A second twinning agreement has been signed between Seychelles' western Mahe district of Port Glaud with Savanne, a district from the south of Mauritius. The agreement was signed on Friday morning by Seychelles' acting Mayor of Victoria, Lydia Charlie, and the Savanne District Council President, Shubhowantee Seenavassen. «This is another great occasion, after the first signing earlier this week,» said Charlie who added that she hopes with the renewed partnership, all the programmes can be successful. «With the previous agreement, not all the plans materialised, due to various issues including the COVID-19 pandemic, but the hope is that now it all can be done,» said Charlie. The twinning agreement was first signed between the two districts in 2014, and the two districts have mainly collaborated in sports, but will now look to enhance that cooperation in other areas, such as craft, culture, and agriculture. «I am honoured to have renewed this agreement today, where this will consolidate our multi-faceted ties, as we have similar languages and culture,» said Seenavassen. He added that they will continue to promote exchanges and experiences in terms of strategy, policy and project development, in fields such as education, ecology and biodiversity. This is the second twinning agreement renewed this week with the first signed district of Anse Boileau and Mauritius' Black River signing their agreement on Tuesday. 

Seychelles and Cooks Islands formalised diplomatic relations through the signing of a joint communiqué on the margins of the Fourth Small Island States Conference (SIDS4) being held in Antigua and Barbuda. According to the Seychelles' Foreign Affairs Department on Friday, the joint communiqué was signed by Seychelles Minister Sylvestre Radegonde and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Mark Brown, witnessed by Seychelles' President Wavel Ramkalawan. The signing marks the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two nations and underscores the shared commitment of both governments to deepen friendship and cooperation in political, economic, and cultural areas, among others, according to the government. The ceremony on the margins of the SIDS4 conference highlights Seychelles' proactive advocacy for cooperation between SIDS to address their unique challenges such as climate change, sustainable development, environmental degradation, and economic vulnerabilities, the statement further adds. The signing is a result of recent bilateral talks held between President Ramkalawan and Prime Minister Brown in Spain at the United Nations' Ocean Decade Conference in April.  

Seychelles is not asking for free funding but access to affordable financing said Naadir Hassan, the Minister for Finance, National Planning and Trade in an interview on the margins of the Fourth International Conference for Small Island Developing States (SIDS4). Hassan, who is part of the Seychelles presidential delegation at SIDS4, made the statement in an interview with SNA journalist Alisa Uzice who is covering the event in Antigua and Barbuda. The minister said that one of the key focuses of the conference is the debt crisis and access to financing for small island developing states. The issue for Seychelles is that it is considered a high-income country, so its interest rates are higher. «Are there solutions? Yes, the solutions are there, it's just that the international financial institutions have to accept that because we are vulnerable, the small island developing states need access to affordable financing irrespective of their income status. This will help us put in place measures that would help mitigate the effects of climate change,» he highlighted.  Hassan added that the monumental challenge that SIDS are facing is the cost of taking necessary measures  and «the projection we have done shows that over the next 10 years, it will cost Seychelles around $600 million to set up climate mitigation and adaptation measures.» He reiterated Seychelles' position during the conference especially highlighting the importance of considering the vulnerability of SIDS and said so far, he's seen a positive change in this direction. «I believe that it is important for Seychelles to participate in these summits and we will continue to put forward the position of Seychelles at these events. It's a fight that has been going on for many years, but we've seen that there is traction to accept the vulnerability of SIDS and we need to continue to put this forward. We believe that in the near future we will achieve our objective of getting access to affordable financing and we will need this financing to face the challenges coming our way,» said the minister. Seychelles, is an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, and according to the World Bank Climate Change knowledge portal, the island nation faces similar problem to those threatening other SIDS. These are changes in rainfall patterns leading to flooding, landslides extended periods of drought, increases in sea temperature, changes in acidity and damage to marine ecosystems, increases in storms and storm surges, and sea level rise in the long term. The World Bank portal added that a recent United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) report has revealed that most disasters occurring in Seychelles were related to storms, floods, rain and landslides. The report recommended that future planning should focus on losses from flooding and landslides, which also caused the greatest economic losses.

The latest report of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) for 2022 for Seychelles shows there is a willingness for transparency in the sector, said a top official.   Philippe Michaud, Seychelles national' FiTI lead, made the statement in a press conference on Wednesday.   «When a government has transparency and participation, it brings interest to the country and Seychelles has gotten a good reputation in the region and globally,» said Michaud. He added that more still needs to be done, especially on available information on the Seychelles' fisheries sector. Fisheries is the second top contributor to the economy of Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean. The 2022 FiTI Report presents a comprehensive array of data identified by the 12 thematic areas of the FiTI Standard. It has catch statistics across different scales of fishing operations to the health of fish populations, along with detailed information on access agreements and governmental subsidies within the sector. The report also highlights the dedication of the national fisheries authorities to maintaining robust data collection practices and consistent information sharing with the public. Daniella Larue compiled the report and headed the consolidation of data for the 2022 FiTI Report. Seychelles' FiTI National Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) made up of representatives from government, the private sector, and civil society, collectively reviewed and endorsed the report. «This report is on the transparency in the fisheries sector and not on fisheries itself. This means that when we are working on the report, what is looked at is whether there is information about the 12 thematic areas in the public domain,» said Larue. She added that accessibility to the report also looked at whether the public can make sense of the information or if it is used too much of scientific terminology .  «The other criteria we look at is whether the information is complete or not, whereby this can affected by various things such as the data collection technique or the technology available to acquire this information,» added Larue. During the 2022 reporting cycle, new information has been made available on government websites, including foreign fishing access agreements. Among them is a Sustainable Fisheries Agreement with management companies of Seychelles-Flagged vessels; an explanation for absent published procedures for joining the sea cucumber fishery; a list of convictions and offences in the fisheries sector from 2020 to 2023 along with relevant court cases; studies on the economic contribution of sub-sectors in the artisanal fishery; and a 2018 study on employment and job opportunities in the industrial tuna fishery. «Since 2019 until now, we have seen an increase in the amount of information available, but there still needs to more improvement in what information is available in the public domain,» said Larue.   According to the report, «concerted efforts by the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) and the small-scale fisheries sector are driving significant advances towards transparent, sustainable, and inclusive fisheries management.» The report added: «This commitment is underscored by the SFA's decision to release all stock assessment reports and an updated overview of fisheries stock assessments, and to include information on discards and gender in the artisanal fishery in the 2022 Fisheries Statistical Report.» The Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) has been developed as a unique effort that complements and supports other national, regional and global efforts for achieving responsible fisheries governance. It is a global partnership that seeks to increase transparency and participation for more sustainable management of marine fisheries. By making fisheries management more transparent and inclusive, the FiTI promotes informed public debates on fisheries policies and 

Donald Trump on Thursday became the first former US president ever convicted of a crime after a New York jury found him guilty on all charges in his hush money case, months before an election that could see him yet return to the White House. The jury found him guilty on each of the 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide a payment meant to silence porn star Stormy Daniels. He could in theory be sentenced to four years behind bars for each count but is more likely to receive probation. The 77-year-old Republican, who was released without bail, is now a felon -- a historic and startling first in a country where presidents are frequently described as the most powerful man in the world. Trump, however, is not barred from continuing his battle to unseat President Joe Biden in November -- even in the unlikely event he goes to prison. His lawyer, Todd Blanche, said his team was eying an appeal «as soon as we can.» And Trump himself voiced immediate defiance. «I'm a very innocent man,» Trump told reporters, vowing that the «real verdict» would come from voters on election day. He branded the trial «rigged» and a «disgrace.» Biden's campaign issued a statement saying the trial showed «no one is above the law.» It added that «the threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater.» Judge Juan Merchan set sentencing for July 11 -- four days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump is due to receive the party's formal nomination. The 12-member jury had deliberated for more than 11 hours over two days before the foreman read out the unanimous conclusion within a matter of minutes. Merchan thanked the jurors for completing the «difficult and stressful task.» Their identities had been kept secret throughout proceedings, a rare practice more often seen in cases involving mafia or other violent defendants. Trump also faces federal and state charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election won by Biden, and for hoarding secret documents after leaving the White House. However, those trials -- on far weightier alleged crimes -- are unlikely to get underway before the presidential election. - Election conspiracy - Trump was convicted of falsifying business records to reimburse his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 payment to Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election, when her claim to have had sex with him could have proved fatal to his campaign against Hillary Clinton. The trial featured lengthy testimony from the adult performer, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford and who described to the court in graphic detail what she says was a 2006 sexual encounter with the married Trump. Prosecutors successfully laid out a case alleging the hush money and the illegal covering up of the payment was part of a broader crime to prevent voters from knowing about Trump's behavior. Cohen, who was the key witness as a tainted former aide who had turned on his old boss, called the verdict «an important day for accountability and the rule of law.» Trump has denied any sexual encounter with Stormy Daniels, but did not testify in his own defense. His lawyers argued that any payments made to the performer were entirely legal. - Campaigning from courthouse - The trial has distracted Trump in his campaign to unseat Biden. However, he milked the media attention throughout. Shortly after the verdict was issued, Trump's campaign put out a fundraising appeal, titled «I am a political prisoner!» He also announced he would make a public statement to journalists early Friday. Keith Gaddie, a political analyst and professor at Texas Christian University, said the political impact of the shocking events has yet to be determined. «It probably doesn't move a lot of votes, but in particular states with particular swing votes, it could matter around the margins. So in particularly tight races, it can tip things back from one direction to the other,» he said. Trump, who made his name as a brash real estate mogul before a stunning ascent to the nation's highest office in the 2016 election, most likely faces probation, because he is a first-time convict. An appeal is all but certain, but could take months to complete. Should he win the presidency he will not be able to pardon himself, given that the case was brought not by the federal government but by the state of New York, where only the governor could clear his name. © Agence France-Presse

