Voters across Europe cast ballots Sunday on the final -- and biggest -- day of elections for the EU's parliament, with far-right parties expected to make gains at a pivotal time for the bloc. «In the current world situation, where everyone is trying to isolate each other, it's important to keep standing up for peace and democracy,» said one voter in Berlin, Tanja Reith, 52. A male voter in his 70s in Stockholm, who gave only his first name as Tommy, said his pressing electoral concern was immigration, specifically «many people coming from Africa and so on». With global warming, «it's too hot to live there so they want to go where the climate is not so hard,» he said. Polling stations opened Sunday in 21 EU countries, including heavy hitters France and Germany, for a vote that helps shape the European Union's direction over the next five years. Polling came as the continent is confronted with Russia's war in Ukraine, global trade and industrial tensions marked by US-China rivalry, a climate emergency and a West that within months may have to adapt to a new Donald Trump presidency. More than 360 million people were eligible to vote across the EU's 27 nations in the elections that started Thursday -- although only a fraction are expected to cast their ballots. The outcome will determine the makeup of the EU's next parliament. The legislature helps decide who runs the powerful European Commission, with German conservative Ursula von der Leyen vying for a second term in charge. - Centre to hold - While centrist mainstream parties are predicted to hold most of the incoming European Parliament's 720 seats, polls suggest they will be weakened by a stronger far right pushing the bloc towards ultraconservatism. Preliminary results are expected late Sunday. Many European voters, hammered by a high cost of living and some fearing immigrants to be the source of social ills, are increasingly persuaded by populist messaging. Hungarian voter Ferenc Hamori, 54, said he wanted more EU leaders like his country's right-wing premier Viktor Orban -- even though he expected Orban to remain «outnumbered in Brussels». Outside his polling station, Orban framed the vote as a «pro-peace or pro-war election». The Hungarian leader -- whose government takes on the rotating EU presidency from July -- maintains close relations with President Vladimir Putin and has stoked fears of the Ukraine war expanding to one between the West and Russia, blaming Brussels and NATO. In EU countries closest to Russia, the spectre of Russia's threat loomed large. «I would like to see greater security,» doctor Andrzej Zmiejewski, 51, said after voting in Poland's capital Warsaw. In Romania's capital Bucharest, psychologist Teodora Maia said she cast her vote «on »the theme of war, which worries us all, and ecology«. - Battleground France - France will be the EU's high-profile battleground for competing ideologies. With voting intentions above 30 percent, Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) is predicted to handily beat President Emmanuel Macron's liberal Renaissance party, polling around half that. In the French city of Lyon, 83-year-old Albert Coulaudon said Macron was getting »mixed up« in too many international issues such as the war in Ukraine. »That scares me,« he told AFP. A smiling Le Pen voted in her her northern French village of Henin-Beaumont, pausing on the way to wave and accept flowers from supporters but making no comment to media. French turnout at midday (1000 GMT) was slightly higher than in the 2019 EU elections, at 19.8 percent, according to official figures. In Germany, Europe's biggest economy, the election could also deal a blow to Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Leading the German polls are the opposition centre-right Christian Democrats, with a projected 30 percent of votes. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), on 14 percent, was seen either neck-and-neck or ahead of all three parties in Scholz's ruling coalition: the SPD, the Greens and the liberal FDP. In Italy, holding its second day of voting, the far-right ruling Brothers of Italy party of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was expected to come out on top. Meloni is being courted both by von der Leyen -- who needs her backing to clinch a second commission mandate -- and Le Pen and Orban who are eyeing the formation of a far-right supergroup in the European Parliament. Unlike Le Pen, however, Meloni aligns with the EU consensus on maintaining military and financial assistance to Ukraine. Mainstream leftist parties fear that a sharp rightward turn in the EU parliament could result in even tougher immigration rules for the bloc and a watering down of climate policies. - 'Heads in the sand' - But there has been some backlash against the surge in populism and in Hungary's Orban faced a challenge from former government insider Peter Magyar. »I think the public sentiment has changed; people who have been burying their heads in the sand are now standing up and coming forward," said voter Dorottya Wolf in Budapest. Polling data compiled by Politico suggest the centre-right EPP will win 173 seats in the legislature, with the centre-left Socialists and Democrats on 143 and the centrist Renew Europe on 75. The main far-right grouping, the European Conservatives and Reformists, in which Meloni's Brothers of Italy party sits, was projected to win 76 seats. The smaller Identity and Democracy grouping that includes Le Pen's RN was predicted to get 67. © Agence France-Presse

Seychelles will be hosting an international boxing competition on June 21 and 22 to celebrate the island nation's Constitution Day, which falls on June 18. Over 20 boxers from foreign countries will compete in the tournament at the NSC Hall, alongside well known Seychellois boxers, such as Keddy Agnes, Joshua Cousin and Shain Boniface. Five nations will be participating in the event featuring boxers from  Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion - a French overseas department - as well as Kenya and Sri Lanka. One of the organisers of the event, Roy Collie, said, «We had been in discussion with the Boxing Federation for a while now about having an international tournament, and with the Constitution Day coming up, we saw this as a perfect to have this tournament.»  He said the event has cost a lot to put together and the organisers are still looking for sponsors who will be able to help in getting cash prizes as rewards for the winners. «It's not enough just to give a boxer a medal, I mean they train very hard to compete and I think that a monetary reward is well deserved,» added Collie. Boxing tournaments with international boxers in Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, used to be held regularly in the past and boxers from the region were invited to participate. «We want to invite everyone to come down and enjoy the spectacle that we will be putting on. I am sure the boxers will be giving their all as they take the ring for their fights,» Collie added. Tickets for the competition will be SCR200 ($15), while there will be a VIP section, with the tickets costing SCR1,000 ($74). 

The upcoming inclusion of Israel on a UN list of countries and armed forces determined to be failing to protect children in war prompted a furious Israeli response Friday. The annual «Children and Armed Conflict» report from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is not due to be published until June 18, but Israel's UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan, spoke out after receiving private notification of the inclusion. «I am utterly shocked and disgusted by this shameful decision,» Erdan said in a statement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on his X social media account that the UN «put itself today on history's blacklist when it adopted the absurd claims of Hamas.» «The IDF is the most moral military in the world and no 'flat earth' decision by the UN secretary-general can change that,» he wrote, referring to the Israel Defense Forces. The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, said adding Israel to the «list of shame» would not restore the lives of children killed or left permanently disabled in Israeli military attacks. «But it is an important step in the right direction towards ending the double standards and the culture of impunity Israel has enjoyed for far too long and that left our children vulnerable,» he said on X. A diplomatic source told AFP that Hamas and another Palestinian militant group, Islamic Jihad, would also appear on the list. Erdan lashed out at Guterres personally, saying: «The only one who is blacklisted today is the secretary-general.» «Now Hamas will continue even more to use schools and hospitals because this shameful decision of the secretary-general will only give Hamas hope,» he said. - 'Long overdue' - Gaza is suffering through a war which broke out after Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 36,731 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. Of those, some 15,000 have been minors, according to Gaza's government press office. Israel has also delayed the entry of aid into Gaza, depriving the territory's 2.4 million people of clean water, food, medicines and fuel. Last week, the World Health Organization said that more than four in five children had gone a whole day without eating at least once in 72 hours. According to the Hamas government media office, at least 32 people, many of them children, have died of malnutrition in Gaza since the war began. Much of the violence is occurring in built-up areas, packed with fleeing Palestinians and, according to the Israeli military, being used at the same time by Hamas forces. In one of the bloodiest recent single incidents, the Israeli army says it killed 17 militants with an air strike on a UN-run school in Gaza on Thursday. The nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital said that at least 37 people were killed in the strike. The UN report highlights human rights violations against children in around 20 conflict zones. Last year, Russia's military and armed entities linked to Russia were included on the list. Rights groups have long pushed for Israel's inclusion and in 2022, the United Nations issued a warning that Israel would need to show improvements in order not to be added. In last year's report, the UN noted improvements in the situation between 2021 and 2022, with a «meaningful» drop in deaths of children in Israeli strikes. Louis Charbonneau, from Human Rights Watch, called Israel's inclusion «thoroughly justified, albeit long overdue.» «It's something we've long called for, along with listing Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.» © Agence France-Presse

