The world's leading diamond mining company Alrosa has sold more than a hundred of its rough and polished diamonds in Hong Kong. Total sales from the auction reached $10.5 million, according to the Russian miner. Read Full Article at RT.com

Former CUF secretary-general Seif Shariff Hamad and ACT-Wazalendo leader Zitto Kabwe are expected to arrive in Pemba on Friday for a four-day visit.

Police are holding a 21year old man, a resident of Natta in Serengeti District, for allegedly, raping an eight-month baby on Wednesday, March 19.

Uganda Cranes coach Sebastien  Desabre will have gone to bed last night with a pretty clearer picture of how he will set up against the Taifa Stars of Tanzania.

A third pilot was in the cockpit of the Lion Air 737 jet a day before it crashed, killing all 189 people on board, Indonesia's air safety agency said Thursday. Following October's crash, the National Transportation Safety Committee had said it was interviewing people who flew on the plane a day earlier, with some passengers reporting a frightening, erratic trip. The agency said Thursday that investigators had interviewed the off-duty pilot who was on the Bali-Jakarta flight, but declined to confirm a Bloomberg report that he prevented an accident by helping the crew disable a malfunctioning flight-control system. A different crew flying the same Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet a day later suffered a similar problem, but were unable to fix it before its fatal plunge into the Java Sea, the report said. «We interviewed that pilot because we wanted to know what he had seen and heard,» NTSC investigator Nurcahyo Utomo told reporters in Jakarta, without offering further details. Earlier this month, 157 people onboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight died in the second crash involving a Boeing 737 Max 8 jet. Both planes reportedly experienced erratic steep climbs and descents as well as fluctuating...

The world’s largest radio telescope hit a milestone this month as 15 countries, including Malta, met in Rome to set up a global intergovernmental body that will oversee and operate the gigantic Square Kilometre Array. Spanning three continents, the SKA’s goal is to answer the more pressing questions of how the universe came to be in its present state, how galaxies formed and evolved over the past 10 billion years, and whether humans are the only intelligent life we know of. The treaty, which establishes the SKA Observatory and moves the concept closer to reality, was signed in Rome by Australia, China, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa and the UK. Malta — which holds observer status through the Malta Council for Science and Technology, which appointed astrophysicist Kristian Zarb Adami to sit on the board — was represented at the ceremony by Malta’s Ambassador to Italy Vanessa Frazier. Reacting, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said Malta was honoured to have played a role in what was undoubtedly a historic moment for astronomy. “The formation of this intergovernmental organisation highlights the importance of collaboration between different countries to develop...

The Malta Drag Racing Association held the first round of the National Drag Racing Championship at their raceway in Ħal Far last weekend. The championship started with great enthusiasm and roughly 100 cars signed up to compete. Although the round was very well organized most competitors suffered engine damages or needed more time tune up the new setups they prepared for this season. The Bracket Classes were won by Mario Camenzuli, Steve Bugeja, Michael Caruana, Chantelle Zammit, Jurgen Debono, Glen Caruana, Reuben Pirotta, Clint Fenech Paul Fenech. Aaron Farrugia, Clinton Degiorgio, Terry Gilam, and Lesley Portelli took the honours in the Index classes. In the Motorcycles Bracket Classes, Lesley Said and Franklyn Borg, Chris Vella won the Index class and Shawn Buttigieg won the Motorcycles open class. Paul Fenech topped Open Class 1 and John Martin won both Open Class 2 and Class 2 Extreme. Front Wheel Drive Open Class was won by Marvic Galea. CA6 class Anthony Vella, Emmanuel Vassallo finish on top of the DTA5 class. Classes PS4 and SM3 have been won by Clint Caruana and Glenn Fenech respectively. D4, D5 and D6 saw the success of Miguel Montebello, Emmanuel Galea and Mario...

Camp Fire has been the most destructive wildfire in Californian history: 18,000 buildings gone, 62,000 hectares scorched and a death toll of 85. Paradise was almost completely destroyed when the flames swept through the town in November 2018.

The government is to launch a constitutional amendment so that the functions of Prosecutor-General will be hived off from those of the Attorney General. The changes appear to be similar to what had been proposed by a Nationalist government in May 2002, and rejected by the Labour Opposition of the time. Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said on Thursday that the proposal for a constitutional amendment had been made by the Venice Commission on the rule of law in Malta. He said the government hoped to see legislation through by the summer. The first reading will be moved on Monday. In terms of the change, the person responsible for prosecutions will be separate from the attorney general, who is the government's legal counsel. He noted that once in place, the selection for the persons for the two roles would be based on the existing mechanism of choosing the AG, on which he said, the commission had no issues. READ: What rule of law experts said about Malta - and why it matters Apart from the AG’s dual role, the commission had flagged the excessive powers held by the Prime Minister, the mechanism used to appoint members of the judiciary saying it did not guarantee full independence from...