Extreme temperatures across India are having their worst impact in the country's teeming megacities, experts said Thursday, warning that the heat is fast becoming a public health crisis. India is enduring a crushing heatwave with temperatures in several cities sizzling well above 45 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Temperature readings in the capital New Delhi rose into the high 40s Celsius this week, with power usage in the city -- where the population is estimated at more than 30 million -- surging to a record high on Wednesday. «Cities are more vulnerable to the compounding effects of urbanisation and climate change,» said Aarti Khosla, director at research institute Climate Trends. «Expect a greater number of hotter days, prolonged dry spells and less rainy days as weather patterns continue to change due to increased human emissions,» she told AFP. - Heat ward and ice baths - In Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, a specialised unit is busy treating patients with heat-related illnesses. Equipped with immersion ice baths, the unit has treated eight heat-struck patients in the past week. One person died Wednesday, medics said, with a body temperature that had surged to a fatal 41.5C (106.7F). Among those admitted to the unit were manual labourers, most aged between 40 and 50, who work under the blazing sun. «Treatment depends upon very quick, very rapid intervention and very rapid cooling,» hospital director Ajay Shukla said, warning that the mortality rate for severe cases is around «60-80 percent». The rising temperatures hit the vulnerable the hardest, including those on the economic margins, experts said. «When the individual is dehydrated, extreme heat exposure will thicken their blood and cause organs to shut down, resulting in death within hours, popularly called 'heat stroke’,» said Vidhya Venugopal, director at Sri Ram Institute of Higher Education and Research in Chennai. «We urgently need... action to protect exposed populations.» - 'About survivability' - India is no stranger to searing summer temperatures but years of scientific research have found climate change is causing heatwaves to become longer, more frequent and more intense. The highest confirmed temperature ever recorded in India was 51C (123.8F), in Phalodi on the edge of Rajasthan's Thar Desert in 2016. Khosla, from Climate Trends, described heatwaves as «the single largest threat to India's well-being today», adding that recent high temperatures were «proof that the issue is now about survivability». No relief comes at night. A study published by New Delhi's Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) this month said Indian cities were not cooling down after sunset as much as they had in the decade of 2001-2010. It found temperatures then had dropped after dusk nearly 2C more than today. «Hot nights are as dangerous as midday peak temperatures,» it said. «People get little chance to recover from daytime heat... exerting prolonged stress on the body.» - 'Caused by burning coal' - Researchers say human-induced climate change has driven the devastating heat impact in India and should be taken as a warning. «The suffering India is facing this week is worse because of climate change, caused by burning coal, oil and gas and deforestation,» said Friederike Otto, a climatologist at the Imperial College London and director of World Weather Attribution. The world's most populous nation is the third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases but has committed to achieve a net zero emissions economy by 2070 -- two decades after most of the industrialised West. For now, it is overwhelmingly reliant on coal for power generation. The government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is seeking a third term in ongoing elections, says the fossil fuel remains central to meeting India's rising energy needs and lifting millions out of poverty. «What we are seeing in India is exactly what scientists said would happen if we didn't stop heating the planet,» Otto said. © Agence France-Presse

A lecture in honour of Seychellois Africa activist, the late Achilles 'Kwame' Luc, was held on May 25 to coincide with Africa Day by Ananya Jahanara Kabir, professor of English Literature at King's College in London. Entitled «Archipelago and Continent: Africanity in the Creole Indian Ocean,» the lecture was organised by the Creole Language and Culture Research Institute and Bling Bling Poetry Association to mark Africa Day on May 25. Historians and African culture enthusiasts met at the University of Seychelles'  auditorium to learn of the effects and involvement of African heritage on Creole cultures in the Indian Ocean. Kabir carried out research on the creolisation in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions, critical philology and the relationship between literary texts and cultural expression. Her research brought her to Seychelles, Reunion - a French overseas department - and Mauritius in 2017. In her lecture, she remarked that what strikes her in Seychelles «is that there is a commitment to having Creole as a national identity compared to neighbouring Mauritius, where religious and ethnic aspects would feature when one was declaring their identity.» Concerning the archipelago's relationship to the mainland, she said, «Seychelles does not just have historical Africanism but it appears to have a balance in local attempts at self valorisation.» She said, «Seychelles could be an example of how to strike a balance in incorporating the different cultures of its forefathers.» Using the late Luc as an example, she highlighted the way he presented himself - by adorning himself with a wooden carving of the African continent in a pendant, various colourful beads in his hair and a 'sak vakwa' - a bag used locally in Seychelles made from the fibre of Vakwa. «This shows the way the Creole nations recycle and use everything in their environment,» she explained, linking this way of life as being the way forward in this age of caring for the environment. Achille Kwame Luc, was a well-known artist, a promoter of the islands' rich culture and heritage, an environmentalist, an ardent supporter of human rights, and a peace lover. Kwame was the African name he adopted. He died in October 2018 at the age of 55. Meanwhile, the Bling Bling Poetry Association representative, Reuben Lespoir, expressed the will to keep the memorial on the calendars as activities to mark Africa Day. «While many people did not think to associate Archilles with the academic venture, this event shows that he was a multi-faceted individual who had a lot to offer in that area,» he said. The association is also looking for other activities that would attract more youth for Africa Day celebrations since the number of youths showing up to the lecture has gone down from the first one held. The first lecture to honour Luc was first held in 2019, due to his contributions to  promoting arts, culture and heritage in the country, especially for Africa Day. Meanwhile, an exhibition showcasing African arts and culture was also organised to commemorate the day.

The President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan, has urged all stakeholders to support the Global Ocean Energy Alliance (GLOEA) and recognise the critical role of innovative financing in securing a sustainable future for small island developing states (SIDS) at a side event of the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States. The SIDS DOCK event in Antigua and Barbuda was to address the importance of sustainable ocean energy as a nature-based solution. SIDS DOCK is an initiative among member countries of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) to help SIDS transform their energy sectors and address adaptation to climate change. In his keynote address, Ramkalawan said, «We face a monumental challenge. Our Islands are burdened with outdated, inefficient diesel generators. We urgently need to replace ten thousand megawatts of ageing baseload diesel fuel electricity generation systems that power our country's hospitals, schools, and critical infrastructure, part of the transition that we talk about so much these days.» He highlighted several key projects being developed in other SIDS that could also be implemented elsewhere. One such project is the first OTEC floating platform in Sao Tome to deliver 10 megawatts of baseload power. The project is in its design phase and needs an investment of $50 million to $60 million to become the first commercial-scale renewable energy power plant solely running on the ocean.    Ramkalawan said such innovative projects are important for SIDS and can be implemented in Seychelles. «We urgently call for support from the international financing community including development banks and climate funds to back these transformative projects. Without your support, our efforts to prevent an energy crisis and promote sustainable growth may falter leaving our younger generations at risk and prosperity simply out of reach,» he stressed. After the event, Ramkalawan told SNA that so far the conference is going well and added that even if all these discussions are happening it is important for the SIDS to present a unified front to the rest of the world and work together. «For example in COP28 where there wasn't a unified statement from SIDS. Now, we will be going into the next COP, I am expecting that through this conference, all the SIDS are unified. This will make it much easier to bring forward topics like the MVI and the Loss and Damage Fund,» he said. After the SIDS4 conference, the President of Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, will attend the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit in Seoul, from June 2 to 6.

South Africa's ruling ANC was fighting Wednesday to defy expectations that it could lose its three-decade-long exclusive grip on power as voters turned out for a watershed general election. More than 27 million voters are registered for the most uncertain poll since the African National Congress (ANC) led the nation out of apartheid rule -- and with President Cyril Ramaphosa seeking re-election. With opposition challenges from both the left and right, unemployment and crime at near record levels and a new generation growing up with no memory of the struggle against white-minority rule, the ruling party may need to share power. After voting, Ramaphosa said: «I have no doubt whatsoever in my heart of hearts that the people will once again invest confidence in ANC to continue leading this country. »The people of SA will give the ANC a firm majority.« But the leader of the biggest opposition party, John Steenhuisen of the Democratic Alliance, predicted no single party would win an outright majority, creating an opening for his alliance of smaller parties. After voting in his home city of Durban, Steenhuisen said »for the first time in 30 years there's an opportunity for change in South Africa«. In Soweto, the president's hometown and the unofficial capital of the liberation battle, elderly ANC loyalists turned out early but as the queues lengthened there were signs of disillusionment. Kqomotso Mtumba, a 44-year-old bank official, sporting burgundy and black beaded braids, said she had voted ANC in the past but had now chosen an »upcoming party« whose manifesto had impressed her. »The last party I voted for, their promises didn't work out so I'll be trying this one,« she said. In the working-class Johannesburg district of Alexandria, even public sector workers like a young woman who gave her name only as »Keletso« were frustrated. »I really need to see change,« the 34-year-old said, wearing a pink house robe with a bunny-ears hoodie and slippers. »We need new people, fresh blood. Unemployment is bad. To put bread on the table some people do crime, others become prostitutes.« In Nkandla, in the volatile eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, some voters were confused by the new voting system -- for the first time, three ballots, two for the National Assembly and one for the provincial assembly. »There was a moment I was confused. I had to ask for help and explanation,« admitted 70-year-old Cynthia Ntshangase. Voters will choose the 400 members of the National Assembly who in the coming weeks will then choose a president from among their number. For the first time since the advent of democracy in 1994, the ANC could be forced to negotiate a coalition in order to remain in government. »South Africa's general election is a watershed moment in the political history of the country,« said Aleix Montana, an analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft. Under the leadership of the late Nelson Mandela, the ANC won freedom for black South Africans after decades of apartheid, then lifted millions out of poverty by creating a broad social welfare system. - Strong foundation - But many in the country of 62 million are fed up with high unemployment, currently at 32.9 percent, rampant crime, corruption scandals, and regular power cuts and water shortages. The economy grew a meagre 0.6 percent in 2023, and polls suggest the ANC could win as little as 40 percent of the vote, down from 57 percent in 2019. If the ANC wins fewer than 201 seats, Ramaphosa would have to negotiate with opposition parties and independent MPs to secure a majority. It could face stark choices. On the right, it is challenged by the Democratic Alliance (DA), which has vowed to »Rescue South Africa« through clean governance, privatisation and deregulation but has struggled to shake off its image as a party for the white minority. Polls put DA support below 25 percent. On the left, it is bleeding support to former president Jacob Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) and Julius Malema's Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which are pushing for land redistribution and nationalisations. Polls estimate these two parties are tied at around 10 percent. Once an ANC stalwart, Zuma fell out with his old party after being forced out of office under a cloud of corruption allegations in 2018. He has been barred from standing as an MP because of a conviction for contempt of court, but remains extremely popular in KwaZulu-Natal, his home province. - Easier deal? - In Zuma's hometown Nkandla, call centre worker and teaching student Nokuthobeka Ngcobo, 26, declared she was »so happy« to have voted MK. »I'm voting for them because I want change... and I have hope that Zuma and the MK will bring change," she said. Were the ANC to come close to 50 percent it could strike an easier deal with some of the dozens of smaller groups in the running. Full results are not expected before the weekend. © Agence France-Presse  