On June 2, United Seychelles (US), Seychelles' main opposition party, endorsed the nomination of the party's leader, Dr Patrick Herminie, as its presidential candidate for the election to be held on September 27, 2025, which will coincide with parliamentary elections. The party congress coincided with the 60th anniversary since the formation of the Seychelles People's United Party (SPUP) on June 2, 1964, which was the original name of the US party. It was also later called the Seychelles People's Progressive Front (SPPF) and Parti Lepep (PL) or The People's Party. The party was formed by the late President France Albert Rene, who was the head of state from June 5, 1977, following a coup, until April 14, 2004. Hermine, aged 60, is a former speaker of the National Assembly, as well as leader of government business in the same institution. In his earlier career,  after graduating with a doctorate in general medicine, he was first a medical officer and then later was appointed director general of Primary Health Care at the Ministry of Health, and in more recent years was the secretary of state for the Prevention of Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation. Herminie spoke to national media in a press conference after the congress about his plans and preparations for the upcoming elections.   Press: How did the congress go and were there any other candidates nominated alongside you for the nomination? PH: No, it was not a nomination but rather a process which started in October last year, where we opened the door to whoever wanted to be a candidate for the president of the party as well for the National Assembly, anybody could fill up the necessary documents, but for the National Assembly all is completed but we will announce the nominations next year. As for the nomination for president, it was only me. Basically our constitution states that if there is only one nomination a resolution needs to be passed by the congress and the nominee automatically becomes the presidential candidate. United Seychelles 37th congress was held on Sunday June 2nd. (Rassin Vannier, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY  Photo License: CC-BY    Press: Why the rush to do the nomination so early this year, since the election is next year and you have said that legislative nominations will be done next year? PH: One is that it is symbolic as we are celebrating our 60th anniversary since our party was founded, personally I found it to be symbolic and appropriate to announce the nomination today and put an end once and for all, to the million speculation as of who is going to be the next candidate. The process is completed for the presidential candidate and the congress has approved my nomination, as for the members of the parliament there will be an extraordinary congress next year and together we will also announce the running mate.   Press: Why was a resolution needed today for this nomination? PH: We in the opposition, we recognised that we were divided at two different times, with the creation of Lalyans [party] and then during the last election we were not united, basically there were two camps. We are convinced that with unity, which by the way we have now in the party, all the different camps, the different groups we are now back together. Back in 1998, 2003 we were winning elections with 55, 56 and even 61 percent, so if we all unite, then this is clear, we have the numbers to win the election next year.   Press: In terms of who you are, what can the people expect in terms of who their candidate is, who is this next president who you say will be at the State House next year? PH:  I am a member of the US party, I have been a supporter and the way I have grown I have some principles that I believe in. I am a politician by conviction. I am not in politics just for its sake, but I am in politics by conviction. There are basic principles that I sincerely believe in. Like I have spoken on social justice, people at the centre of development, dignity for our people, opportunities for our youth, irrespective where you are from, your race, your religion, you can become who you want to be in Seychelles. And this is one reason which has pushed me to stand, understand, to break the thinking that Herminie cannot become president. And with these values, today with liberal system a lot of these values are being destroyed, with our assets be it in education, health and wealth distribution, we have much more poverty today. That we had four years ago. You know when I announced my candidature it was necessary to have a part which would resist these tendencies and re-introduce basic principles but with modernity, technology and others for us to achieve what we want to achieve, prosperity for all Seychellois, especially, we know that in all countries there is poverty, but the middle class should be significant and it was significant in 2019 but today it is diminishing slowly and it is my responsibility to defend the most vulnerable and the weakest of our society.   Press: With your endorsement, isn't the party choosing a man, rather than choosing a programme? PH: We do have a programme, a complete programme which is ready, but as you know LDS is a party which does not have a programme in government. This is why often on issues to do with tax or policies they took is changed as they are a chameleon government. So if we now come out with our programme, there is a big possibility that they will take our programme, but our programme is one that is very progressive and it is a programme that all Seychellois will see themselves eetatin it. It is all about timing and when the time is appropriate we will launch our programme.   Herminie at the party's rally at Anse Aux Pins. (Seychelles Nation) Photo License: CC-BY  Photo License: CC-BY    Press: One year to go, will you be able to keep this momentum, bearing in mind other parties? PH: There are reasons why other parties have not started, we have one more year, mind you we have been holding on for three and a half years amidst a lot of difficulties. In 2021, if you realise we were a party on the verge of collapsing and we brought the party to where it is standing today, and maybe one year is not enough. We have a formidable strategy for campaigning and we have only one year but in politics one year is not a lot of time.   Press: Why not announce the nomination for Vice President as well? PH: We have discussed the same lengthily, even with our past leaders, and we looked at the merits of announcing both. We do have a candidate. But we decided to prevent all the pressures on the candidate and affect the presidency, we felt that next year is more appropriate. But rest assured United Seychelles is ready and has all their candidates and even if something happens to me, there is someone else.   Press: What does this early nomination mean in terms of the advantage it will bring for you? PH: We want the community, not only locally but internationally, be it groups or NGOs to see that we have a presidential candidate and ready for the presidential elections. Support from the community is crucial and shows that we are a serious political party. With other parties there is a lot of talk but none of them are audacious enough to announce their presidential candidate. Another advantage is that it shows that we are a party which is ready, in order, united, our structures are functioning. There is no other party in Seychelles which is organised the way we are.   Press: Referring to TRNUC [editor's note: The Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission concerning events following the coup of 1977 and later cases of human rights abuse] and the fact that today you recognised Albert Rene [editor's note: as the party founder], whose name was frequently associated with atrocities reported in TRNUC, what can you say on the issue of national unity? PH: We are ready to meet and discuss with TRNUC, and even with victims, we will meet with them as we believe there are some merits. But there are a lot of exaggerations. We recognise today if 90 percent of people have a house and land it is thanks to Mr Rene and through land acquisition. But TRNUC was also being used as a political weapon. But we are ready to meet with victims to remove the bitterness.   Press: Is United Seychelles ready to publish the whole list of perpetrators? Or even form an independent enquiry? PH: One regarding the incident of CCCL Cascade, we know what has happened and we do have information on what has happened and we know that the government knows of what has happened. So, we are prepared to set up an independent enquiry, right after we come in power [editor's note: an enormous explosion at CCCL company at Providence on December 7, 2023, caused a major disaster at the Providence Industrial Estate and homes at Cascade district]. As for the TRNUC report and the whole list of perpetrators, we think that the same should have been published a long time ago. We will publish this list.   Press: Do you think that you are popular enough to win the elections? PH: I have been in politics for 30 odd years.  The fact that I have been in politics for all these years is the insurance I need to stand in the next elections.   United Seychelles supporters at the party's rally at Anse Aux Pins. (Seychelles Nation) Photo License: CC-BY  Photo License: CC-BY     Press: What is the plan for the next three months? PH: We will intensify our campaign, we have two major events this year and every two weeks, we will have a blitz, we have door to door visits every week, a monthly blitz by district structures every month. Believe me, we have a clear programme.   Press: Will you respect and support the media once president? PH: Yes, but if I attack the media it is because I want the media to be independent. ... But we believe that we will respect the media because we are strong and ready for debates...This is how I was politically brought up. What I can tell you today, I believe that when it comes to freedom of expression, the administration run by President [Wavel] Ramkalawan is worse than under the administration of President [Danny] Faure [editor's note: Danny Faure was president between 2016 and 2020 under the Parti Lepep administration. Wavel Ramkalawan is the current President of Seychelles representing the Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) party]. 

A census to determine the population of endemic Aldabra giant tortoises on Seychelles' three most populated islands, Mahe, Praslin and La Digue, is ongoing and the Ministry of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment is seeking more local volunteers to assist. The census, which started in April 2023, is being done in collaboration with the Indian Ocean Tortoise Alliance (IOTA). The ministry is seeking the help of members of the public to assist the four-member team from the Biodiversity, Conservation and Management Division. The census is currently being carried out in the north of the main island of Mahe by the division and in the south of the island by IOTA.   The aim of the census is to know the tortoise population, understand its characteristics, nutrition, age, health, and living conditions, and this will give an indication whether they are healthy and well looked after. It will also take into account the species sizes, weights and sex. The natural habitat of the tortoise species, one of the largest in the world, is the Aldabra atoll, one of Seychelles' UNESCO World Heritage sites. The species is listed as vulnerable by the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). A microchip will be inserted into each tortoise for administrative purposes and up to now, 244 tortoises have been microchipped. The ministry is also calling on owners to register their giant tortoises and an assistant conservationist, Damien Labiche, said that «we will know how best to manage the species and its population in the future.» Labiche said there are many unregistered tortoises that will also have to be counted. Registration forms are available at the Biodiversity and Conservation office at the Botanical Gardens. He added that apart from seeking and collecting information, the census will also benefit the owners as they be given advice on how to properly raise their tortoises, their health, nutrition and living environment.  

Seychelles recently completed the FishPath process for the lobster fishery and is now on its way to preparing a harvest strategy, according to a Seychellois specialist. The FishPath Network provides a platform for exchanging knowledge and sharing lessons, with an aim to produce concrete products that directly support small-scale fisheries. Over the last three years, the lobster fishery fishing season has been reduced to two months instead of the usual three due to the reduction in recent catches compared to historical catches. For 2024, the season remains closed to better understand what is happening to the stock. The Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) recently undertook a stock survey on the Mahe Plateau, which will be presented to all sector partners in June to get an overview of the current situation. The SFA has been working actively with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) since 2021 to identify challenges and find solutions to develop a harvest strategy for the lobster fishery. During a scoping mission in 2019, TNC met with Seychelles' government and SFA and it was decided that FishPath will be used to identify problems and solutions with the spanner crab and lobster fishery in the island nation.   Dr Ameer Ebrahim, a Seychellois fisheries specialist working as a consultant with TNC, is leading the FishPath process in Seychelles.  Ebrahim was invited to become a global FishPath member in 2023, making him the first Seychellois to be given this recognition as a global fisheries expert. A FishPath visit to an aquaculture facility in Brisbane, Australia. (Dr. Ameer Ibrahim) Photo License: All Rights Reserved  In Seychelles there has been a tailored approach to the FishPath process, with not focusing solely on the tool but identifying the importance of bringing fishers into the discussion and the accompanying capacity-building and technical support that FishPath brings. The most recent exercise was done in the first week of May 2024 in partnership with some committed lobster fishermen and the SFA. According to Ebrahim, one of the concerns raised during the lobster FishPath process was the amount of illegal fishing of lobster, which is affecting the livelihoods of licensed fishers and possibly the stock itself. «Based on the recommendation output from the FishPath process completed, SFA was presented with a series of options that they could implement. However, before considering any of these, the government will need to determine the most feasible management practices and tailored management measures based on several factors such as budgetary requirements, and technical capacity,» he said.   Additionally to the use of the FishPath tool in Seychelles, the team is providing bi-monthly training to the technical staff at SFA on statistical analysis processes. This will assist with better decision making for the lobster and spanner crab fisheries. The team has also assisted SFA by providing technical advice on major research activities carried out on the lobster and spanner crab fisheries in Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean. Ebrahim said that in August this year, TNC plans to host a national lobster workshop in collaboration with the SFA for fishers to give their input on the status of the lobster fishery. This will allow Seychelles to move towards building an effective harvest strategy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday criticised the West's delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine, arguing Moscow could arm other countries with similar weapons to attack Western targets. The comment -- which Putin made at a rare press conference with foreign news outlets -- came after several Western countries including the United States gave Ukraine the green light to strike targets inside Russia, a move Moscow has called a grave miscalculation. «If someone thinks it is possible to supply such weapons to a warzone to attack our territory and create problems for us, why don't we have the right to supply weapons of the same class to regions of the world where there will be strikes on sensitive facilities of those (Western) countries,» Putin said. «That is, the response can be asymmetric. We will think about it,» he told reporters. But the 71-year-old Kremlin chief dismissed as «bollocks» suggestions Russia planned to attack NATO members. «There is no need to look for some imperial ambitions of ours. There are none,» he said. Putin warned that Western arms deliveries to Ukraine were «a very negative step», saying that donors were «controlling» the weapons. The Russian leader singled out Germany for particular criticism, saying that when the first German-supplied tanks «appeared on Ukrainian soil, it provoked a moral and ethical shock in Russia» because of the legacy of World War II. Referring to German authorities, he said: «When they say that there will be more missiles which will hit targets on Russian territory, this definitively destroys Russian-German relations.» - 'Irrecoverable losses' - Sitting opposite representatives from news outlets including AFP, Putin repeated that his country «did not start the war against Ukraine», instead blaming a pro-Western revolution in 2014. «Everyone thinks that Russia started the war in Ukraine. I would like to emphasise that nobody in the West, in Europe, wants to remember how this tragedy started,» Putin said. He declined to give the number of Russia's battlefield losses in the more than two-year conflict, saying only that Ukraine's were five times higher. «I can tell you that as a rule, no one talks about it,» Putin rebuffed, when asked why Russia had not yet disclosed a figure. «If we talk about irrecoverable losses, the ratio is one to five,» he said. The issue of military casualties is extremely sensitive in Russia, where all criticism of the conflict is banned and «spreading false information» about the army carries a maximum 15 year jail sentence. When asked about the killing of AFP video journalist Arman Soldin in Ukraine last year, likely as a result of Russian rocket fire, Putin indicated Moscow was ready to help investigate. «We will do everything in our power,» he said. «We are ready to do this work. I do not know how it could be done in practice since this person died in a warzone.» - 'Burned to the ground' - Putin was also probed about what a victory for former US President Donald Trump or incumbent Joe Biden would mean for US-Russia relations -- an issue the Russian leader shrugged off. «By and large there's no difference,» he said. However he called Trump's recent criminal charges for business fraud politically motivated, arguing his conviction «burned» the idea that Washington was a leading democracy. «It is obvious all over the world that the prosecution of Trump... is simply the utilisation of the judicial system during an internal political struggle,» Putin said. «Their supposed leadership in the sphere of democracy is being burned to the ground,» the Russian leader added. Trump became the first former US head of state ever convicted of a crime last week after a New York jury found him guilty of 34 felony charges in a hush money case. Trump, who faces an election in November that could see him return to the White House, has praised Putin as a «smart guy». Putin also said Russia and the United States were in «constant contact» over a possible prisoner exchange that would free jailed US journalist Evan Gershkovich who was arrested on espionage charges last year. «The relevant services in the US and Russia are in constant contact with one another and of course they will decide only on the basis of reciprocity,» Putin said. © Agence France-Presse