Residents of Tabata in the Ilala District were shock on Wednesday March 20, following the discovery of a newborn inside aseptic tank.

Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga is in Dar es Salaam where he is chairing a meeting on infrastructure.

The United States government under USAID has disbursed a grant amounting to $500,000 to support a project dubbed: «Women's Leadership and Political Participation-Phase II» implemented by UN Women in Tanzania.

Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in the Kalantara area of Kreeri in north Kashmir district of Baramulla following information about the presence of militants, a police official said

Two policemen and a civilian were injured on Thursday as security forces were engaged in an encounter with the terrorists in three places in the Kashmir, authorities said. While the first encounter erupted in Sopore town, two more encounters were reported later from Bandipora and Baramulla districts.

Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav alleged a «conspiracy» behind the Pulwama attack and claimed that the 40 CRPF jawans were killed for the sake of votes. Yadav claimed that the paramilitary forces are unhappy with the government. He also said that if the united opposition comes to power after 2019 Lok Sabha elections a probe in this (Pulwama attack) will be ordered.

Mosques have been targeted in overnight attacks in Birmingham, police have confirmed. Counter-terrorism officers are investigating the incidents, but no motive has been attributed. Read Full Article at RT.com

SINGAPORE - Singapore General Hospital (SGH) has been ranked the third-best hospital in the world by Newsweek magazine, in part for its clinical research and «outstanding nursing». It comes behind...

SINGAPORE - Irish boyband veterans Westlife will be back in Singapore for a concert at the National Stadium on August 10. The show is part of the band's global 20th anniversary tour dubbed The...

Conor McGregor is targeting a summer return to the UFC and, despite reports to the contrary, he IS prepared to compete in a co-main event bout on a UFC fight card this summer. Read Full Article at RT.com

The World Figure Skating Championships in Japan has been rocked by claims that US star Mariah Bell deliberately injured rival and training partner Lim Eun-soo of South Korea during a training session. Read Full Article at RT.com

Welcome to a new editorial analysis open to feedback and  debate called Malawi Explainer. Since the days of Malawi’s first president the late Ngwazi Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda, the Malawi Army sends a high ranking... The post Malawi Explainer: Getting to the seat of power, Chisale appeared first on Malawi Nyasa Times.

People’s Party (PP) depuy publicity secretary, Faustace Chirwa has resigned from the party, a few days after the party’s leader and former president, Joyce Banda, endorsed Malawi Congress Party (MCP) presidential hopeful Dr. Lazarus Chakwera... The post PP deputy spokesperson Faustace Chirwa quits: ‘I don’t subscribe to working with MCP’ appeared first on Malawi Nyasa Times.

Top stories in the Russian press on Thursday

The ships of this class have a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, speed of 30 knots and endurance of 30 days

Earlier, Ukraine's general prosecutor said in an interview that in his first meeting with the US Ambassador to Ukraine, she handed him a list of «untouchable» individuals that should not be prosecuted

The Zefir-T system has been developed to receive and register telemetric data

The United States argues that Russia violates the INF treaty and demands that Moscow should eliminate its ground-based cruise missile 9M729

An abundance of locally produced, cheap coal and a failure to promote alternative energy sources were key reasons for Asia bucking the global trend away from coal, experts said. The post Asia’s Coal Addiction Puts Chokehold on its Air-Polluted Cities appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The eight-month trade war between the world's two largest economies has raised costs, roiled financial markets, shrunk U.S. farm exports and disrupted manufacturing supply chains. The post Trump Says Tariffs on Chinese Goods May Stay for ‘Substantial Period’ appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The four men were sentenced to more than 20 years in jail for illegally entering Myanmar waters while fishing and released early, Bangladesh authorities said. The post Myanmar Repatriates Bangladeshi Nationals Arrested 9 Years Ago appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Since Monday, villages in Mrauk-U Township have experienced continued shelling and military patrols, during which one woman was shot and thousands were forced to flee to urban Mrauk-U. The post Military Attacks on N. Rakhine Villages Leaves Locals Wounded, Displaced appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The activists rejected the points of compromise which involved a minor alteration to the statue and the option of installing a Karenni hero’s statue nearby. The post Gov’t Compromises for Aung San Statue Rejected by Activists appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Electoral systems, courts and the influence of lobby groups are among the key factors.