Algeria has presented a draft resolution to UN Security Council members calling for an end to Israel's offensive in Rafah and an «immediate ceasefire,» according to a draft text seen by AFP. Defying pressure from the United States and other western countries, Israel has been conducting military operations in Rafah, which is packed with people who have fled fighting elsewhere in Gaza. The draft resolution, which draws on last week's ruling by the International Court of Justice, «decides that Israel, the occupying Power, shall immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in Rafah.» It also «demands an immediate ceasefire respected by all parties, and also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.» During its October 7 cross-border attack on Israel, which triggered the war, Hamas militants took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead. Algeria called an urgent UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday after an Israeli strike killed 45 people at a tent camp in Rafah for displaced people on Sunday, drawing international condemnation. A civil defense official in Gaza said another Israeli strike on a displacement camp west of Rafah on Tuesday killed at least 21 more people. Algeria's UN Ambassador Amar Bendjama has not specified when he hopes to put the draft resolution to a vote. «We hope that it could be done as quickly as possible because life is in the balance,» said Chinese ambassador Fu Cong, expressing hope for a vote this week. «It's high time for this council to take action. This is a matter of life and death. This is a matter of emergency,» the French ambassador Nicolas de Riviere said before the council meeting. The council has struggled to find a unified voice since the war broke out with the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, followed by Israel's retaliatory campaign. After passing two resolutions centered on the need for humanitarian aid to people in Gaza, in March the council passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire -- an appeal that had been blocked several times before by the United States, Israel's main ally. Washington, increasingly frustrated with how Israel is waging the war and its mounting civilian death toll, finally allowed that resolution to pass by abstaining from voting. But the White House said Tuesday that Israel's offensive in Rafah had not amounted to the type of full-scale operation that would breach President Joe Biden's «red lines,» and said it had no plans to change its policy toward Israel. Asked about the new Algerian draft resolution, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, «we're waiting to see it and then we'll react to it.» © Agence France-Presse  

Job seekers and young people interested in joining the Seychelles tourism sector were given a broader view of what careers are available in the Tourism Careers Fair held on Wednesday at the National Museum grounds. The director for Human Resources Development in the Tourism Department, Diana Quatre, told SNA, «We felt there was a need to do more sensitisation work on what opportunities exist in the sector. More often when we hear someone talking about a career in the tourism industry, many think of service jobs such as waiting staff, barmen, or cooks.» The aim of the day-long activity was to show that there were many possibilities and opportunities available in the tourism sector. Among those showing the career opportunities available to them were tourism establishments such as Four Seasons, the Hilton properties in the country as well as the national carrier, Air Seychelles. Also present were those smaller establishments such as dive centres. The director general for Food and Beverage at Four Seasons, Ali Al Hakim, explained that the establishment was taking part as it is «looking for students as well as passionate young individuals who will grow» with them. Most of the visitors at the fair were secondary school students currently choosing a career as well as those already following courses at the Seychelles Tourism Academy (STA). «I have been applying for a job in the tourism industry since I dropped out of the Seychelles Institute of Teacher Education,» Maria Joubert told SNA. She expressed her hope of clinching a job as she was filling out forms from as many of the establishments present as she could find. «I am hoping to get something after attending this fair because so far I have been unsuccessful in most of my applications and I have not been given the reason for my applications being unsuccessful,» she added. Meanwhile, Quatre told SNA that as this fair has a more «interactive feel, we are hoping to make it an annual event.» Tourism is the top pillar of the Seychelles economy, accounting for around 30 percent of employment and bringing in an estimated $960 million in revenue up to December 31, 2023, according to the Tourism Department.

A symposium to determine what marine research is being done in the Seychelles' waters was held recently in the island nation with the participation of a large number of scientists from around the world. The Seychelles Marine Science Symposium - an initiative of the Blue Economy Research Institute at the University of Seychelles (UniSey)- took place from May 22 to 24. According to a senior lecturer and researcher at the institution, Dr Murray Duncan, the scientists got to network and discuss their work on maritime research. Seychelles is an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean with an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 1.4 million square kilometres of which only 455 square kilometres is land. The island nation's EEZ is slightly larger than South Africa and about six times the size of the United Kingdom. «Because there are so many actors spread over such a large area often it is not well coordinated and there is a lack of collaborations sometimes,» said Duncan. He added that two experts might be working on the same research techniques and operating independently, and have never been in that area together to network and collaborate. Through the symposium, «different researchers in Seychelles got together in one place and built collaborations and made our research better,» said Duncan. More than 200 delegates from 18 countries and 83 different organisations, attended the event which included special scientific sessions organised by the Ocean Project on plastic pollution and SWIOFISH 3. Also attending were non-governmental organisations in the Seychelles related to the ocean such as the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF) and Marine Conservation Society Seychelles (MCSS). The symposium was held under the theme: «A scientific glimpse into the past, present and future.» It included 66 presentations, 31 poster presentations and four keynote addresses and ended with a public science exhibition. 

The Seychelles' district of Anse Boileau and Mauritius' Black River signed a new twinning agreement on Tuesday, extending their relationship into a third decade. The agreement was signed by Seychelles' Minister for Community Affairs and Local Government, Rose-Marie Hoareau, and the acting Mayor of Victoria, Lydia Charlie. On the Mauritian side, it was signed by Veenabye Jeewajee, the chairperson of the Black River District Council. The twinning agreement between Anse Boileau and Black River (Rivière Noire) was established in February 2004. Its objectives are to develop relations for the benefit of the populations of the two regions, bringing them together, and also fostering educational, sporting, cultural, social, and economic exchanges. «It is an honour for me to sign this agreement today, and I am looking to forward to continuing this relationship with Anse Boileau district, where the children and the elderly can continue to exchange our cultures,» said Jeewajee after signing the agreement. On her part, Charlie said, «Each time I witness a signing of an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) between cities and districts, I know that I am being part of an initiative that serves to build bridges and bring down barriers between countries, rather than distance people.»   Anse Boileau is a district located on the west of the main island of Mahe and is well known for its cultural aspects, farms and fishing activities. Meanwhile, Black River or Riviere Noire, is also on the western side of Mauritius. It is the third largest district of Mauritius in area, but the smallest in terms of population. The district is mostly rural but includes the western part of the capital city of Port Louis and the western part of Quatre Bornes. Seychelles has had several such agreements between its districts and those in Mauritius. There are twinning agreements between the Municipal Town Council of Beau Bassin/Rose Hill and the district of Mont Buxton and between the Municipal Town Council of Vacoas/Phoenix and the district of Plaisance. Such agreements were also signed between the districts of Moka and Pointe Larue, Savanne and Port Glaud, Pamplemousse and Grand Anse Praslin, Rivière du Rempart and Beau Vallon, and Anse Royale the district of Flacq.

Seychelles' President Wavel Ramkalawan emphasised the importance of the small island developing states (SIDS) presenting a united front at the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) that officially began on Monday in St. Johns, Antigua and Barbuda. Ramkalawan made this statement during his address at the heads of state and government general debate Plenary Segment of the SIDS4 conference. «Today, as we convene, our shared commitment is to confront the distinctive challenges confronting small island nations. Despite three decades of recognition of the special considerations deserved by SIDS, we face a complex web of interlinked issues, from climate change and rising sea levels to environmental degradation, devastating pandemics, geopolitical tensions, economic vulnerability, and sustainable development,» said Ramkalawan. He added that the outcomes have spiralled into mounting debt levels and a dearth of capacity to invest in resilience and climate action, making the pursuit of enduring prosperity a daunting and seemingly unending endeavour. Ramkalawan said all SIDS are insular and not attached to continents and therefore face similar challenges and vulnerabilities. «The climate crisis will destroy all of us. Already, we are being hit by coastal erosion, coral bleaching, rise in sea level, stronger storm surges, and destruction of our biodiversity and sea life in general. Tourism forms an important part of our economy and this is closely linked to the beauty of our environment. Speaking with one voice will ensure we protect our economic gains and thus allow us to continue giving our children and people good education, appropriate health services and a good standard of living,» he stressed. The head of state of Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, emphasised the importance of the Multi-dimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) for SIDS and said, «Our intention is not to beg or rob others, but rather we simply want access to concessionary financing for us to be able to face the future and survive. That is why we believe in an MVI.» In his address, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, called out to the Group of 20 (G20), which represent 80 percent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, to take accountability for the effects that climate change is having on SIDS. He reaffirmed the United Nations' stance of supporting the SIDS. «We cannot accept the disappearance of any country or culture under the rising waves. The idea that an entire island state could become collateral damage for profiteering by the fossil fuel industry or competition between larger economies is simply obscene,» said Guterres.  He added that the SIDS «served as the world's conscience in the climate crisis and it's in large part because of you, the SIDS, to your effort that we have the UN framework convention and the Paris agreement.» Guterres said that the past decades have delivered a series of blows that have set behind the SIDS development such as natural catastrophes like hurricanes, which have caused enormous amounts of damage. He added that SIDS also deserves economic justice and some of these countries desperately need resources for climate mitigation and finance is the fuel. The SIDS4 is taking place from May 27-30.Under the overarching theme of «Charting the course toward resilient prosperity,» the conference will assess the ability of SIDS to achieve sustainable development, including the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The conference is held every 10 years and brings together representatives from around 37 member states of the United Nations.  Discussions will focus on revitalising SIDS' economies, aid effectiveness and increasing climate finance in the wake of the 28th UN Framework Conference on Climate Change (COP28). Participants will also discuss human capital, health and youth, as well as address data and digital technologies – an area of focus of the upcoming Summit of the Future in September 2024.