A Gaza hospital said at least 37 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a UN-run school on Thursday, that the Israeli military alleged housed a «Hamas compound». The raid came after US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators resumed talks aimed at securing a truce and hostage-prisoner swap in the eight-month war triggered by Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel. The Israeli military said it had «eliminated» several militants in a «precise strike on a Hamas compound embedded inside a UNRWA school» in the Nuseirat area of central Gaza. Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari later said nine «terrorists» were killed when fighter jets attacked three classrooms where about 30 militants from Islamic Jihad and Hamas were hiding. The United States has called on Israel to be «fully» transparent about the strike. «The government of Israel has said that they are going to release more information about this strike, including the names of those who died in it. We expect them to be fully transparent in making that information public,» State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. UN chief Antonio Guterres called the strike «just another horrific example of the price that civilians are paying». «There will need to be accountability for everything that has happened in Gaza,» his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called for the strike to be «independently investigated». Israel accuses Hamas and its allies in Gaza of using schools, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure including facilities run by UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, as operational centres -- charges the militants deny. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, near Nuseirat, said it had received the bodies of at least «37 martyrs» from the strike. Faisal Thari, a displaced Gazan who had sought refuge at the school, told AFP: «Why? What have we done for them to bomb us?» Hamas in a statement decried a «new crime... against our people». A medic said another Israeli pre-dawn strike killed six people in a house in Nuseirat refugee camp, and witnesses reported intense shelling in the Bureij and Al-Maghazi camps in the same area. Israeli warplanes also carried out strikes in parts of Rafah, a source in Gaza's southernmost city told AFP. - Spain joins ICJ case - The military said a soldier was killed in Gaza on Thursday, bringing to 295 the death toll since its ground offensive in the Palestinian territory began on October 27. The war was sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Militants also took 251 hostages, 120 of whom remain in Gaza, including 41 the army says are dead. Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 36,654 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. Israel has faced growing diplomatic isolation, with international court cases accusing it of war crimes and several European countries recognising a Palestinian state. Spain, which last week sparked Israeli fury by formally recognising Palestinian statehood, said Thursday it would become the latest country to join South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of «genocide» against Palestinians in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has meanwhile accepted an invitation from lawmakers in the United States, his main ally and military backer, to address Congress on July 24, a congressional source told AFP. - Peace push - US President Joe Biden last week outlined what he called a three-phase Israeli plan to halt the fighting for six weeks while hostages are exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and the delivery of aid into Gaza is stepped up. G7 powers and Arab states have backed the proposal, and on Wednesday 16 world leaders signed alongside Biden calling for Hamas to accept the deal. «There is no time to lose. We call on Hamas to close this agreement,» said a White House statement. Egypt's state-linked Al-Qahera news quoted a high-level source Thursday saying that Cairo had «received positive signs from the Palestinian movement signalling its aspiration for a ceasefire». But Beirut-based senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan on Thursday cast doubt on the proposal, calling it «just words said by Biden in a speech». Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman said Thursday that Hamas has not yet given its response on the truce plan. Major sticking points include Hamas insisting on a permanent truce and full Israeli withdrawal -- demands Israel has rejected. - Lebanon 'escalation' - The war has sent regional tensions soaring, with violence on the rise involving Israel and its allies on the one hand, and Iran-backed armed groups on the other. Regular cross-border clashes between Israeli forces and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, which have forced mass evacuations on both sides, have intensified. The Israeli military on Thursday announced a soldier was killed in a Hezbollah drone strike the day before on Hurfeish. Israeli politicians have threatened more intense fighting against Hezbollah, which last fought a major war with Israel in 2006. Netanyahu was in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, a day after saying Israel was «prepared for a very intense operation» along the border with Lebanon. «The state of Israel is in a difficult campaign on many fronts,» he said at a military command centre. «This effort is being carried out amid complicated international pressure on us.» The US State Department's Miller has said any «escalation» in Lebanon would «greatly harm Israel's overall security». © Agence France-Presse

The bravery of a fallen Seychellois soldier of the British forces during World War II, Captain Clement Marc Jumeau, was rewarded on Thursday as part of activities to mark D-Day remembrance celebrations in Seychelles. D-Day, which is celebrated annually on June 6, marks the day Allied forces landed on five beaches in Normandy, France in 1944 fight German forces.The beaches code named Utah and Omaha were taken by American forces. While the other code-named beaches Juno, Sword and Gold were taken by troops from Britain, Canada, and France among others. The French and United States embassies and the British High Commission in Seychelles joined forces to celebrate Jumeau. According to the French Ambassador to Seychelles, Olivia Berkeley-Christmann, the event is to correct an error in history. The deceased soldier's relatives, Daphne Jumeau and Brigitte Haworth, received his merit award at a ceremony held at the cenotaph at the Mont Fleuri cemetery. The deceased soldiers' relatives, Daphne Jumeau and Brigitte Haworth. (Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY  This is the first time since the event took place that Seychelles has celebrated its citizens who had directly contributed to the Normandy landing. Jumeau, who was in the United Kingdom at the time to pursue his law studies at the University of Cambridge,  responded to an advert in the newspaper looking to recruit people with language skills. Speaking to the press after the ceremony attended by dignitaries and other war veterans, Haworth said that her great uncle applied since «he spoke French very well and had an accent that could not be traced to any of the French regions.» Haworth said, «He went through intensive training to become a resistance fighter to find messages that he would later pass on to the French resistance.» Jumeau later went to the French mainland twice, where he was captured the first time and managed to escape in quite ingenious ways using a hard piece of bread to carve a key, he managed to open the door and escape with quite a lot of his fellow crew,« recounted Haworth. Jumeau escaped through Spain and went to the UK where he immediately joined again despite recommendations that he stay behind. The French and United States embassies and the British High Commission in Seychelles joined forces to celebrate Jumeau. (Seychelles Nation) Photo License: CC-BY  His second time in France, he was parachuted in and met the »Americans, French resistance fighters - passing on valuable information.« It was after disregarding warnings not to go to the safe house, that Jumeau was caught by German soldiers the second time and passed away while in prison. It is documented that the Seychellois soldiers who joined the British Forces were mainly involved in operations in North Africa and the landing in Sicily, Italy. It was on January 16, 1946, that General Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle granted Jumeau a mention in the Army Order (Croix de Guerre avec Palme). His bravery and initiative during his 10 months imprisonment in Marseille that de Gaul awarded Jumeau. Haworth said, »However, due to some administrative faults, the fallen soldier never received his award and this is something I am correcting today as the French representative in Seychelles.« Meanwhile, Jumeau's family is now trying to find his final resting grounds - which they suspect is in Berlin, Germany, and she said »The Red Cross is working with us, so that we may actually find out his final resting ground."

Women, girls and young entrepreneurs from Seychelles are learning how to process fish skin to use as a type of leather in a three-day training programme at the Seychelles Maritime Academy (SMA) at Providence. This is the second phase of the training to sensistise women, girls and youth on the economic opportunities in the Blue Economy sector being undertaken by Entreprendre Au Feminin Ocean Indien Seychelles (EFOIS) and COMESA Federation Of Women In Business (COMFWB) Seychelles. In his address at the opening, Phillippe Michaud, a consultant at the Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy, said, «Fish leather or fish skin is one of the products which we can use for value addition.» He said this will open avenues for those taking part to open new businesses, make money and help the community and country. The Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) is also helping with the training session and Michaud explained that this is in line with the SFA's mandate where people «should not necessarily be fishing more, but making the maximum from what is caught and that includes bycatch.» Around 20 representatives from various local organisations concerned with the fisheries industry are attending the training for trainers sessions. Among the topics they will cover is how to properly slice the fish to remove the skin to use further in fish leather. The training is facilitated by an expert from Kenya, James Ambani, who is a Blue Economy expert and the chief executive of Ambani Fish Leather Limited. Ambani Fish Leather uses fish skin to create fashion items such as bags, belts, sandals, and even as part of garments. (James Ambani) Photo License: All Rights Reserved  Ambani said, «Since I am not too familiar with the type of fish available here, this is also the time to determine what types of fish found in Seychelles will be better suited to turn into leather.» Ambani owns a company, Ambani Fish Leather, that uses fish skin to create fashion items such as bags, belts, sandals, and even as part of garments. «This is not only for me to share my expertise with those at the session, but it is also a learning curve for me as well,» he told SNA. He said that fashion is an ever changing industry and the latest trend is to look for sustainable ways to do things and «as Seychelles is big on fisheries, this is another way to keep it sustainable and create something of value added to the industry.» The production of fish skin leather is an ancient tradition developed by societies living along rivers and coastlines around the world, such as Alaskan tribes,  Arctic countries, in parts of Siberia as well as Japan and China, and gained particular popularity in the 16th and 17th century in Europe as a luxury product. 

