zone) and which does not stop Hezbollah from rearming and regrouping,» the statement said. On Tuesday, Hezbollah's deputy leader Naim Qassem said the only solution was a ceasefire, while threatening to expand the scope of its missile strikes across Israel. «Since the Israeli enemy targeted all of Lebanon, we have the right from a defensive position to target any place» in Israel, he said. On Tuesday, the Iran-backed group said it launched a barrage of rockets towards the northern Israeli city of Haifa and targeted Israeli bulldozers and a tank near the border. Israel's military had kept up its bombardment on Tuesday and said it captured three Hezbollah fighters in south Lebanon. Asked about Israeli air strikes in Lebanon, in which residential buildings in the centre of Beirut were hit on October 10, the US State Department voiced open criticism. «We have made clear that we are opposed to the campaign the way we've seen it conducted over the past weeks» in Beirut, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. In a letter sent to the Israeli government on Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also warned that the United States could withhold weapons deliveries unless more humanitarian aid was delivered to Palestinians in Gaza. The letter made «clear to the government of Israel that there are changes that they need to make again to see that the level of assistance making it into Gaza comes back up from the very, very low levels that it is at today,» Miller said. - 'Worst restrictions' - Despite the need for food, medical supplies and shelter in hunger-ravaged Gaza, a spokesman for the UN's children's agency UNICEF said Tuesday that aid was facing the tightest restrictions since the start of Israel's offensive over a year ago. «We see now what is probably the worst restrictions we've seen on humanitarian aid, ever,» spokesman James Elder said, adding that there were «several days in the last week (where) no commercial trucks whatsoever were allowed to come in». For over a week, Israeli forces have engaged in a sweeping air and ground assault targeting northern Gaza and the area around Jabalia amid claims that Hamas militants were regrouping there. «The whole area has been reduced to ashes,» said Rana Abdel Majid, 38, from the Al-Faluja area of northern Gaza. Majid said entire blocks had been levelled by «the indiscriminate, merciless bombing.» Nidal al-Arab lost 10 of his family members during Israeli strikes on Jabalia. «People are trapped. If they don't die of shelling, they will soon die of thirst and hunger because the siege is getting tighter,» the 40-year-old told AFP. Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza after an October 7 attack by Hamas that resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures, including hostages killed in captivity. The Israeli campaign has killed 42,409 people, the majority civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory which the UN considers reliable. - Iran retaliation? - Israel is also weighing how to respond to Iran's launch of around 200 missiles at the country on October 1. Iran's top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, warned UN chief Antonio Guterres that Tehran was ready for a «decisive and regretful» response should Israel attack his country. Araghchi's conversation with Guterres was the latest in a string of diplomatic efforts by Iran, which also says its main goal is protect peace in the region. Iran said its October 1 attack was in retaliation for an Israeli strike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian general Abbas Nilforoushan on September 27. US President Joe Biden, whose government is Israel's top arms supplier, has warned Israel against striking Iran's nuclear or oil facilities. © Agence France-Presse

More than 200 Air India passengers should be on the ground in Chicago this morning after their flight was diverted to Nunavut due to a bomb threat.

Rabat, 15/10/2024 -Le président de la Conférence des maires des Etats-Unis, Andrew Ginther, a salué «la vision et la sagesse» de SM le Roi Mohammed VI pour le développement des villes du Maroc, en particulier celles du Sahara marocain. «La vision et la sagesse de Sa Majesté le Roi pour le développement des villes du Maroc, en particulier au Sahara, sont exemplaires», a déclaré à la presse M. Ginther, à l'issue de ses entretiens, mardi à Rabat, avec le ministre des Affaires étrangères, (...) - COOPERATION / SUJET_ECRIT_MAISON

Conduite par le Chef de Service provincial d'hygiène publique et d'assainissement, Bertrand Toung Ekore, ladite mission avait pour objectif, de contrôle et de respect des normes sanitaires chez les commerçants exerçant aux abords des rues. Cette première descente sur le terrain dont l'échantillon s'est fixée sur une vingtaine de commerçants plus précisément 23 au total ont été visités. Animés par cette volonté de prévenir la dissémination des vecteurs de maladies, des agents David Obiang (...) - SOCIETE / SUJET_ECRIT_MAISON

Ethiopia is hosting an African defense ministers’ conference to discuss ways to address threats to the continent’s peace Read Full Article at RT.com

Russian forces have struck what the military described as a plant involved in repairing Ukrainian armor in the port city of Nikolaev Read Full Article at RT.com

Kiev is close to defeat in the Ukraine conflict, according to a British military assessment cited by The Daily Express Read Full Article at RT.com

Russia is seeking over $1 billion in damages from the Shell over a failed energy project Read Full Article at RT.com

The West is unlikely to open a ‘second front’ against Russia, but could help Ukraine by ramping up sanctions, Mikhail Podoliak has said Read Full Article at RT.com

Dhusamareb (HOL) — A father and his four-year-old son were killed on Wednesday in a suspected clan-related attack near Dhusamareb, the capital of Galmudug, as tensions over clan disputes continue to escalate in the region.

FARGO — Learning the ground rules is important for first-time voters, but it can be tough to learn about the candidates online or by watching the news if English isn't your first language.