The UN Security Council was set to convene an emergency meeting Tuesday over an Israeli strike that killed dozens in a displaced persons camp in Rafah, as three European countries were slated to formally recognise a Palestinian state. AFP journalists on the ground early Tuesday reported fresh Israeli strikes overnight in the southern Gaza border city, where an Israeli attack targeting two senior Hamas members on Sunday night sparked a fire that ripped through a displacement centre, killing 45, according to Gaza health officials. The attack prompted a wave of international condemnation, with Palestinians and many Arab countries calling it a «massacre». Israel said it was looking into the «tragic accident». «There is no safe place in Gaza. This horror must stop,» UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres posted on social media. UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths pointed to the widespread warnings of civilian deaths that circulated ahead of Israel's incursion into Rafah, saying in a statement: «We've seen the consequences in last night's utterly unacceptable attack.» «To call it 'a mistake' is a message that means nothing for those killed, those grieving, and those trying to save lives,» he added. Diplomats said the UN Security Council would convene Tuesday for an emergency session called by Algeria to discuss the attack. The EU's foreign policy chief said he was «horrified by news» of the strike, while French President Emmanuel Macron said he was «outraged», and a US National Security Council spokesperson said Israel «must take every precaution possible to protect civilians». The Israeli military said it was launching a probe. - 'Don't know where to go' - Displaced Gazan Khalil al-Bahtini was preparing to leave the impacted area, telling AFP Monday that «last night, the tent opposite to ours was targeted». «We have loaded all our belongings, but we don't know where to go.» Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told parliament the deaths occurred «despite our best efforts» to protect civilians. The outcry over the strike came as Spain, Ireland and Norway were set to formally recognise a Palestinian state on Tuesday in a decision slammed by Israel as a «reward» for Hamas. «Recognising the state of Palestine is about justice for the Palestinian people,» Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Monday in Brussels. It was also «the best guarantee of security for Israel and absolutely essential for reaching peace in the region», he said alongside his Irish and Norwegian counterparts. On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he had told Spain's consulate in Jerusalem to stop offering consular services to West Bank Palestinians from June 1 as a «preliminary punitive» measure. - 'Charred bodies' - Israel launched the deadly strike on Rafah late Sunday, hours after Hamas fired a barrage of rockets at the Tel Aviv area, most of which were intercepted. Israel's army said its aircraft «struck a Hamas compound» in the city and killed Yassin Rabia and Khaled Nagar, senior officials for the militant group in the occupied West Bank. Gaza's civil defence agency said the strike ignited a fire that tore through a displacement centre in northwestern Rafah near a facility of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. «We saw charred bodies and dismembered limbs... We also saw cases of amputations, wounded children, women and the elderly,» said civil defence agency official Mohammad al-Mughayyir. One survivor, a woman who declined to be named, said: «We heard a loud sound and there was fire all around us. The children were screaming.» Adding to already heightened tensions since Israel launched its Rafah ground operation, the Israeli and Egyptian militaries reported a «shooting incident» on Monday that killed one Egyptian guard in the border area between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip. Both forces said they were investigating. - 'Dangerous violation' - Footage from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society showed chaotic nighttime scenes of paramedics racing to the attack site and evacuating the wounded. Mughayyir said the rescue efforts were hampered by war damage and the impact of Israel's siege, which has led to severe shortages of fuel and «water to extinguish fires». The Israeli attack sparked strong protests from Egypt and Qatar, both of which have played key roles as mediators in efforts to negotiate a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange. Egypt deplored what it called the «targeting of defenceless civilians», saying it was part of «a systematic policy aimed at widening the scope of death and destruction in the Gaza Strip to make it uninhabitable». Qatar condemned a «dangerous violation of international law» and voiced «concern that the bombing will complicate ongoing mediation efforts» towards a truce. The top world court, the International Court of Justice, on Friday ordered Israel to halt any offensive in Rafah and elsewhere that could bring about «the physical destruction» of the Palestinians. The war in Gaza started after Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Militants also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 36,050 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, which has been central to aid operations in the besieged territory during the war, said on social media platform X that «with every day passing, providing assistance & protection becomes nearly impossible». «The images from last night are testament to how Rafah has turned into hell on Earth,» he said. © Agence France-Presse

The Seychelles National Alliance Party (SNAP) will soon reveal its new interim leader, said the new chairman of the party on Monday. Cyril Lau-Tee told reporters that SNAP has already sent the name of the new interim leader to the Electoral Commission of Seychelles (ECS). The announcement comes after the ECS announced the termination of the membership of the party leader, Vincent Padayachy on May 15. Ernesto Lionnet, a member of the executive committee, said, «Our decision to revoke the membership of our then leader shows that we are a serious party that does not take too well to our leaders doing whatever they want.» The executive committee of SNAP had already revoked Padayachy's membership to the party on April 15 as per Article 4.5 of its constitution. Lionnet said the former party leader committed over 10 violations from the date it was registered to April 15 and this included disregarding the executive committee when making decisions. Lautee said that after Padayachy was voted out, the party informed the ECS of the decision but on April 24 Padayachy announced the suspension of Lautee and Hermitte from their roles as chairman and secretary general respectively.  According to the Electoral Commission, Padayachy ceased to be a member of SNAP effective on April 15, 2024, and any resolution or action taken on behalf of the party after this date is deemed invalid. With the matter settled, SNAP revealed it plans to hold its convention at the end of this year to elect its presidential and vice presidential candidates. «We have already begun the work to identify who will stand as candidates for the National Assembly,» said Hermitte, who added that the party is working to ensure it has all the members it needs for its executive committee. Presidential and legislative elections in Seychelles will take place on September 27 if a proposed 11th amendment to the Constitution on a fixed date for elections is approved by the National Assembly.

It is «very unlikely» more survivors of Papua New Guinea's deadly landslide will be found, a UN agency warned Tuesday, as thousands at risk from further slips were ordered to evacuate. Some 2,000 people are feared buried by a massive landslide that entombed a remote highland community in the early hours of May 24. Since then, locals have been picking through a hellscape of metres-deep churned-up earth, uprooted trees and car-sized boulders in the search for loved ones -- often using little more than their hands, shovels and digging sticks. But hopes are dimming that anyone is alive underneath the mountain of rubble. «It is not a rescue mission, it is a recovery mission,» UNICEF Papua New Guinea's Niels Kraaier told AFP. «It is very unlikely they will have survived.» Full-scale rescue and relief efforts have been severely hampered by the remote location, the only road link being severed, heavy rainfall and nearby tribal violence. The Papua New Guinea Defence Forces have struggled to access the site with heavy earth-moving equipment. Early on Tuesday, Enga provincial administrator Sandis Tsaka warned the disaster could worsen further, as clumps of limestone, dirt and rock continue to shear off the side of Mount Mungalo. Tsaka told AFP authorities were now trying to coordinate the evacuation of almost 7,900 more people. «The tragedy is still active,» he said. «Every hour you can hear rock breaking -- it is like a bomb or gunshot and the rocks keep falling down.» Aid officials said many residents were refusing to leave at-risk areas because they were holding out hope of finding loved ones. - 'Wiped out' - Satellite images show the enormous scale of the disaster. A vast smear of yellow and grey debris can be seen cutting through once verdant bushland and severing the region's only road. «This was an area heavily populated with homes, businesses, churches and schools, it has been completely wiped out. It is the surface of the moon -- it is just rocks,» said Tsaka. «People are digging with their hands and fingers,» he said, expressing anguish at the unde-resourced government's inability to meet the enormity of the disaster. «I am not equipped to deal with this tragedy,» Tsaka admitted. Overwhelmed Papua New Guinea authorities held an online emergency meeting with United Nations agencies and international allies Tuesday, hoping to kickstart the relief effort. - 'Immediate' response needed - Papua New Guinea's national disaster centre has told the United Nations that the initial «landslide buried more than 2,000 people alive». According to a letter obtained by AFP, the slide also «caused major destruction to buildings, food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country.» The scale of the catastrophe required «immediate and collaborative actions from all players», it added, including the army, and national and provincial responders. Australia has announced millions of dollars worth of aid, including emergency relief supplies such as shelters, hygiene kits and support for women and children. China's President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden -- more accustomed to scrapping for influence in the strategically located country -- both offered assistance. More than 1,000 people have already been displaced by the catastrophe, aid agencies have estimated. UN Development Programme official Nicholas Booth said up to 30,000 people could have been cut off by the disaster across several villages. These communities had enough supplies for the coming weeks, but opening up that road remained essential, he said. «This landslide has blocked the road westward, so not only are there challenges in accessing the village itself, but it does mean the communities beyond that are also cut off.» Locals said the landslip may have been triggered by recent heavy rains. Papua New Guinea has one of the wettest climates in the world, and research has found shifting rainfall patterns linked to climate change could exacerbate the risk of landslides. The estimated death toll has climbed significantly since the disaster struck, as officials reassess the size of the population. Many people fleeing tribal violence have moved into the area in the past few years. The area is located about 600 kilometres (370 miles) from Port Moresby. © Agence France-Presse  

The heads of state of Seychelles and Maldives discussed strengthening diplomatic relations in tourism, air connectivity, environment protection, capacity building and exchange of best practices as well as maritime security. According to State House, President Wavel Ramkalawan and his counterpart from Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu, held bilateral talks on the margins of the International Conference of Small Island Developing States in Antigua and Barbuda. Ramkalawan and Muizzu highlighted the excellent relations between Seychelles and Maldives and how important it was for them to agree and address the real concerns affecting small island states. «Since July 1980, our two nations have engaged in a vast array of areas of cooperation at both bilateral and multilateral levels. It was an honour to visit your country in June last year, and our meeting today is the ideal occasion to assess what we have accomplished thus far and reinforce our efforts to ensure successful implementation. I look forward to working closely with you to build further on the existing partnership between our two countries,» said Ramkalawan. Muizzu stressed the very good relations between the two islands and their people and conveyed his country's interest in strengthening diplomatic ties and exploring new avenues.  The climate crisis remains top on the agenda of discussions as both nations seek to continue to use international platforms to call for greater global solidarity towards the socio-economic, political, security and ecological plight of SIDS. Other topics discussed were the rise in sea level, coral bleaching and exchange of technical expertise were also addressed. Ramkalawan and President of the Marshall Islands, Hilda Heine. (State House) Photo License: CC-BY  Ramkalawan also held talks with the President of the Marshall Islands, Hilda Heine. The two leaders agreed to further cooperate in key areas of mutual interest and explore new possible areas to strengthen the relations between the two island nations. Discussions touched on the existential issue of the climate crisis, such as rising sea levels and adverse weather patterns. Both nations are keen to further discuss short and long-term climate adaptation strategies and sound climate-based government policies. The two leaders talked about initiatives that can be implemented locally to enhance resiliency and reliably achieve sustainable development for both peoples' benefit. 