The Seychelles' President, Wavel Ramkalawan, in his capacity as the chairperson of the African Island States Climate Commission, made an urgent plea to all partners and stakeholders to join forces to support the African nations' response to climate change. According to State House, Ramkalawan made the statement at a Business Summit at the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit in Seoul, South Korea on Wednesday. As the head of a small island developing state (SIDS), Ramkalawan shared the perspective of Seychelles not only being affected by climate change but the existential threat it poses to its survival. «As we convene here, I bring with me the urgent message of Seychelles, a Small Island Developing State in the Indian Ocean, facing the profound challenges of climate change. The climate crisis is not a distant threat but a stark reality that is being felt across the world. Island states feel it the most,» he said. «In Seychelles, rising sea levels encroach upon our shores threatening our critical infrastructures, while extreme weather events disrupt our communities and endanger our way of life. The recent Global Stocktake that took place in Dubai late last year, serves as a glaring reminder that there is a blatant gap in emissions reduction with current commitments falling short to the levels required to limit warming to 1.5 degrees (Celsius). Yet, in the face of adversity, Seychelles remains steadfast in our commitment to sustainable development and climate action,» Ramkalawan elaborated. He added that the African continent is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, while already feeling the effects. As the chairperson of the African Island States Climate Commission, he said that Africa also has immense potential when it comes to renewable energy resources. «By embracing the transition to carbon-free energy, African nations can leapfrog over the fossil fuel era and build a more sustainable and prosperous future. COP28 called for tripling renewable energy capacity globally and doubling the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvement by 2030. Thanks to rapid advances in technology, the cost of renewable energy has plummeted in recent years while energy storage technologies are rapidly improving. Thus, making the transition to these carbon-free energy technologies is achievable,» said Ramkalawan. He called on the delegates present «particularly the business leaders, to join us in this endeavour. You will not only contribute to our collective fight against climate change but also unlock new markets and opportunities for growth. We need to safeguard our planet for future generations. A future of shared Growth, Sustainability, and Solidarity. Seychelles stands ready to build such a future together with you.» Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the Summit, Ramkalawan held bilateral talks with the President of the South Korea, Yoon Suk-Yeol, on Wednesday in which the two leaders  expressed their fervent hope that bilateral cooperation is heightened for the mutual benefit of both nations. Ramkalawan (left) held bilateral talks with the President of the South Korea, Yoon Suk-Yeol. (State House) Photo License: CC-BY  “Seychelles is very pleased with the excellent relations with the Republic of Korea, which are continuously being reinforced through our active engagements on both bilateral and multilateral fronts,” said Ramkalawan. He added that the recent accreditation of Jung Kang, Ambassador of  South  Korea to Seychelles in March, will play a key role in maintaining and building upon the existing relations between the two countries. “My government and I remain devoted to working closely alongside your government to forge new pathways of cooperation. I invite Korean investors to consider the possibilities that exist in Seychelles, specially in the technology and fisheries sectors," said Ramkalawan. On his side, President Yeol explained that there were various fields where the two countries could explore for potential collaboration including fisheries and the Blue Economy, which are two sectors of great importance for Seychelles. He praised Seychelles for being the first country to launch the sovereign blue bonds and expressed his wish to cooperate further with Seychelles in the Blue Economy and Fisheries.

Humans are as dangerous to Earth as the meteorite that drove dinosaurs to extinction, the UN chief said Wednesday, urging an end to fossil fuel ads after 12 months that were the hottest on record. Dramatic climate shifts have already begun taking a heavy toll worldwide, fuelling extreme weather events, flooding and drought, while glaciers are melting away and sea levels are rising. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a ban on advertising oil, gas and coal -- the main drivers of global warming -- as global climate monitors delivered a swathe of new findings signalling that the planet is in trouble. «In the case of climate, we are not the dinosaurs. We are the meteor. We are not only in danger. We are the danger,» Guterres said. Last month was the hottest May on record and the 12th consecutive month to break such a record, the EU climate monitor Copernicus announced. The global average temperature between June 2023 and May 2024 was «1.63 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average», Copernicus said, referring to the period before human-caused greenhouse gas emissions began warming the planet. 2023 was already the hottest year at 1.48C above pre-industrial levels, Copernicus has said, pointing to the natural weather phenomenon El Nino for further pushing up temperatures. Although El Nino is dissipating, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced humanity faces an 80 percent chance Earth's temperatures will at least temporarily exceed 1.5C during the next five years. Humanity is playing chicken with the climate targets set by the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit warming to 1.5C, the WMO warned. The chance of temporarily exceeding the limit has been rising steadily since 2015, when such a chance was estimated to be close to zero, the WMO pointed out. «Global emissions need to fall nine per cent every year to 2030 to keep the 1.5 degree limit alive,» Guterres said. But the peak has not been officially beached, being measured over a period of decades rather than individual years. While the world agreed during the last COP28 talks in Dubai to phase out fossil fuels, a decline in emissions is not imminent. - Ban on oil ads - «The Godfathers of climate chaos -- the fossil fuel industry -- rake in record profits and feast off trillions in taxpayer-funded subsidies,» Guterres said. «I urge every country to ban advertising from fossil fuel companies,» he said, likening it to bans on other products harmful to human health like tobacco. «We need an exit ramp off the highway to climate hell,» he said as signatories of the Paris Agreement are expected to deliver new emissions targets by early 2025. Guterres also repeated calls for taxing the fossil fuel industry profits to finance the fight against global warming, specifically pointing to «solidarity levies on sectors such as shipping, aviation and fossil fuel extraction». «Even if emissions hit zero tomorrow, a recent study found that climate chaos will still cost at least $38 trillion a year by 2050,» he said. That is more than the $2.4 trillion needed by 2030 for developing countries, excluding China, to get out of fossil fuels and adapt to a warmer planet, as estimated by UN experts. Guterres said he made his speech now with concerns that the climate crisis become «a victim of a diversion of attention» by numerous wars and conflicts. Without undermining the need for the conflicts to be resolved, he said: «We cannot let them distract us from what is the existential threat of all times for humankind, and that is climate change.» It also comes as crucial climate talks get underway in Bonn, Germany to set the stage for the UN COP29 summit in Azerbaijan in November. The talks must reach a new agreement on financial aid from rich countries to the rest of the world to achieve their climate goals. © Agence France-Presse 

Mother of four Laiwa Musenza is already reliant on aid from a local NGO to feed her family and Zimbabwe's drought is only getting deeper. «Imagine hearing your children crying from hunger when you cannot do anything about it,» the 54-year-old said. At a farm on the outskirts of the capital Harare, a queue of children, some as young as three, and a small group of elderly gather near two large cooking pans. A volunteer calls out names from a register and, plate in hand, the hungry take turns to step forward and receive small portions of macaroni and a soybean stew. For most, it is their main, perhaps only, meal of the day. The makeshift feeding station was the idea of Samantha Muzoroki and is the newest of five similar centres run by the immigration lawyer's Kuchengetana Trust. It was started four months ago after parents at the Karibone Farm compound complained children were going to bed hungry as a result of crop failure in most parts of Zimbabwe. Residents at Karibone earn a living from working part-time at neighbouring farms, but this year the farms had no jobs to offer because of the drought. - Budget halved - «We could only manage one meal per day. For those of us with young children it was particularly tough,» Musenza told AFP. Kuchengetana, which means «looking after each other», provides two meals to an average of 1,500 children a day at its five kitchens. But Muzoroki fears that her organisation may be overwhelmed as the drought continues. «Our movement is donor driven. We have had a huge dip in donations. We are receiving $400 every three months, down from $600 which is way below half of our budget,» Muzoroki said. «We try to make sure that every day everyone we cater for is able to get at least a meal a day if we fail to give them two meals. »The drought is definitely going to affect us in many ways and I hope and pray that it doesn't lead us to closing any of our centres.« Zimbabwe is only one of a band of countries in Southern Africa experiencing food shortages due to the drought, which has been exacerbated by the El Nino climate phenomenon. Last month, President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared a state of disaster, saying the country needed at least two billion dollars to respond to the drought. At least 7.6 million people, almost half of the population, is in need of aid. - Skipping meals - The United Nations has appealed for $429.3 million to help people affected by the drought. UNICEF also launched an urgent $84.9-million appeal last month »to provide lifesaving interventions... amidst a complex humanitarian crisis exacerbated by water and food shortages«. »Zimbabwe has been experiencing drought conditions now for a few months with failing harvests in key areas of agricultural production,« UNICEF's Nicholas Alipui said. Additionally, it is »experiencing overlapping emergencies through a cholera outbreak and we also have a situation of polio in the country«, Alipui added. In Epworth, a semi formal settlement east of the capital, families are skipping meals, while children are missing school as families struggle to find food. »We are having two meals a day instead of three,« said Letwin Mhande, a 36-year-old mother of four, whose fruit and vegetable store is struggling to find stock and customers. »We eat once at midday and once before going to bed, sometimes we don't have food to give the children and they miss school." © Agence France-Press

The Seychelles Revenue Commission (SRC) has launched its online payment facility for customs services that will allow clients to pay for their taxes on importation via the online portal. The ePayment facility launched on Wednesday will streamline the payment process for all import and export declarations. This will make operations more efficient and further ease the clearance process for traders including business entities and individuals. «This will help our staff as they will have much less to deal with compared to before, where clients will now no longer need to come to the cashiers for payments, while clients will also benefit by not needing to go all the way to ports to make their payments,» explained the Commissioner of Customs at the SRC, Paul Barrack, during the official launch.   A demonstration of the system was done to show and to gain access, one must have firstly been advised by Customs or their preferred courier agent of a consignment valued between SCR3000 ($221) to SCR5000 ($368) or a Customs Declaration (Bill of Entry) requiring payment. To pay for a consignment using the ePayment facility, the user must email a copy of their identification card, pending slip, contact details comprising of both email address, phone and WhatsApp number, copies of invoices plus freight details to aircargoexamination@src.gov.sc  to register for ePayment. Once registered, a payment link will be shared through the Customer's WhatsApp and email to proceed with the payment. Upon successful registration, an acceptance email and WhatsApp notification will be shared with the customer to start accepting ePayment requests. For those paying for their Customs Declaration (Bill of Entry) online, especially traders, business entities and declarants, the ePayment registration form available in the download section via src.gov.sc must be completed and emailed to cvo@src.gov.sc under the subject 'ePayment Registration Request'. This platform will at the moment make payments related to imports and exports only but the SRC will be looking to move into their other services in the future. «This platform will be applicable for our services, but there will be some adjustments that will need to be made before that happens so that everything can run seamlessly,» Barrack added. The facility is part of the SRC digitalisation process that started last year with several services offered online. It is through a collaboration with the Economic Partnership Agreement of the European Union that the SRC has managed to enhance and modernise the ASYCUDA system by introducing the ePayment module. The manager of airport cargo, Simone Didon, one of the focal persons for this project said, «It was three weeks ago that we made a soft roll out of the ePayment facility to the selected users to allow them to get a feel of the newly introduced module, to test its efficacy, speed and reliability. Now that we are fully satisfied with the product we are encouraging the trading community and the public, once having been contacted by Customs or upon advisory of their courier agent, to use the ePayment facility to expedite their transaction with customs.»