When countries invest in healthy living, the climate wins, the planet wins, the environment wins and diseases lose, said Seychelles' President Wavel Ramkalawan in a special prerecorded address to the 36th annual health ministers of the Commonwealth meeting. The annual health ministers of the Commonwealth meeting took place from May 24 to 25 in Geneva, Switzerland, on the margins of the 77th World Health Assembly. According to State House, Ramkalawan made the address on Saturday, which centred on how Seychelles is adapting to and mitigating the vagaries of climate change to ward off its impact on the health sector.  «Our national campaign against obesity which I have the honour and privilege to lead is not only an effort to reduce non-communicable diseases but it must also be seen as part of Seychelles' conscious effort to phase out fossil fuels and reduce carbon emissions by encouraging walking and cycling as more active and less polluting forms of travel,» he said. Ramkalawan highlighted how global warming is affecting Seychelles and said, «Each country must do its fair share. And fair share must continue to mean that those who have contributed the most and are still contributing the most to damage the climate must now also contribute the most to undo the damage.» Earlier, at the same meeting, Seychelles' Minister for Health, Peggy Vidot, stressed how climate change, resulting in sea-level rise and heavy rainfall, pose a significant threat to Seychelles' health infrastructure and continuity of essential health services. 

As the Seychelles' government continues its work to raise funds for the construction of a proposed new hospital, several companies and individuals have made their contributions, and the latest donations of up to SCR750,000 ($52,000), were made on Monday. The donations were made to the New Hospital Fund in a short ceremony at State House and the cheques were handed over to Vice President Ahmed Afif in the absence of President Wavel Ramkalawan, who is on overseas missions. The cheques were from Amsa Healthcare, Marlu Seychelles and Amazon Betting Seychelles. Amsa Healthcare pledged SCR5 million, ($344,000) to the fund and made a first contribution of SCR500,000 ($34,000) as part of the pledge. The other donation from Marlu Seychelles,  a semi-industrial fishing company in the country, was for SCR150,000 ($10,000).   Amazon Betting Seychelles donated SCR100,000 ($8,000) to the fund. The Vice President said it was a pleasure to receive such donations from these companies. «This is a very kind gesture, which will go to building an infrastructure that will benefit everyone in Seychelles,» said Afif. He added that while a new building will be constructed, it is the hospital services that the government wants to bring to the highest standard. The New Hospital Fund was launched last year to raise funds for the construction of a new and modern Seychelles Hospital. It is expected to be built on part of the premises of the current Seychelles Hospital in the central district of Mont Fleuri. The estimated sum for the construction of the new hospital is SCR1 billion ($69 million). When he announced the setting up of the New Hospital Fund Last year, President Ramkalawan revealed that the new hospital will be built where the current one is and that details of the plan when finalised will be shared with the public.   A technical committee was set up in October 2023 to kickstart the project which is scheduled to commence in 2024.

An intense cyclone smashed into the low-lying coast of Bangladesh on Sunday, with nearly a million people fleeing inland for concrete storm shelters away from howling gales and crashing waves. «The severe Cyclone Remal has started crossing the Bangladesh coast,» Bangladesh Meteorological Department Director Azizur Rahman told AFP, adding the raging storm could continue hammering the coast until at least the early hours of Monday morning. «We have so far recorded maximum wind speeds of 90 kilometres (56 miles) per hour, but the wind speed may pick up more pace.» Forecasters predicted gusts of up to 130 kilometres (81 miles) per hour, with heavy rain and winds also lashing neighbouring India. Authorities have raised the danger signal to its highest level. Cyclones have killed hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh in recent decades, but the number of superstorms hitting its densely populated coast has increased sharply, from one a year to as many as three, due to the impact of climate change. «The cyclone could unleash a storm surge of up to 12 feet (four metres) above normal astronomical tide, which can be dangerous,» Bangladeshi senior weather official Muhammad Abul Kalam Mallik told AFP. Most of Bangladesh's coastal areas are a metre or two above sea level and high storm surges can devastate villages. «We are terrified,» said 35-year-old fisherman Yusuf Fakir at Kuakata, a town on the very southern tip of Bangladesh in the predicted route of the storm, speaking just before its arrival. While he had sent his wife and children to a relative's home inland, he stayed put to guard their belongings. At least 800,000 Bangladeshis fled their coastal villages, while more than 50,000 people in India also moved inland from the vast Sundarbans mangrove forest, where the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers meet the sea, government ministers and disaster officials said. «We want to ensure that a single life is not lost,» said Bankim Chandra Hazra, a senior minister in India's West Bengal state. - Ferry sinks - As people fled, Bangladeshi police said that a heavily laden ferry carrying more than 50 passengers -- double its capacity -- was swamped and sank near Mongla, a port in the expected path of the storm. «At least 13 people were injured and were taken to a hospital,» local police chief Mushfiqur Rahman Tushar told AFP, adding that other boats plucked the passengers to safety. A young man drowned in rough seas at Kuakata on Sunday afternoon, district government administrator Nur Kutubul Alam told AFP. Bangladesh’s disaster management secretary Kamrul Hasan said people had been ordered to move from «unsafe and vulnerable» homes. «At least 800,000 people have been shifted to cyclone shelters,» Hasan said. The authorities have mobilised tens of thousands of volunteers to alert people to the danger, but local officials said many people stayed home as they feared their property would be stolen if they left. He said around 4,000 cyclone shelters have been readied along the country's lengthy coast on the Bay of Bengal. - Airports close - In addition to the villagers and fishermen, many of the multi-storey centres have space to shelter cattle, buffaloes and goats, as well as pets. On the low-lying island of Bhashan Char, home to 36,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, 57 cyclone centres were opened, deputy refugee commissioner Mohammad Rafiqul Haque told AFP. The country's three seaports and the airport in the second-largest city Chittagong were closed, officials said. India's Kolkata airport closed Sunday, while the Indian navy readied two ships with aid and medical supplies for «immediate deployment». While scientists say climate change is fuelling more storms, better forecasting and more effective evacuation planning have dramatically reduced the death toll. In the Great Bhola Cyclone in November 1970, an estimated half a million people died -- mostly drowned by the storm surge. In May last year, Cyclone Mocha became the most powerful storm to hit Bangladesh since Cyclone Sidr in November 2007. Sidr killed more than 3,000 people and caused billions of dollars in damage. Last October, at least two people were killed and nearly 300,000 fled their homes for storm shelters when Cyclone Hamoon hit the country's southeastern coast. © Agence France-Presse

The Palestinian Red Crescent said late Sunday an Israeli air strike killed and wounded a «large number» of people in a designated humanitarian area of Gaza's far-southern city of Rafah. «The Palestine Red Crescent ambulance crews are transporting a large number of martyrs and injured individuals following the occupation's targeting of the displaced persons' tents near the United Nations headquarters northwest of Rafah,» the Red Crescent said in a post on X. It added that «this location was designated by the Israeli occupation as a humanitarian area». The Hamas-run ministry of health and the emergency committee of the Rafah Governorate reported a strike on a displacement centre near Rafah, saying it had killed and wounded dozens. Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel launched a ground operation on Rafah in early May despite widespread opposition over concerns for civilians sheltering there. Earlier on Sunday, Israel's army said at least eight rockets were fired towards central areas of the country from Rafah. Hamas's armed wing said in a post on Telegram it had targeted Tel Aviv «with a large rocket barrage in response to the Zionist massacres against civilians». Later Sunday the Israel' military said in a statement its air force had carried out strikes on Rafah in response. «The rocket launcher, which was situated near two mosques in the area of Rafah, was struck by the (Israeli Air Force) shortly after.» © Agence France-Presse