Seychelles' President Wavel Ramkalawan sent a message of congratulations to the Prime Minister of India,  Narendra Modi, for securing a third consecutive term in the 2024 elections. According to the Foreign Affairs Department, Ramkalawan said, «This outcome is a testament to the confidence that the Indian people place in your visionary leadership and the remarkable progress that India has made under your stewardship, as well as the high regard in which you are held.»  He added: «The special relationship between Seychelles and India has strengthened over the years, with our two nations working ever more closely on a range of issues of mutual interest and concern. India's role as a key development partner and strategic ally for Seychelles has been invaluable.» The head of state of Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, said, «Our joint undertakings have been marked by robust cooperation in various sectors of shared interest including the military, health, education, infrastructure development, among others. Our collaboration in maritime security has been pivotal in ensuring the safety and stability of the Indian Ocean region. In addition, through our collective efforts in enhancing collaboration in cultural exchanges and human resource development, we have been able to foster mutual respect and better understanding between the people of our two countries.» Ramkalawan added that he is confident that «during your third term in office, our bilateral ties will continue to strengthen and expand. In this regard, I reaffirm my unwavering commitment to working closely with you and your government to bolster our bilateral relations and address the multiple global and regional challenges that confront us.» It was confirmed that Modi, aged 73, will take up his third consecutive term as Prime Minister after India's Election Commission on Wednesday gave final confirmation that the parties that make up his coalition had collectively passed the majority mark in parliament.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political alliance won India's weeks-long general election on Tuesday, but the opposition said voters had sent a clear message after his Hindu nationalist party lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in a decade. Commentators and exit polls had projected an overwhelming victory for Modi, whose campaign wooed the Hindu majority to the worry of the country's 200-million-plus Muslim community, deepening concerns over minority rights. The alliance led by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won an overall parliamentary majority, results on the election commission website showed late Tuesday. But the BJP itself was projected to secure only 240 seats of its own, well down on the 303 it won at the last polls five years ago, meaning it would need to rely on its alliance partners to pass legislation. India had given the party and its allies a mandate «for a third consecutive time», Modi told a crowd of cheering supporters in the capital New Delhi. «Our third term will be one of big decisions and the country will write a new chapter of development. This is Modi's guarantee.» But in a remarkable turnaround largely driven by deals to field single candidates against the BJP's electoral juggernaut, the main opposition Congress party was expected to take 99 seats, almost doubling its 2019 tally of 52. «The country has said to Narendra Modi 'We don't want you',» key leader Rahul Gandhi told reporters. «I was confident that the people of this country would give the right response.» With more than 99 percent of votes counted, the BJP's vote share at 36.6 percent was marginally lower than at the last general election. Modi was re-elected to his constituency representing the Hindu holy city of Varanasi by a margin of 152,300 votes -- compared to nearly half a million votes five years ago. Among the independent lawmakers elected were two serving time in jail -- firebrand Sikh separatist preacher Amritpal Singh, and Sheikh Abdul Rashid from Indian-administered Kashmir, who was arrested on charges of «terror funding» and money laundering in 2019. - 'Moral defeat' - Celebrations had already begun at the headquarters of Modi's BJP before the full announcement of results. But the mood at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi was also one of jubilation. «BJP has failed to win a big majority on its own,» Congress lawmaker Rajeev Shukla told reporters. «It's a moral defeat for them.» Stocks slumped on speculation the reduced majority would hamper the BJP's ability to push through reforms. Shares in the main listed unit of Adani Enterprises -- owned by key Modi ally Gautam Adani -- nosedived 25 percent, before rebounding slightly. Modi's opponents fought against a well-oiled and well-funded BJP campaign machine, and what they say are politically motivated criminal cases aimed at hobbling challengers. US think tank Freedom House said this year that the BJP had «increasingly used government institutions to target political opponents». Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of the capital Delhi and a key leader in an alliance formed to compete against Modi, returned to jail on Sunday. Kejriwal, 55, was detained in March over a long-running corruption probe, but was later released and allowed to campaign as long as he returned to custody once voting ended. «When power becomes dictatorship, then jail becomes a responsibility,» Kejriwal said before surrendering himself, vowing to continue «fighting» from behind bars. - 'Strength of Indian democracy' - Many of India's Muslim minority are increasingly uneasy about their futures and their community's place in the constitutionally secular country. Modi himself made several strident comments about Muslims on the campaign trail, referring to them as «infiltrators». The polls were staggering in their size and logistical complexity, with 642 million voters casting their ballots -- everywhere from megacities New Delhi and Mumbai to sparsely populated forest areas and the high-altitude Himalayas. «People should know about the strength of Indian democracy,» chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar said Monday, calling the counting process «robust». Based on the commission's figure of an electorate of 968 million, turnout came to 66.3 percent, down roughly one percentage point from 67.4 percent in the last polls in 2019. Analysts have partly blamed the lower turnout on a searing heatwave across northern India, with temperatures over 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). © Agence France-Presse

Jean Caillet still remembers being a 20-year-old air force mechanic in Britain during World War II and hearing Allied forces had landed on the beaches of German-occupied France. «We were happy, of course. We were perhaps going to see our country again,» the heavily decorated 100-year-old Frenchman of Jewish heritage told AFP. Caillet was one of millions who worked behind the scenes of the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 that paved the way towards expelling Nazi forces from France. That summer he was part of just two French Air Force heavy bomber squadrons -- dubbed Guyenne and Tunisie -- that contributed to the Allied aerial campaign in France from behind the lines at a Royal Air Force base in Britain. In the British village of Elvington, 11 kilometres (seven miles) southeast of York, Caillet and his colleagues had their work cut out for them. «When you're 20, it's an adventure,» he said, eyes sparkling. «I was a ground mechanic,» he added, explaining he was in charge of checking the fuel gauge, speedometer and altimetre on the heavy bombers before they took off. «Sometimes it took five minutes, others an hour. I would check five to 20 planes a day. Almost all of them took part in the Normandy battle,» he said, adding he was «proud» to have played a role. - 'Hungry during the war' - In Elvington, he recounted, he made life-long friendships, as well as discovered pints of beer, whisky and the charms of young women. But war-time rationing and bomb-scarred cityscapes were a reminder that a conflict was on, especially when he travelled to London on leave. «Missile shrapnel would rain down in the street,» he said. As friends took off across the Channel, Caillet -- who was not religious -- would sometimes wish them «merde», the French version of «break a leg». But one out of two pilots in the Guyenne and Tunisie squadrons never made it back to base. Caillet said he would have liked to fly a plane too despite the risks. «But I didn't have the build,» he said. «Being hungry during the war must have been a factor... There wasn't a lot to eat in France and Spain. - Spain, Morocco, Algeria - Caillet was born in the northern French city in Amiens on November 8, 1923. He, his parents and little sister spent the first years of World War II there, then fled bombardment to the tiny Normandy village of Mortemer. Living conditions were tough under German occupation, and in early 1942 he decided to flee to escape being rounded up. He found refuge with an uncle across the line in Free France, then decided to leave to join the Free French Army fighting German forces in North Africa. He managed to cross the southern border into Spain, but he was arrested for being undocumented and jailed in the northern city of Girona. After the Red Cross intervened to have him released, he caught a train to Portugal, then found a spot in the tick-infected hold of a former livestock ship heading to North Africa. He docked in Morocco in June 1943, signing up to join the air force, hoping initially to be a pilot. He said he had »terrible memories« of the heat in Morocco, and then caught malaria in next-door Algeria. By late 1943, he had docked in Liverpool to join the RAF. But he was worried about his family after learning his Jewish mother and sister had been arrested. - Return home - He returned home after the war ended, finding his home had been plundered after being occupied by German forces and no sign of his family. »I never found my father, mother and sister. I never heard from them again," he said. Caillet married and settled in the Normandy fishing port town of Dieppe, where he still lives to this day on a street named after him. He and his wife, who opened a shop after the war and had three children, between them had lost 15 relatives in the conflict. Only years later in 1978, through the work of Nazi hunters Beate and Serge Klarsfeld, did Caillet discover what had happened to his family. His father was arrested in August 1942, while his mother and then 15-year-old sister were detained the next year. They were deported to an extermination camp in Poland. © Agence France-Presse

The Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade will make the second compensation payments  by June 19 to La Misere residents affected by the contaminated water incident that took place more than a decade ago, said a top government official on Tuesday. Around 1,400 inhabitants from La Misere and Petit Barbarons in the western parts of Mahe, the main island, including those working in La Misere, were affected by the water pollution during the construction of the former UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan's palace complex in 2010. The incident occurred after an accident at the sewage plant caused diesel and raw sewage to seep into local water sources, causing severe health problems to the local population once the contaminated water reached homes. The construction firm for the project, Associated Contracting and Consulting Limited (ASCON) agreed in March 2011 to a total payout of SCR99 million ($7.2 million) after over 90 percent of residents from affected homes accepted the SCR250,000 ($18,289) offered to each home. The Seychelles' government had pledged to pay the $15 million to settle the second round of compensation claims and that the payments were done in phases with the first payment in 2020 followed by the second one in 2021. Following the first compensation payments made in 2020, the second payments «will only be made to those who were paid the initial instalment of compensation money,» said the secretary of state for finance, Patrick Payet. The payments that will be made on June 19 will be to those qualifying for the compensation and whose information remains the same as that provided at the time of the last payment. The rest of the payment will made by June 27. Government officers will be available at the La Misere School on Saturday 8 June to collect information needed to update information the ministry has collected from the Civil Status data and the Department of Information Communication and Technology (DICT). This second installment is the payment on the balance of the SCR50,000 ($3,664), SCR 25,000 ($1,832) and SCR15,000 ($1,100) made in 2020. In total, the government will pay $8.6 million in the final installment to the 1,758 individuals who qualified for compensation. Payet told the press that additional work will have to be carried out to assess the validity of 1,149 new individual claims - which may cost SCR123 million ($8.9 million) in total. Tamatave said that a series of procedures were being established to ensure that the process goes smoothly. She said that since the last payment, «107 people have changed their names and these individuals have to send their change of name documents to receive payments.» Tamaktave explained that in addition to the name changes, there are 707 residents paid with a cheque in 2020, who will have to provide their bank details to officials for funds to be directly transferred to their accounts. «This time we will mainly transfer the funds to their bank accounts, which is why we are asking people to come in with the bank cards and details,» she added. Official figures also show that 49 of those on the initial list of those compensated in 2020 have passed away, delaying their beneficiaries' payments. «The procedures will be much longer as there are affidavits and executors that come into play, and we don't expect that the payments will be made by the end of June,» said Tamatave.