More than 670 people are believed to have died after a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea, a UN official told AFP on Sunday as aid workers and villagers braved perilous conditions in their search for survivors. The once-bustling hillside village in Enga province was almost completely obliterated when the landslide struck in the early hours of Friday morning, burying scores of homes and the people sleeping inside them. «There are an estimated 150-plus houses now buried,» said UN migration agency representative Serhan Aktoprak, adding that «670-plus people are assumed dead». «The situation is terrible with the land still sliding. The water is running and this is creating a massive risk for everyone involved,» added Aktoprak, who oversees teams of emergency workers from Port Moresby. The unforgiving terrain, damaged roads and an outbreak of tribal violence nearby have seriously hamstrung efforts to get help into the disaster zone. More than two days after the landslide rumbled down the face of Mount Mungalo, mud-caked villagers in bare feet are still searching for their loved ones using shovels, axes and other makeshift tools. Disaster worker Omer Mohamud arrived at the site on Sunday, finding deeply «traumatised» villagers using «sticks and spades to discover the trapped bodies». - 'Destruction is massive' - «The situation is really horrible, people are in shock and traumatised,» he told AFP. «The land is still sliding. You can see rocks falling down from the mountain.» More than 1,000 people have been displaced by the catastrophe, aid agencies estimated, with food gardens and water supplies almost completely wiped out. Aid agencies and local leaders initially feared between 100 to 300 people had perished underneath the mud and rubble spanning almost four football fields in length. But the death toll grew after local leaders and disaster workers realised official figures underestimated the population, Aktoprak said. Five bodies and the leg of a sixth had been pulled from the debris by Saturday night. This number is expected to start climbing in the coming days as diggers and other heavy machinery speed up the painstaking excavations. «The destruction is massive,» Nickson Pakea, president of the nearby Porgera Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told AFP on Saturday. «They need machinery and other equipment to uncover these bodies. We are facing a big  problem.» - Tribal violence - Located on the side of densely forested Mount Mungalo, the village was home to a transient population that could swell to more than 4,000 people. It served as a trading post for miners who panned for gold in the highlands. «It's a centre of the community. People come from near and far to do their alluvial mining, and then they come to this place to trade,» Pakea said. A difficult journey to make at the best of times, vehicle access has been further complicated by a burst of tribal violence along the only route not blocked by the slip. Aktoprak said the violence was «not related to the landslide». Papua New Guinea's military had stepped in to provide a «security escort» to aid convoys, he added. French President Emmanuel Macron said his country was «ready to contribute to relief and reconstruction efforts», posting on social media platform X two days after US President Joe Biden expressed a similar willingness to help. In a statement, Biden said he and First Lady Jill Biden were «heartbroken by the loss of life and devastation». At some points, the landslide -- a mix of car-sized boulders, uprooted trees and churned-up earth -- was thought to be eight metres (26 feet) deep. Locals said it may have been triggered by heavy rains that have saturated the region in recent weeks. Papua New Guinea has one of the wettest climates in the world, according to the World Bank, with the heaviest downpours concentrated in the country's humid highland interior. Research has found shifting rainfall patterns linked to climate change could exacerbate the risk of landslides. This year has seen intense rainfall and flooding across Papua New Guinea. © Agence France-Presse

«Slavery Sites of Seychelles,» a publication detailing some of the slavery sites in the country in the three national languages, was officially launched on Friday. Odile De Commarmond, working closely with Colette Gillieaux, is the main researcher and driving force behind the project, in which 80 people in Seychelles were interviewed. Material for this latest publication has been gathered since 2002 with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's (UNESCO) Slave Route project. The collection through the Memory of the World programme - which was an inventory of all institutions with documentation of historical and heritage value - is the first exercise that took place. De Commarmond said, «It was an interesting journey that took us to many sites in the country, some were up on hills and in bushy areas that were not very easy to get to.» She added «It has taken this long to complete the book as she has been doing the work while working full-time or furthering her studies.» De Commarmond explained that among the challenges faced when carrying out the research were the fact that some of the sites were either partially or completely destroyed. The Seychelles National Archives being closed for a long time was also a challenge as «there we were unable to verify some of our work with the documents found there,» she said. In her address, De Commarmond talked about  Ros Kriminel (Criminal Rock) on Grande Soeur Island and that «through our many interviews we have found that to punish slaves, their owners would take them to that rock and throw them into the sea.» She shared that during her interviews, she discovered many other harrowing stories and «those we spoke to gave us very rich testimonies, that were delivered with a lot of emotions when recounting the slaves' suffering.» While a lot of the research has been included in «Slave Sites of the Seychelles,» Decommarmond revealed plans to have future publications to include other information that have been left out of this one. The researcher's next step is to continue with the research of which «is to find the slave market that was located on Mahe, somewhere in town», which today is the capital of Victoria. In addition to the launch of the book, guests to the event were also able to view an exhibition of the many sites the researchers visited as well as photographs of some of the people whose memoirs have been used.

The Seychelles finance ministry is discussing collaboration and partnership on issues of tax transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes with its counterparts from Spain, Portugal and France. According to a communique from the Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade, the discussions took place from May 13 to 17 led by Patrick Payet, the secretary of state for Finance, National Planning, and Trade. Payet also chairs the National Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Committee. With the support of the Seychelles Embassy in France, meetings were held in Madrid with the Spanish secretary of state for Finance, Jesús Gascón Catalán, in Lisbon with the Portuguese secretary of state for Fiscal Affairs, Claudia Reis Duarte, and in Paris with Jérôme Fournel, director of the Cabinet of the French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire.  «Discussions focused on the legislative reforms undertaken since the year 2020. The Seychelles' delegation highlighted that the Beneficial Ownership legislation that was enacted in 2020 has ensured that the definition of beneficial owners satisfies the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and OECD requirement,» said the communique. The Seychelles delegation with the Spanish Secretary of State for Finance, Jesús Gascón Catalán. (Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade) Photo License: CC-BY  It added that «the legislation includes provisions for the establishment of an up-to-date register of beneficial owners, as well as a secured and centralised Seychelles Beneficial Ownership database maintained by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).»    The parties also discussed the legislative reforms undertaken during the year 2022 in which all entities are now required to keep accounting information in Seychelles together with the supporting transaction documentation. These requirements are also applied to entities that are struck off and dissolved. All such data needs to be kept up to date and must be kept for at least seven years. «Seychelles will continue to progress towards meeting the standards on the exchange of information on request (EOIR) and I am confident that the forthcoming supplementary review in 2025 will demonstrate the jurisdiction's largely compliant status with international standards on tax transparency,» said Payet. All parties have acknowledged Seychelles' efforts in actively engaging in reforms to ensure that it meets international standards. They have all committed to continuing the collaboration and partnerships with Seychelles to ensure that it meets the standards of EOIR and becomes an effective partner in the exchange of information for tax purposes.  On February 19, Seychelles was removed from Annex I of the European Union (EU) list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, known as the EU blacklist, and added to Annex II of the list, known as the EU greylist. This decision followed the approval by the Peer Review Group (PRG) of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes for Seychelles to qualify for a supplementary review in 2025 on the implementation of the standard of transparency and EOIR, including an on-site visit by the assessment team. Seychelles intends to continue similar engagement with other key countries to further the jurisdictions' commitment to promoting tax transparency and effective exchange of information.

The Seychelles Meteorological Authority (SMA) aims to localise its workforce by 2030 as part of its strategic plan, said a top official. The authority's chief executive, Vincent Amelie, told SNA in an event to celebrate World Meteorological Day, that «We have quite a small team, of around 11 people, mostly made up of expatriates at the moment.» SMA recently recruited non-Seychellois forecasters who followed a training session, which Amelie said has familiarised them with working with the Seychelles' conditions and granting them the skills to work on their shift on their own. «For the very small team that we are, it is very worrying that the majority of our staff are foreign,» said Amelie. To deal with the situation as part of its new strategic plan, the authority is sending two Seychellois persons for further studies in the field. Amelie added, «two people who will be returning to the country soon having completed their studies.» The authority also intends to sensitise young students to attract them to the profession and among the things they are explaining to the prospective meteo officers are the subjects they will need to study to make it into the field. «With this new approach, we are hoping that the workforce will be mainly Seychellois by 2030,» he added. Amelie said that despite the localisation plan, the authority will always need the help and expertise of the non-Seychellois forecasters. SMA was set up in 1971, with the opening of the Seychelles International Airport, as it is a prerequisite for the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), as well as the WMO, that all international airports are equipped with a weather watch station.  Its mandate is to provide early warning on weather, climate phenomena and tsunamis in Seychelles, and to provide meteorological services for international air and sea navigation. It is also responsible for advising government and other agencies on meteorological matters and providing supportive roles and responsibilities to disaster management authorities in relation to disaster management, response and risk reduction.

A project to boost collaborative efforts between government agencies, the private sector, and non-profit organisations in Seychelles, funded by the European Union (EU), was launched on Thursday. The project titled «Improving Climate Adaptation and Environmental Governance through Local People and Co-Management in Seychelles» will be implemented by Nature Seychelles with financial support of €218,000 from the EU. Nature Seychelles is a leading environmental organisation in the western Indian Ocean and is the largest and oldest environmental NGO in the archipelago and is involved in environmental conservation and management. The European Union Ambassador to Seychelles, Oskar Benedikt, presided over the project launch at Nature Seychelles' Centre for Environment and Education at Roche Caiman the presence of the French ambassador to Seychelles, Olivia Berkeley-Christmann The project aims to improve mangrove research and management for ecosystem resilience. It will also increase the number of local people with the knowledge and capacity to participate in wetland conservation and restoration and to strengthen and support the national mangrove policy and regulatory frameworks for ecosystem management. Speaking at the launching, the chief executive of Nature Seychelles, Dr Nirmal Shah, said the project will target various groups and stakeholders. These will include wetland management practitioners, tourism establishments, community members, environmental groups and school clubs, interested entrepreneurs, and the private sector. «One of the most important things for us is that we get people involved in decisions made on our environment, as the environment is ours and not the government's,» he said. Shah added that there needs to be policies and values given to these wetlands so that people will feel the need to protect these wetlands. Another component of the project is what has been dubbed «the wetlands of hope,» where in recognition of effective management of wetlands, the groups, hotels, or individuals will be given the label «wetlands of hope.» This will help inspire others to work to protect their own wetlands in order to be recognised as well. Meanwhile, Benedikt said that the launch of the project continues to show the excellent partnership between Seychelles and the EU. «The launch of this grant, together with our new bilateral programme for 2021-2017, is testimony to the continuity of this partnership in areas, such as environmental protection,» said Benedikt.

Seychelles is for the first time giving the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines to boys aged between 10 to 12 years old and the first batch of three boys from Plaisance Secondary School received the vaccines on Thursday. Since May 2014, the Ministry of Health introduced the HPV vaccine into its routine immunisation schedule in an effort to reduce girls' risk of developing HPV-related cancers by as much as 80 percent. When it was introduced in 2014, the HPV vaccine was exclusively available to girls and was a crucial step towards achieving the World Health Organisation's targets of vaccinating 90 percent of girls, screening 70 percent of women, and treating 90 percent of those with cervical disease, with the ultimate goal of eliminating cervical cancer by 2030. The vaccination programme is now expanding to include boys. «This is a very important day in our national health initiative. This significant step not only reflects our commitment to improve public health, but also aligns with global efforts to eliminate cervical cancer,» said Danny Louange, the chief executive of the Seychelles Health Care Agency.  According to the WHO, HPV infections are primarily transmitted by sexual contact and are highly transmissible. During one's life course, most sexually active men and women will acquire an HPV infection. Although most HPV infections are transient and benign, persistent genital infection with certain types can lead to warts and cancers of the cervix and among others. «HPV is related to the cause of nearly all cervical cancers and affects countless women. But is it also a serious health problem for men, which is why it is crucial to vaccinate everyone, including our boys,» said Louange. He is urging parents to use this opportunity to get their children vaccinated so that their chances of being affected by the disease can be reduced, while its spread can also be decreased. During the launching ceremony, the health authority explained that the boys' vaccination programme will now run concurrently with the girls' programme. This means that every child between 10 to12 years old will be vaccinated. The Health Care Agency expects to vaccinate around 800 boys from primary schools all over Seychelles. «When we introduced the programme in 2014, we wanted to do it for both genders, but with the financial costs, we had to agree to only vaccinate one group, before we could then move on to the boys when we had enough resources,» said Mary-Jane Henriette, the head of the Vaccination Programme. The Vaccination Programme is expected to begin in full soon, with schools working closely with the Health Care Agency to schedule their vaccination dates. 

Beijing on Friday said ongoing drills encircling Taiwan were testing the military's ability to seize power over the self-ruled island, days after its new president was sworn in. China's military kicked off the war games Thursday morning, surrounding Taiwan with naval vessels and military aircraft, while vowing the blood of «independence forces» on the island would flow. The exercises -- codenamed «Joint Sword-2024A» -- come after Lai Ching-te took office as Taiwan's new president this week and made an inauguration speech that China denounced as a «confession of independence». The drills are part of an escalating campaign of intimidation by China that has seen it carry out a series of large-scale military exercises around Taiwan in recent years. The two-day exercises are testing the «capability of joint seizure of power, joint strikes and control of key territories», said Li Xi, spokesman for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. The United Nations called for all sides to avoid escalation, while the United States -- Taiwan's strongest ally and military backer -- «strongly» urged China to act with restraint. - 'Strong punishment' - Beijing, which split with Taipei at the end of a civil war 75 years ago, regards the island as a renegade province with which it must eventually be reunified. As the drills got under way, Beijing said they would serve as «strong punishment for the separatist acts of 'Taiwan independence' forces». Footage published by China's military showed soldiers streaming out of a building to battle stations and jets taking off to a rousing martial tune. State broadcaster CCTV reported that Chinese sailors had called out to their Taiwanese counterparts at sea, warning them against «resisting reunification by force». President Lai said he would «stand on the front line» to defend Taiwan in a speech on Thursday afternoon, without directly referring to the ongoing drills. China has repeatedly branded Lai a «dangerous separatist» who would bring «war and decline» to the island. Beijing was further incensed with his inauguration speech on Monday, in which he hailed a «glorious» era for Taiwan's democracy. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Thursday delivered a warning that included language more commonly used by China's propaganda outlets. «Taiwan independence forces will be left with their heads broken and blood flowing after colliding against the great... trend of China achieving complete unification,» Wang told reporters. And Beijing's Xinhua news agency and ruling party organ the People's Daily both ran editorials hailing the drills on Friday, slamming Lai's «treacherous behaviour» and promising a «severe blow». The drills are taking place in the Taiwan Strait and to the north, south and east of the island, as well as areas around the Taipei-administered islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu and Dongyin. Beijing has said the drills will last until Friday, but analysts say it could choose to extend the war games or launch missiles near Taiwan, as it did after a visit to the island by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2022. Taipei's defence ministry said Thursday that the Chinese military had gotten within 24 nautical miles (44 kilometres) of Taiwan's main island. © Agence France-Presse

UK political leaders kicked off six weeks of campaigning on Thursday, firing the first angry shots in their electoral battle before the country votes for a new government on July 4. Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ended prolonged speculation about the general election in a rain-soaked speech Wednesday outside Downing Street, which some took as an omen for his Conservatives' chances at the ballot box. UK commentators were virtually unanimous in describing his decision to hold a vote six months before he has to as a «gamble». But Sunak hit the airwaves for a round of radio and television interviews Thursday, before a whistlestop tour of the country, and insisted insist he was right to call the vote. «This is what Downing Street is thinking: things are basically not going to get any better for the prime minister,» former finance minister George Osborne said on his Political Currency podcast. «Nothing is shifting the polls,» he added, calling the election a way to «shift the dial» and force the choice on the electorate. - Tall order - The Conservatives have been in power since 2010, first with David Cameron as prime minister, then Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, and increasingly beset by scandal and ideological infighting with hardliners. The right-wingers' tumultuous time in power has been dominated by Brexit and its chaotic aftermath, as well as Covid and a cost-of-living crisis -- all of which has eaten into public support. The gap between them and the main opposition Labour party over the last two years has opened to a likely insurmountable 20 percentage points. «As of now, it looks as if there will be a change of government on July 4,» Tony Travers, from the department of government at the London School of Economics, told AFP. A snap Survation poll of voting intentions after Sunak's announcement put centre-left Labour on 48 points -- its highest since November 2022 and 21 points ahead of the Tories, on 27. Survation said the results were consistent with Labour's polling throughout 2023 and this year. Other surveys have suggested similar results. Anti-immigration fringe party Reform UK is snapping on the heels of the Tories, polling at 11 percent with the potential to split the right-wing vote by fielding candidates in almost every constituency. Brexit champion Nigel Farage announced he will not try to become an MP after seven previous unsuccessful attempts, promising instead to «do (his) bit» for Reform during the campaign. - Change? - The vote -- the first to be held in July since 1945, when Labour under Clement Attlee defeated Winston Churchill's Conservatives -- is Sunak's first national electoral test. He was appointed leader by his own MPs in October 2022. The 44-year-old former financier is presenting himself as the safe choice in an increasingly dangerous world and trumpeting the Tories as the party of economic stability. Inflation has slowed to 2.3 percent, figures showed on Wednesday, a three-year low after highs of more than 11 percent in 2022. «I know there's more work to do... but we have undeniably made progress and stability has returned,» Sunak told BBC television. He repeated his mantra that Labour, trounced in the last vote in 2019, was an unknown quantity, and accused Starmer of ideological flip-flopping on policy to curry favour with voters. But Starmer, who has dragged the party back to the centre since taking over from his hard-left predecessor Jeremy Corbyn four years ago, said voters had a clear choice. «Two countries, two different futures. Decline and chaos continuing under the Tories or rebuilding our country under Labour,» the 61-year-old former human rights lawyer said on a campaign stop. Labour is also promising economic stability, saying the Tories' reputation for sound stewardship of the nation's finances had been stained by Truss's short-lived tenure. Sunak replaced Truss after just 49 days, when her tax cut plans spooked financial markets, sinking the pound and increasing mortgage rates, piling fresh misery on households already hit by higher food and energy prices. On immigration -- another key issue -- Sunak promised that the first of the government's controversial deportation flights of failed asylum seekers will take off for Rwanda, but only after the election. Starmer has called it a «gimmick». © Agence France-Presse

Better connectivity between member states, maritime security and putting the youth at the heart of development, are some of the projects for the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) according to its new president, Sylvestre Radegonde, the Seychelles' Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism. Mauritius handed over the presidency of the Indian Ocean Commission to Radegonde on May 17 at the closing ceremony of the 38th Ordinary Session of the IOC Council of Ministers. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Radegonde, said, «We want to focus on connectivity. It is easy to say that no airline or ship is going around the islands. [...] For an airline or a vessel to go around the islands, there must be passengers or cargo regularly. We must seriously address this issue of how we can connect our islands and have a reliable connectivity.» He added that this will the IOC to another objective and that is to have a bulk importation system for the islands.«We depend on importation and the price of foreign exchange. The maritime security concern today has resulted in an increase in prices.  We need to have a bulk importation system but there must be ways to distribute,» said Radegonde. The minister said another subject being discussed is maritime security and today «whether it is drugs, arms trafficking, human trafficking [...] we need a mechanism to work together.»    He said this would mirror an existing mechanism for importing medication and that «I want to review how things are done now at the IOC so that we can move faster.» Radegonde also said he intends to keep continuity in terms of what has already been undertaken under the Mauritian presidency. «The funds we receive when working on IOC projects are not the ones that remain there even though the projects are moving at a slow pace,» he said and stressed the need to work fast and use them while still available.For the first time since the IOC presidency exists, Seychelles has adopted the theme of «Youth, motors for development» and as part of the region's youth inclusion, the various young parliamentarians will attend a meeting soon. Additional topics to be addressed during his presidency are environmental protection, climate change and culture.The Indian Ocean Commission is an intergovernmental organisation set up in 1982  - which includes Seychelles, Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius, and Reunion, a French Overseas Department. The last time Seychelles assumed the presidency of the IOC was in 2019.  

The President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan, will join other small island state leaders and decision makers at the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) in Antigua and Barbuda from May 23 to June 3. During the conference, with the theme 'Charting the Course Towards Resilient Prosperity,' the international community will gather to review SIDS' sustainable development progress, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals. A range of topics will be covered in SIDS4, including climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean conservation, disaster risk reduction, access to finance, debt sustainability and the overall sustainable development of SIDS. The conference's outcome is expected to be a comprehensive plan of action offering solutions to the unique challenges of SIDS and a new 10-year framework for international cooperation and support. The conference is organised by the United Nations every 10 years. According to State House, from Antigua and Barbuda, Ramkalawan will attend the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit in Seoul, from June 2 to 6. Under the theme 'The Future We Make Together: Shared Growth, Sustainability, and Solidarity,' the summit aims to elevate cooperation between South Korea and Africa by bringing together heads of state and international organisations in Africa and key figures from Korean government communities.                          Ramkalawan will deliver various statements at both summits, engage in high-level discussions, and take part in side events relevant to Seychelles' priorities.