The Association for the Promotion of Friendship between Seychelles and China was launched on Monday evening Victoria with the aim of strengthening friendship and cooperation between the two countries. Seychelles' former Vice President Vincent Meriton is the chairman of the association, which was launched in an event at the Chinese Cultural Centre in Victoria, the capital. Meriton said the new association will be a way for any Seychellois who has studied in China, visited the country, or is trading with it, to continuously network. In his address at the launch, Meriton explained that the association will «place emphasis on resource mobilisation, enabling us to carry out meaningful projects and initiatives that will benefit our communities.» He added that the association aims to further consolidate the bond between the two countries on a «people to people level, promoting intercultural understanding through exchanges and partnerships.» The new association will also serve to fulfil the role of having agreements with organisations that share its objectives of friendship and collaboration. The association's logo was also revealed at the launching ceremony. Present at the ceremony was the Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress, Cai Dafeng, and his delegation who are currently on a working visit to the archipelago in the western Indian Ocean. On Tuesday, Dafeng met with Seychelles' Vice President Ahmed Afif at the State House. He also met with the Speaker of the National Assembly, Roger Mancienne.   Dafeng met with Seychelles' Vice President Ahmed Afif at the State House. (Foreign Affairs Department) Photo License: CC-BY  Seychelles and China established bilateral relations in 1976, although the first Chinese nationals landed on the archipelago's shores in 1863. China has contributed significantly to the development of Seychelles and helped with infrastructure projects, such as the National Assembly building, the Palais de Justice, and the ongoing project of the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) House.

The  Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts (SNICHA) has launched two new initiatives to preserve and promote the island nation's rich cultural heritage. The Seychelles Cultural Encounters platform https://www.seychellesculturalencounters.com/ and the Bal Lasemenn (the Ball of the Week) were launched on May 29 at the Vye Marmit Restaurant, Domaine de Val des Pres, in the eastern Mahe district of Au Cap. In her address at the launching, Cecile Kalebi, the permanent secretary for culture, said, «As we stand at the crossroads of tradition and modernity, it is essential to reflect on the profound importance of cultural tourism and the role it plays in preserving our heritage.» Kalebi said cultural tourism is not just about showcasing Seychelles' beautiful landscapes and pristine beaches but also about sharing the soul of the island nation and these include the stories, traditions and customs that define the Seychellois people. The newly launched Seychelles Cultural Encounters platform is designed to be a dynamic space where the island nation's vibrant culture can be experienced, celebrated, and understood by both locals and visitors. «Through this platform, we aim to provide immersive cultural experiences that highlight the uniqueness of our Creole heritage, from our traditional music and dance to visits to museums and heritage sites, our culinary delights and artisanal art and crafts,» said the principal secretary. She added that cultural encounters are vital for fostering mutual understanding and respect among diverse peoples and «they allow us to appreciate the richness of our heritage and the creativity of our ancestors.» Also launched on Wednesday was the Bal Lasemenn, a cultural event to encourage and promote the appreciation of Seychelles' traditional dances. (SNICHA) Photo License: All Rights Reserved  Kalebi said that «for visitors, these encounters offer a deeper connection to the places they visit instead of just seeing the beauty of our islands, they get to feel the heartbeat of our nation. They learn about our history, participate in our festivals, and engage with our communities, creating memories that last a lifetime.» The launch of the platform aligns with the SNICHA's mandate, the Seychelles National Development Strategy 2024-2028, and Sustainable Development Goalss Goals 8 to 12. It supports these strategies and goals by promoting cultural tourism, which boosts local economies, creates jobs, and preserves our natural and cultural resources. This platform will offer cultural experiences and events designed to increase awareness and appreciation of our cultural assets among Seychellois of all ages. Also launched on Wednesday was the Bal Lasemenn, a cultural event to encourage and promote the appreciation of Seychelles' traditional dances among the local community and foreign visitors. The event will be organised every last Wednesday of each month at a fee of SCR250 ($18) per person for an immersive experience of Seychellois traditional dances, like the moutya and the sega. 

Seychelles' President Wavel Ramkalawan highlighted the various challenges affecting the African continent and stressed how these can only be addressed through collective collaboration and strategic partnerships in his address at the Korea-Africa Summit. Ramkalawan is currently leading the Seychelles delegation at the Korea-Africa Summit taking place from June 4 to 5.   According to State House, Ramkalawan said, «In addressing the complex challenges of our times, such as climate crisis, transnational crime, and conflicts, it is evident that no single nation can address these issues in isolation.» He said that the theme of our Summit, «The Future We Make Together: Shared Growth, Sustainability, and Solidarity» resonates deeply with the vision outlined in Agenda 2063 for Seychelles and the entire African continent. It also emphasises the urgent need for collective action to foster mutual economic growth and realise shared aspirations as equal partners. «The potential for a transformative partnership between Africa and Korea is palpable, rooted in mutual respect and a shared commitment to sustainable development. By leveraging our respective strengths and synergies, we have the opportunity to catalyse positive change not only within our regions but also on a global scale,» Ramkalawan stressed. He also emphasised the critical importance of the combined partnership for growth potentials that exist through the Korea-African enhanced relations. A group photo of the participants at the Korea-Africa Summit. (State House) Photo License: CC-BY  «Central to our discussions lies the imperative of inclusive growth. Korea's technological prowess, coupled with Africa's youthful demographic and abundant natural resources, presents a fertile ground for collaboration across various sectors. It is essential that our cooperation benefits all segments of society, empowering our youth through quality education and embracing sustainable economic models,» said Seychelles' President. He added that the robust economy of Korea and Africa's progress in economic integration, exemplified by initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), serve as cornerstones for fostering economic growth, enhancing trade, and increasing investment opportunities for both regions. Ramkalawan also took the opportunity to stress the important role of African small island nations and the cooperation possibilities African Small Island Developing States (Africa SIDS) have to offer. He also highlighted Seychelles' strong commitment to enhancing relations in various domains with South Korea. Ramkalawan said Africa also comprises of small African Island Developing States and Seychelles, with its strategic location and conducive business environment, is eager to enhance economic ties with Korea. «As fervent advocates for sustainability, Seychelles is committed to deepening cooperation with Korea in areas such as climate change adaptation, environmental protection, and the Blue Economy. Investing in sustainable infrastructure projects will not only bolster Africa's economic stability but also enhance resilience, fortifying the Korea-Africa partnership for the long term. Sustainability, I should emphasise, is not merely a goal but a moral obligation that underpins our collective future,» he added. 

Congratulations poured in from around the world Monday after Claudia Sheinbaum was elected Mexico's first woman president, sparking hope for change in a country where gender-based violence has long been rife. Flag-waving supporters sang and danced to mariachi music late into the night after the former Mexico City mayor won Sunday's election by a landslide, the magnitude of which spooked financial markets. Addressing cheering crowds, the 61-year-old ruling party candidate thanked the «millions of Mexican women and men who decided to vote for us on this historic day.» Maria Fernanda Vela, 27, said it was «an inspiration that in such a male chauvinist country, a woman has taken the top job. It fills your heart with pride.» US President Joe Biden welcomed Sheinbaum's «historic election» and said he looked forward to working with her «in the spirit of partnership and friendship.» Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, another key North American ally, also offered congratulations and said he was ready to work closely with Sheinbaum to further strengthen relations. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a fellow leftist, hailed a «victory for democracy» and vowed to deepen economic ties between Latin America's two biggest economies. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky were among other leaders offering congratulations. - Opposition complains - Sheinbaum, a scientist by training, won around 59 percent of votes with more than 93 percent of ballots counted, according to the National Electoral Institute. That was more than 30 percentage points ahead of her main opposition rival Xochitl Galvez, and nearly 50 percentage points ahead of the only man who ran, centrist Jorge Alvarez Maynez. Galvez, who conceded defeat after initial results were announced, complained Monday that the opposition had faced «unequal competition against the entire state apparatus dedicated to favoring its candidate.» She expressed confidence in the official results but vowed to challenge the outcome, without specifying how, declaring: «This doesn't end here.» Mexican women cheered the breaking of the highest political glass ceiling in a nation where around 10 women or girls are murdered every day. «Our society is violent, sexist, misogynistic -- and Dr Sheinbaum as president will really be able to help change not only the laws but society,» said Lol-Kin Castaneda, 48, who waited late into the night to hear the winner speak. Nearly 100 million people were registered to vote in the world's most populous Spanish-speaking country, home to 129 million people. Sheinbaum owes much of her popularity to outgoing president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a fellow leftist and mentor who has an approval rating of more than 60 percent but is only allowed to serve one term. Lopez Obrador, who will hand over the presidency in October, hailed his protege's victory as a «historic event.» - Election violence - But this year's election season was particularly violent, with more than two dozen aspiring local politicians murdered. The bloodshed continued after polls closed, with a local mayoral candidate killed in the country's south late Sunday, authorities said. More than 450,000 people have been murdered and tens of thousands have gone missing since the government deployed the army to fight drug trafficking in 2006. Sheinbaum will also have to manage delicate relations with the neighboring United States, in particular trade and the vexed issues of cross-border drug smuggling and migration. Financial markets reacted nervously to the size of Sheinbaum's win and the potential for a supermajority for her ruling Morena party in Congress that would make radical reforms easier. «Morena's landslide victory means fewer checks and balances, increasing institutional and regulatory risks,» said Arantza Alonso, an analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft. The Mexican stock market closed down around six percent Monday, while the peso fell sharply against the dollar, giving back some of the gains that in recent years saw it nicknamed the «super peso.» Investors were worried the new administration would change the constitution and also undermine the central bank's autonomy, said Gabriela Siller, head of economic analysis at the financial group BASE. In an apparent attempt to calm the jitters, Sheinbaum announced that Finance Minister Rogelio Ramirez de la O had agreed to stay on in the key position to ensure «good financial and economic management.» «We're going to act with dialogue, harmony and great responsibility,» she said in a video published on social media. © Agence France-Presse

The United States on Monday announced a draft Security Council resolution supporting the Israel-Hamas ceasefire plan outlined by Joe Biden last week, urging Hamas to accept it. «Numerous leaders and governments, including in the region, have endorsed this plan,» said US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. The draft text, seen by AFP, «welcomes the new deal announced on May 31, and calls upon Hamas to accept it fully and implement its terms without delay and without condition.» Biden outlined on Friday what he called an Israeli plan that in three phases would end the bloody conflict, free all hostages and lead to the reconstruction of the devastated Palestinian territory without Hamas in power. However fissures between the two allies emerged when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stressed that the ongoing war in Gaza would continue until all of Israel's «goals are achieved,» including the destruction of Hamas's military and governing capabilities. Israeli media have questioned to what extent Biden's ceasefire speech and some crucial details were coordinated with Netanyahu's team, including how long any truce would hold and how many captives would be freed and when. Earlier Monday, the White House said Biden told the emir of mediator Qatar that he saw Hamas as «the only obstacle to a complete ceasefire» in Gaza, and urged him to press the group to accept it. Hamas last week said it viewed Biden's outline «positively,» but has since made no official comment on the stalled negotiations, while mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States have not announced any new talks. Before Biden had made his Friday announcement, Algeria had last week circulated a draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and a halt of the Israeli offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, citing the recent order to that effect from the International Court of Justice. Washington at the time had said that the text wouldn't be helpful, saying instead direct, on-the-ground negotiations were necessary for a truce. No vote is scheduled for either draft resolution. 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. Washington, increasingly frustrated with the mounting civilian death toll, finally allowed that resolution to pass by abstaining from voting. © Agence France-Presse

The return of the cooling La Nina weather phenomenon this year should help lower temperatures somewhat after months of global heat records, the United Nations' weather agency said Monday. The impact is likely to be felt in the next few months because the warming El Nino weather pattern -- which has helped fuel a spike in global temperatures and extreme weather around the world since mid-2023 -- «is showing signs of ending», the UN's World Meteorological Organization said in its latest update. The WMO warned, however, that global temperatures would continue to rise in the long term due to human-induced climate change, which continues to make extreme weather worse and upend seasonal rainfall and temperature patterns. La Nina refers to the cooling of the ocean surface temperatures in large swathes of the tropical Pacific Ocean, coupled with winds, rains and changes in atmospheric pressure. In many locations, especially in the tropics, La Nina produces the opposite climate impacts to El Nino, which heats up the surface of the oceans, leading to drought in some parts of the world and triggering heavy downpours elsewhere. The WMO said there was a «60 percent» chance of La Nina conditions in the period from July to September and a «70 percent» likelihood during August-November. The chances of El Nino redeveloping are negligible, it added. Every month since June 2023, when El Nino returned, has set a new high temperature record, and 2023 was by far the warmest year on record globally. The WMO said the planet would continue to heat up overall from the use of fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gases. - Man-made global heating - «The end of El Nino does not mean a pause in long-term climate change, as our planet will continue to warm due to heat-trapping greenhouse gases,» WMO deputy secretary general Ko Barrett stressed. «Exceptionally high sea surface temperatures will continue to play an important role during next months.» Much of the planet's excess heat from climate change is stored in the oceans. In the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has already factored the expected La Nina into its forecasts for this year's Atlantic hurricane season. The NOAA said it expected four to seven major hurricanes in the Atlantic between June and November. «The upcoming Atlantic hurricane season is expected to have above-normal activity due to a confluence of factors, including near-record warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean, development of La Nina conditions in the Pacific, reduced Atlantic trade winds and less wind shear,» the NOAA said on May 23. The WMO noted that the past nine years had been the warmest on record, even with the cooling influence of a La Nina event that lasted from 2020 to early 2023. The latest El Nino, which peaked in December, was one of the five strongest on record. «Our weather will continue to be more extreme because of the extra heat and moisture in our atmosphere,» Barrett said. The WMO has made it a priority to ensure that all regions of the world are covered by early warning systems by 2027, particularly the least well-equipped, such as Africa. «Seasonal forecasts for El Nino and La Nina, and the anticipated impacts on the climate patterns globally, are an important tool to inform early warnings and early action,» Barrett said. © Agence France-Presse  

Licensed tourism establishment operators on La Digue, Seychelles' third most populated island, who have additional unlicensed rooms  are being asked to apply for a change of use permit to the Tourism Department. The announcement was made on Monday by the principal secretary for tourism, Sherin Francis, during a press conference. Francis said this exercise will start on June 4 and end on July 4.  «According to our data, there are 764 licensed rooms on La Digue, but there could be unlicensed operational rooms,» explained Francis. She said that these unlicensed rooms may have skewed the results of the carrying capacity study done in 2021. The carrying capacity survey on La Digue was done from 2019 to 2021 to establish the current tourism development status concerning a number of key indicators such as the economy, the environment, social welfare, and productive infrastructure. Among the recommendations of the survey is that a moratorium be put in place for new establishments which was extended to December 2023. However, the Tourism Department has noticed that there are people who are illegally renting rooms that are meant for residential purposes. After presenting a proposed strategic accommodation establishment development plan for La Digue to the Cabinet of Ministers, the Tourism Department was instructed to ascertain the total number of rooms on La Digue, so that a phased review of the moratorium can be conducted. At the moment, there are 128 licensed tourism establishments on La Digue, with 764 rooms. «We are doing this exercise to find how many operational there are on La Digue. These rooms have already been built and so they are impacting on all the infrastructures on the island, such as electricity, water, sewage and waste management,» added Francis. The operators of these establishments will be given until July 4, to come forward and apply for the change of use for these unlicensed rooms. They must do so by submitting their applications to the Seychelles Planning Authority. To be considered, operators must include a copy of the current tourism accommodation licence, while also ensuring compliance with all existing minimum requirements stipulated in the Tourism Development regulations. They must also comply with other requirements set by other regulatory bodies such as health and fire departments. Francis added that having the correct data is very important, especially for policy planning purposes. She said it is in the best interest of those involved to come forward during this exercise and added that there will be no penalties to anyone who does come forward to make the change. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused China on Sunday of working hard to stop countries from going to a peace summit, which Beijing has publicly criticised because Russia is not invited. Zelensky made the remarks at a security forum in Singapore as he sought to rally support for the conference and appealed for more military aid for Ukraine, which has been ceding ground to Russian troops. «China, unfortunately, is working hard today to prevent countries from coming to the peace summit,» Zelensky told reporters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, which draws defence officials from around the world. Beijing believes the conference «should have the recognition of Russia and Ukraine, equal participation of all parties and fair discussion of all peace plans», foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular news conference on Friday. «Otherwise, it is difficult for the conference to play a substantive role in restoring peace,» she said. Zelensky also expressed disappointment that «some world leaders» had not signed up to the conference, with China signalling Xi Jinping will not attend while US President Joe Biden is yet to commit. China said it would be «difficult» for it to attend if Russia did not participate, which Ukraine has rejected. Through the peace summit, Kyiv hopes to win broad international backing for its vision of the terms needed to end Russia's war. Zelensky said on Sunday that more than 100 countries and organisations had signed up to the conference, and he urged Asia-Pacific nations to join. The peace summit threatens to be overshadowed if key Ukraine backer Biden -- who is locked in an election campaign against Donald Trump and has given no sign he would participate -- ultimately stays away. Zelensky said China was «a tool in Putin's hands» and accused Russia of using Chinese influence and diplomats to do «everything to disrupt the peace summit.» While China says it is a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict, it has been criticised for refusing to condemn Moscow for its offensive. - 'Unwavering US support' - Zelensky also met with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday on the sidelines of the Singapore security forum. Zelensky told reporters they had a «very good» meeting. In a post on X, Zelensky said the pair discussed «the defense needs of our country, bolstering Ukraine's air defense system, the F-16 coalition, and drafting of a bilateral security agreement.» In a readout of the talks, Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said Austin reiterated «unwavering US support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression». Austin also «reaffirmed the US commitment to maintaining the strong support of a coalition of over fifty countries to help Ukraine defend its freedom,» Ryder said. The meeting came after Washington decided to partially lift restrictions on using US-provided weapons to strike inside Russia, which Zelensky has hailed as a «step forward». Zelensky and Austin last met face-to-face in December in Washington, where Zelensky made a last-ditch plea for US aid before it ran out. The US Congress approved in April a $61-billion aid package for Ukraine following months of political wrangling, unlocking much-needed arms for the country's outgunned troops. Chinese defence spokesman Wu Qian told AFP he was not aware of any plans for Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun to meet with Zelensky in Singapore. Ukraine is struggling to hold back a Russian ground offensive in the Kharkiv region, where Moscow recently made its largest territorial gains in 18 months. Zelensky has been touring European nations in recent days seeking more military aid for Ukrainian troops, and warning partners of the risks if they show any signs of fatigue over the war. «It is very important for Ukrainians that the world does not get tired... that the world understands that it cannot get tired of the war launched by the aggressor,» Zelensky said in Portugal on Tuesday. © Agence France-Presse

The main opposition party, United Seychelles, officially nominated Dr Patrick Herminie as its candidate for the 2025 presidential election at its 37th congress on Sunday. He becomes the first candidate announced to enter the race for the presidential election due to be held on September 27, 2025, in Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean. Herminie, the president of the United Seychelles party, says he is confident of winning the presidential election, thanks to the work his party has done since he took over the party's leadership. «We are working very hard and today I am very satisfied with the results that we obtained by going in front of the people, in Anse aux Pins, it was a huge success thanks to the work that we have done over the last three years,» he said. Herminie's nomination as a presidential candidate comes as part of the activities marking the party's 60th anniversary. The party, then called the (SPUP) , was set up on June 2, 1964, by the late President France Albert Rene.   United Seychelles held its 37th Congress on Sunday.  (Rassin Vannier, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY  After 43 years in power under various names, the United Seychelles party lost the presidential election for the first time in October 2020 and became the main opposition party. «We need to review where we were and analyse where we want to go. Our principles based on social justice remain relevant, even 60 years later. We have also made mistakes, and we must learn from them to create a better Seychelles,» said Herminie. He also criticised the policies of the current President Wavel Ramkalawan's government. «It is clear to me that the new political reality is a threat to our gains. The 13th month salary has been abolished, the seniority bonus has been abolished, even the bonuses for students returning from university have been cut, the price of public transport has increased, social assistance has been cut, but on the other hand taxes for the richest have been reduced,» said Herminie. Herminie referred to the previous 13th month salary system that was introduced as an automatic measure in government, which has been changed to a 13th month salary with a performance-based review, where underperforming employees do not get the full amount of their wage, and those who perform well do. For the moment, the party has not yet named Herminie's running mate, nor the members who will be standing for election to the National Assembly.

Le parti United Seychelles a officiellement désigné, dimanche, le Dr Patrick Herminie comme candidat à l’élection présidentielle de 2025, lors du 37e congrès. Il devient le premier candidat à se lancer dans la course à l’élection présidentielle qui devrait se tenir le 27 septembre 2025 dans l’archipel. Le Dr Herminie qui est le président du parti United Seychelles se dit confiant de remporter l’élection présidentielle, grâce au travail que son parti a effectué depuis qu’il a pris la direction du parti. « Nous sommes en train de travailler très dure et aujourd’hui je suis très satisfait avec les résultats que nous obtenons en passant devant chez les gens, à Anse aux Pins, il s’agissait d’un énorme succès qui s’est traduit grâce au travail que nous avons effectué durant ces 3 dernières années » a dit le Dr Herminie.  La nomination du Dr Herminie, comme candidat à l’élection présidentielle a lieu dans le cadre des activités marquant le 60e anniversaire du parti. United Seychelles a tenu son 37e congrès dimanche.  (Rassin Vannier, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY                       En 2020, pour la première fois le parti United Seychelles a perdu l’élection présidentielle, et s’est retrouvé dans l’opposition. « Nous devons revoir ou nous étions et analyser ou l’on veut aller, nos principes basés sur la justice sociale reste d’actualité, même soixante ans plus tard. Nous avons également commis des erreurs, et   nous devons en tirer les leçons pour créer des Seychelles meilleures » a dit Herminie. Il a également critiqué la politique du gouvernement du président Wavel Ramkalawan .  « Il est claire pour moi que la nouvelle réalité politique, est une menace pour nous nos acquis. Le 13e mois a été supprimé, la prime d’ancienneté a été aboli, même les primes pour les étudiants revenant de l’université ont été coupées, le prix des transports en commun a augmenté, les aides sociales ont été coupees, mais par contre les taxes pour les plus riches ont été réduits » a dit Herminie. Pour l’instant le parti n’a pas encore désigné le colistier du Dr Herminie, ni les membres qui seront candidats aux postes de député a l’Assemblée nationale.