Seychelles has expressed mixed feelings about the recommendations taken at the 28th Session of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) held in Bangkok, Thailand, in a press conference on Wedneday. The Seychelles' delegation was led by the principal secretary for fisheries, Roy Clarisse, to the meeting held from May 13 to 17, and 16 out of 24 proposals were adopted as recommendations by the IOTC.   In a press conference on Wednesday, the chief executive of the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA), Jan Robinson, said, «We are disappointed that not all three of Seychelles' proposals were adopted and we are also a little bit disappointed that the Commission continues to pass resolutions concerning the purse seine fisheries and many of the other fisheries that need action don't seem to be very supportive of adopting measures for their fisheries.» Seychelles tabled three proposals at the meeting and the one adopted was on measures to end the wasteful practice of discards at sea for fishing vessels other than purse seiners. Robinson said the measure concerning by-catch has an impact on the country and «there is a lot more by-catch landing in the country, which is being used by local processors. By and large, we are benefiting from that plan on discarding and it is really leading to opportunities for our local processors to advance through that bycatch.» SFA is currently monitoring vessels by randomly asking to view the video footage found on board, and should there be evidence that they are disrespecting the measures, this will be taken very seriously. Seychelles had two other proposals relating to strengthening data collection and reporting requirements, including for the pole and line fishery as recommended by the IOTC Scientific Committee. The key proposals to become recommendations in the meeting were for better management of fish aggregating devices (FADs) and the science-based management of stocks of skipjack tuna and swordfish. Robinson said it concerns the best practices for managing the two stocks and that it is a real achievement for the commission to pass these two resolutions. He explained that this decision puts IOTC at the forefront for best practices for managing shared stocks. The members at the meeting discussed mandatory transitioning to biodegradable FADs and some resolutions proposed severe cutting of FADs. «It was very clear that there was a willingness for all to find a proposal to find one successful outcome on FADs,» said Robinson. As a result of the resolutions FADs are expected to come down to 270 in 2026 and 240 two years later, while European Union vessels have an even greater cut, going down to 250 by 2026 and 225 by the next two years after that. «This was a signal that contracting cooperating parties (CCPs) are willing to exact a reduced number of FADs to mitigate any impact they are having on tuna stocks and coastal environment,» he added. A FAD register, which will come into force following the meeting, will be administered by the secretariat and Robinson said, «this will improve transparency in FAD fishing in the Indian Ocean.» Robinson concluded by saying that Seychelles is happy with the level of FAD management, «but we still have to understand that this will have some impacts on our industry and that it will take some time to put all the measures in place within the next year or two.» 

Israel reacted with fury after three European countries said Wednesday they would recognise a Palestinian state, more than seven months into the devastating Gaza war. Ireland, Norway and Spain said they would formally recognise the State of Palestine on May 28, drawing praise from many Arab and Muslim states. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move amounted to a «reward for terror», after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched its October 7 attack which sparked the Gaza war. Israel said it was recalling its envoys to Dublin, Oslo and Madrid for «urgent consultations» and also summoned the three European ambassadors for a rebuke. European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell posted on X that he would work with the bloc's 27 members «to promote a common EU position based on a 2-state solution». Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, on his first visit since October 7 to the contested religious site of the Temple Mount in the Old City of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, said the recognition rewarded «murderers and aggressors». His visits to the site -- known as the Al-Aqsa mosque compound to Muslims -- have been cited by Hamas as one reason for the group's October attack on Israel, which it called «Al-Aqsa Flood». The White House said President Joe Biden opposed unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, saying it should be realised «through direct negotiations». Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned Israel not to withhold funding intended for the Palestinian Authority in retaliation. Most Western governments, including the United States, say they are willing to recognise Palestinian statehood one day -- but not before thorny issues such as final borders and the status of Jerusalem are settled. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said «recognition of Palestine is a means of supporting the moderate forces which have been losing ground in this protracted and brutal conflict». «In the midst of a war, with tens of thousands killed and injured, we must keep alive the only alternative that offers a political solution for Israelis and Palestinians alike: Two states, living side by side, in peace and security.» Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Netanyahu was «causing so much pain, destruction and resentment in Gaza and the rest of Palestine that the two-state solution is in danger». And Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris called the October 7 attack «barbaric» but stressed that «a two-state solution is the only way out of the generational cycles of violence, retaliation and resentment». - 'Important step' - According to the Palestinian Authority, which rules parts of the occupied West Bank, 142 of the 193 UN member countries already recognise a Palestinian state. The Palestine Liberation Organization, seen internationally as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, hailed Wednesday's moves as «historical». Hamas also welcomed «an important step towards affirming our right to our land», while Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas political bureau member, said it would mark «a turning point in the international position on the Palestinian issue». A Palestinian in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, Ismail Hassuna, 46, said the European trio's decision was a step that «will restore hope» and should help in efforts to «stop Israel from its heinous crimes». Political analyst Ines Abdul Razek, who heads the Palestine Institute for Public Democracy, called the decision symbolic but «not a great victory». She said what was needed was «actual measures, including sanctions and arms embargoes» against Israel. Hamas's October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. The militants also took 252 hostages, 124 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead. On Wednesday a hostages campaign group released footage of five Israeli female soldiers being captured by militants on October 7 and taken away. Speaking about the video, Netanyahu vowed to continue fighting Hamas to «ensure what we have seen tonight never happens again». Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 35,709 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. Israel also imposed a siege that has deprived Gaza's 2.4 million people of most water, food, medical and fuel supplies, and brought much of the population to the brink of famine. - Deadly fighting - Fierce fighting has raged around Rafah, the last part of Gaza to face a ground invasion, where an AFP team reported more bombardment early Wednesday. Heavy battles have also rocked Gaza's northern and central areas where Hamas forces have regrouped, and more Israeli strikes have hit Gaza City, Jabalia and Zeitun. Israel said its troops were fighting on the ground in Rafah and Jabalia, and three more soldiers were killed on Wednesday, bringing the army's toll since the ground offensive began on October 27 to 287. Ten people were killed in the central town of Al-Zawaida overnight, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said, and Gaza's civil defence agency said six bodies were recovered from the rubble of a house in Jabalia. Israel's military said soldiers had carried out targeted raids on dozens of Hamas military compounds in Jabalia. The World Health Organization has said northern Gaza's last two functioning hospitals, Al-Awda and Kamal Adwan, were besieged, trapping more than 200 patients. Israeli troops began their ground assault on Rafah early this month, defying international opposition over fears for the more than one million civilians trapped there. Israel ordered mass evacuations from Rafah, and the UN says more than 800,000 people have fled. Heavy fighting has also rocked the other major Palestinian territory, the occupied West Bank, where an Israeli raid entered its second day in the city of Jenin. The Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry said Israeli forces had killed 10 people since the fighting began on Tuesday morning. © Agence France-Presse

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led prayers for late president Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday as huge crowds thronged the capital Tehran for his funeral procession. Flanked by top officials, Khamenei said prayers over the coffins of the eight dead from Sunday's helicopter crash, who also included foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. A sea of mourners filled the open space around Tehran university, where the prayers were held before the funeral procession moved on to Enghelab and Azadi squares. State television said Raisi, who had been widely seen as Khamenei's most likely successor as supreme leader, had received a «millionfold farewell» from the people of Tehran. «We have lost a prominent personality. He was a very good brother. He was an efficient, competent, sincere, and serious official,» Khamenei told visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani. The leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, joined the procession, as did the deputy leader of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Naim Qassem. «I say once again... we are sure that the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue its support for the Palestinian people,» Haniyeh told the crowd to chants of «Death to Israel». - Foreign guests - Iran's acting president, Mohammad Mokhber, later received heads and representatives of countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and Europe. Tunisian President Kais Saied and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani attended an afternoon ceremony in which around 60 countries took part, said state news agency IRNA. Egypt's top diplomat, Sameh Shoukry, was also at the ceremony. He is the first Egyptian foreign minister to visit Tehran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Member countries of the European Union were among the absentees of the ceremony while some non-member countries, including Belarus and Serbia had their representatives. In the capital, huge banners have gone up hailing the late president as «the martyr of service», while others bade «farewell to the servant of the disadvantaged». Tehran residents received phone messages urging them to join the funeral procession. «I was sad, I came to calm my heart and calm the heart of the supreme leader,» said one mourner who gave her name only as Maryam and said she had travelled from Varamin, south of Tehran, to pay her last respects. Raisi's helicopter crashed into a fog-shrouded mountainside in northwestern Iran on Sunday as his entourage headed back to the city of Tabriz after attending a ceremony on the border with Azerbaijan. A huge search and rescue operation was launched, involving help from the European Union, Russia and Turkey. State television announced Raisi's death early on Monday. The Iranian military said Wednesday that domestically produced drones had played the key role in locating the crash site. - Burial in Mashhad - Funeral ceremonies for Raisi and his entourage began on Tuesday with processions through Tabriz and the Shiite clerical centre of Qom drawing tens of thousands of black-clad mourners. From Tehran, the bodies will be taken to Iran's second city of Mashhad, Raisi's hometown in the northeast, where he will be buried on Thursday evening after funeral rites at the Imam Reza shrine. Khamenei, who wields ultimate authority in Iran, has declared five days of national mourning and assigned vice president Mohammad Mokhber, 68, as caretaker president until a June 28 election for Raisi's successor. Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri, who was Amir-Abdollahian's deputy, has been named acting foreign minister. The country's armed forces chief Mohammad Bagheri has ordered an investigation into the cause of the helicopter crash. Raisi was elected president in 2021, succeeding the moderate Hassan Rouhani at a time when the economy was battered by US sanctions imposed over Iran's nuclear activities. The ultra-conservative's time in office saw mass protests, a deepening economic crisis and unprecedented armed exchanges with arch-enemy Israel. After his death, Russia and China sent their condolences, as did NATO, while the UN Security Council observed a minute's silence. Messages of condolence also flooded in from Iran's allies around the region, including the Syrian government as well as Hamas and Hezbollah. © Agence France-Presse