A top opponent of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed Sunday to keep fighting «dictatorship» before he returned to jail Sunday, following elections widely expected to produce another landslide victory for the Hindu-nationalist leader. Arvind Kejriwal is among several opposition leaders under criminal investigation, with colleagues describing his arrest the month before the general elections began in April as a «political conspiracy» orchestrated by Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The chief minister of the capital Delhi and a key leader in an alliance formed to compete against Modi, Kejriwal was detained in March over a long-running corruption probe. He was later released and allowed to campaign but ordered to return to jail once voting ended. «When power becomes dictatorship, then jail becomes a responsibility,» said Kejriwal, who promised to continue «fighting» from behind bars. «I don't know when I will return,» he told supporters in an emotional departure speech at his Aam Aadmi party headquarters. «I don't know what they will do to me... every drop of my blood is for the country.» Kejriwal later returned to jail, his party spokesman told AFP. - 'Take care of yourselves' - Exit polls showed Modi was well on track to triumph, with the premier saying he was confident that «the people of India have voted in record numbers» to re-elect his government. Results are expected Tuesday but supporters of Modi in his constituency of Varanasi -- the spiritual capital of the Hindu faith -- said they believed their leader's win was secure. «His government is coming back,» said Nand Lal, selling flowers outside a temple. Voting in the seventh and final staggered round of the six-week poll ended on Saturday, held in brutally hot conditions across swaths of the country. At least 33 polling staff died from heatstroke in Uttar Pradesh state alone, where temperatures hit 46.9 degrees Celsius (116.4 degrees Fahrenheit), election officials said. India's top court granted Kejriwal bail last month, giving a fleeting boost to the opposition's quixotic campaign to oust Modi, but ordered him to return to custody after the election. Kejriwal, 55, has been chief minister for nearly a decade and first came to office as a staunch anti-corruption crusader. His government was accused of corruption when it implemented a policy to liberalise the sale of liquor in 2021 and give up a lucrative government stake in the sector. The policy was withdrawn the following year but the resulting probe into the alleged corrupt allocation of licences has since led to the jailing of two top Kejriwal allies. «All of you, take care of yourselves,» Kejriwal, who has consistently denied wrongdoing and refused to relinquish his post, said earlier on social media. «I will take care of you all in jail.» - 'Target political opponents' - Modi's political opponents and international rights groups have long sounded the alarm about threats to India's democracy. US think tank Freedom House said this year the BJP had «increasingly used government institutions to target political opponents». Rahul Gandhi, the most prominent member of the opposition Congress party and scion of a dynasty that dominated Indian politics for decades, was convicted of criminal libel last year after a complaint by a member of Modi's party. His two-year prison sentence saw him disqualified from parliament until the verdict was suspended by a higher court and raised concerns over democratic norms in the world's most populous country. Hemant Soren, the former chief minister of the eastern state of Jharkhand, was also arrested in February in a separate corruption probe. Kejriwal, Rahul Gandhi and Soren are all members of an opposition alliance composed of more than two dozen parties, but the bloc struggled to make inroads against Modi. © Agence France-Presse

Chilli, particularly the varieties of bird's eye chilli and goat chilli, is considered an integral part of the local Seychellois Creole cuisine and a young Seychellois couple, Kevin Kumar and Elna Etienne-Kumar, has created a brand centered on chilli. The brand called 'The Goat' uses locally sourced goat chilli known in Creole as «piman kabri» to make chilli chutney. Kumar told SNA, «The recipe behind The Goat's chilli chutney is a labour of love. Perfected over the years, it's more than just crushed chilli but a flavour enhancer that pairs beautifully with a variety of dishes. Whether with grilled fish, curries, 'bouyon bred', pasta, and even a surprising twist with bread, our chutney elevates every meal and is surely a versatile companion.» He added that the recipe was developed over time, through family lunches and getting feedback from family and friends and committed to supporting local agriculture and sustainable practices.  Kumar emphasised the importance of sourcing from local farmers and using reusable glass jars. «We believe in the importance of reviving the agricultural sector, celebrating the rich bounty of our islands. By sourcing our ingredients locally and partnering with Seychellois farmers, we're contributing to a sustainable, thriving agricultural community. Each jar of The Goat's chilli chutney is a testament to our commitment to preserving and celebrating Seychellois produce,» he said. The brand called 'The Goat' uses locally sourced goat chilli known in Creole as «piman kabri» to make chilli chutney. (Elna Etienne-Kumar) Photo License: All Rights Reserved  The couple has had a successful launch and his wife said that they have received positive reviews from customers, describing the responses as overwhelming, but in a good way. «Food enthusiasts have embraced The Goat's chilli chutney with open arms. People are not just enjoying our chutney, they're embracing it as an essential culinary companion. We've received positive feedback from locals and beyond. What is even more exciting is hearing from those who typically shy away from spicy condiments. We've had sceptics-turned-fans reach out after trying our chutney, amazed by its balanced flavours,» she said. The husband, who is behind the recipe, said they specially crafted their chilli chutney to suit the taste of people who may not have an affinity for spicy food. «What sets The Goat's chilli chutney apart is its harmonious blend of flavours and the fact that just like wine, each jar gets better with time. While it carries a satisfying kick from the Goat chilli peppers, our chutney isn't solely about heat and spiciness. We've carefully balanced the ingredients to highlight a spectrum of tastes - sweet, savoury, tangy, and of course, a subtle kick of spice. It's a product made with everyone in mind, designed to enhance dishes and delight taste buds regardless of spice tolerance,» he explained. Although they produce mainly locally at the moment, their vision is to eventually expand to a global market in the future. «We aim to see The Goat's products on international shelves, particularly in communities with Seychellois connections like France and the UK. Already, we're delighted to know that our chutney has travelled to homes across continents, bringing a taste of our island to friends and families abroad. To our knowledge, friends and families in the UK, France, Italy, Australia, and Kenya have tried our chutney. We hope that this list gets longer with time,» said Kumar. The Goat's chilli chutney is being sold in several local shops including ISPC Bois de Rose Avenue, SPAR Eden Island, Blue Ocean Traders Providence and Kot Fanmiy shop La Retraite on Mahe, the main island. It will also be made available on La Digue, the third most populated island at the La Digue Supermarket.

South Africa's ruling ANC awaited the imminent confirmation on Saturday that it had lost its three-decade-old absolute majority and would have to find allies if it is to remain in power. With more than 98 percent of the votes from Wednesday's election counted, President Cyril Ramaphosa's African National Congress had only 40.15 percent support, a catastrophic slump from the 57.5 it won in 2019. This marks an historic turning point for South Africa as the party has enjoyed an absolute majority since 1994, when liberation leader Nelson Mandela led the nation out of white-minority rule and into democracy. «We have been talking with everybody even before the election,» ANC's deputy secretary general Nomvula Mokonyane told AFP on Friday, saying the party's decision-making body would set the course to follow after final results are announced. «Anything must be based on principles and not an act of desperation.» As votes continued to be validated, data from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) showed the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA) held second place with 21.71 percent, slightly up on its 20.77 showing in 2019. But it was not a surge by the DA that cut into the ANC's vote share. In third place was former president Jacob Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) on 12.6 percent, a surprise score for a party founded just months ago as a vehicle for the former ANC chief. The radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) was in fourth with 9.4 percent. The final results were to be formally announced on Sunday, but the IEC results website was being updated through the day and with the result no longer in doubt, politicians were turning their attention to the prospects of an ANC-led coalition. - No pardon, no party - The ANC has dominated South Africa's democracy with an unbroken run of five presidents from the party, but if President Cyril Ramaphosa is to remain at the helm he will have to decide whether to seek allies on his right or left. There will be resistance within his movement to a tie-up with the second-placed DA, under white politician John Steenhuisen, whose free market programme of privatisations and an end to black economic empowerment programmes sits at odds with the ruling party's traditions. Mandela's grandson, Mandla Mandela, an outgoing ANC lawmaker, told AFP the DA held «different ideals» making it too difficult to partner with. The radical left groups led by former ANC figures: firebrand Julius Malema's EFF or Zuma's MK, were more likely bedfellows, he said. But these options might also meet resistance within the more moderate sections of the ANC. Analyst and author Susan Booysen, said the EFF was perceived as «too erratic» and «unpredictable» in its demands. And the rift between Ramaphosa and Zuma -- who has long been bitter about the way he was forced out of office in 2018 -- was «too far reaching» to mend, she said. MK spokesman Nhlamulo Ndhlela seemed to agree. «We will engage with the ANC but not the ANC of Cyril Ramaphosa,» he said. Any coalition partner should be willing to amend the constitution to enact radical reforms and grant Zuma, who has been declared ineligible over a contempt of court conviction, a pardon, he said. But Mokonyane dismissed the notion that Ramaphosa's leadership was at risk, saying: «In the ANC we don't work that way. It's not a presidential election. It was an election that the ANC went in as a party and we are happy with it.» The ANC retains the loyalty of many voters for its leading role in overthrowing white minority rule. Its progressive social welfare and black economic empowerment policies are credited by supporters with helping millions of black families out of poverty. But over three decades of almost unchallenged rule, its leadership has been implicated in a series of large-scale corruption scandals, while the continent's most industrialised economy has languished and crime and unemployment figures have hit record highs. © Agence France-Presse

The Seychelles' women's national team captain, Pascalina Moustache, has made history by becoming the first female of the island nation to become a professional footballer. Moustache, 32, has signed a contract with FK Saned Joniskis in the top division football in Lithuania.   She played for the local women's team Rovers from the central district of Mont Fleuri for many years and was awarded Female Footballer of the Year in 2017. Moustache went on a trial with the Lithuanian club and impressed the club with her vision, accurate and precise passing as well her intelligence on the field. She signed her contract alongside FK Saned Joniskis' technical director, Tihomis Sloboda, early this month. Moutache has already been involved in matches since she signed with the team, where she was put straight into the starting 11 for the club's games. Earlier this year, along with Reena Esther, went on trials in Singapore with the help and recommendation of their national team coach, Chris Yip-Au. FK Saned plays in the Lithuanian Women's A League, which is Lithuania's top level women's football league. The club is based in Joniškis, a city in northern Lithuania with a population of about 9,900.

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.