The Tourism Department has announced the departure of Terrence Max from his post as director of the Seychelles Tourism Academy (STA) in a press statement earlier this week. Max took over the leadership of the Academy in 2021 after the retirement of Flavien Joubert and has served in the role for the past three years. He resigned from the post recently. In a meeting with the staff of the Academy on Monday, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Sylvestre Radegonde, announced that Richard Mathiot will assume the role of interim director with immediate effect for a three-month period. «The Tourism Ministry is grateful to Mr Max for the work he has done over the past three years. I am confident that Mr Mathiot's extensive experience will greatly benefit the Seychelles Tourism Academy during this transitional period,» said Radegonde. Richard Mathiot will assume the role of interim director with immediate effect. (Tourism Seychelles) Photo License: CC-BY He added that the post for the new STA director will be advertised in the coming weeks and the Department will initiate a recruitment process to find a permanent successor. The Tourism Department said that the interim director brings a wealth of experience to his new role. «As a former principal lecturer at STA, he has spent the past 20 years educating full-time students in various Food and Beverage programmes, including mentoring students in the Advanced Diploma in Hospitality Management programme and preparing them for their year at Shannon College,» the Department said. «A recognised chef, Mr Mathiot has refined his culinary skills globally, having worked in countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Dubai. His notable positions include serving as an executive chef at Paradise Sun and working for Air Seychelles, based in Holland. Additionally, Mr Mathiot has represented Seychelles in various international competitions,» added the Department. The Seychelles Tourism Academy was set up in 2007 at its current location at La Misere succeeding the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Training College (SHTTC). It was part of major changes towards private sector principles of management and performance measures. The STA trains students primarily for the hotel establishment in Seychelles but many graduates choose other tourism-related field or other areas. Tourism is the top contributor to the economy of Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean. 

Reef heritage vulnerability is the main theme being discussed through the Dialogue Science - Decision Makers for Integrated Management of Coastal and Marine Environment (DiDEM) project. The collaboration headed by experts from the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD) has brought together experts from the University of Seychelles (UniSey), Seychelles Park and Garden Authority, institutes and universities from the region in meetings, called the Thematic School, held in Seychelles this week. The main aim is to provide doctoral and post-doctoral scientists, coral reef managers, and experts from non-governmental organisations the opportunity to share experiences, knowledge, and methods, especially about assessing the resilience of reef ecosystems. It will also help consider coral reefs as a natural heritage and build a coral social-ecological system and ultimately follow an integrated approach; bridging the final goal to put coral reef heritage as a cross-cutting body of analysis and management. Over five days, the project financed by the Monaco Expedition, will explore the concepts of resilience, vulnerability, heritage and social-ecological systems from the perspective of sustainable science.   An expert scientist from IRD, Dr Gilbert David, emphasised the importance of understanding the human aspect as part of the reef heritage and said, «You need to link human beings and resource ecosystems.» Speaking to SNA, the acting director for the Blue Economy Research Institute (BERI) at UniSey, Dr Jerome Harlay, explained that this thematic school helps. «It's important for the University of Seychelles and the Blue Economy Institute to have a network. And the regional experts that we are receiving here will help us broadcast our ideas and we will also gain knowledge from outside. We've got different islands; we've got different practices. [...] As was mentioned during one of the presentations, it's very hard to read all the literature. So sometimes we need to also convey this message by speaking to each other because it makes more of an impact,» said Harlay. One of the participants, fisheries specialist and consultant, Dr Ameer Ebrahim, said, «Such events bring great value to the country because it not only brings experts together, but we are also gaining insight into what is happening in the neighbouring countries. So far the thematic school has been very interesting, we even had an expert talking about the formation of Seychelles' different islands and the geometry of the country.» Dr Pascale Chabanet, a leading IRD scientist on Indian Ocean coral reefs, explained the importance of an interdisciplinary thematic school on coral reefs. She emphasised the need to understand reefs from both scientific and societal perspectives. «It is very important to have an interdisciplinary and multi-actor approach, including the view of the scientist as well as society. It's what we call sustainable science in IRD. If you want a sustainable solution you have to involve society,» she added. Chabanet also discussed the threats facing reefs including human pressures like pollution and climate change stresses increasing bleaching events as well as the resilience and adaptation of certain coral to cope with thermal stress.  

Leaders of the G7 wealthy nations gather in southern Italy this week against the backdrop of global and political turmoil, with boosting support for Ukraine top of the agenda. US President Joe Biden, France's Emmanuel Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are among the Group of Seven leaders heading to the luxury resort of Borgo Egnazia in Puglia for the June 13-15 summit. It comes at a sensitive time, with wars raging in Ukraine and Gaza and  with Biden, Macron and Britain's Rishi Sunak all facing elections in the coming weeks and months. With an eye to the global challenges, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the host, has also invited around a dozen non-G7 heads of government, from Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan to India's Narendra Modi. Pope Francis will also fly in on Friday to talk about artificial intelligence. - Support for Ukraine - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend a discussion Thursday on Russia's war on his country, now into its third year, where he will again press for more help from Western allies. G7 leaders hope to agree a deal on using the profits from the interest on 300 billion euros ($325 billion) of frozen Russian central bank assets to help Kyiv. The idea is to use the profits as collateral for a loan of up to $50 billion, but there is still debate over who would issue the debt as well as a raft of technical issues -- including what would happen if the assets were unfrozen in the event of peace. John Kirton, director of the University of Toronto's G7 Research Group, said he expected an agreement. «This issue has been the signature test of the summit's performance on Russia's aggression against Ukraine, so the G7 leaders will not do too little here,» he told AFP. The leaders are also expected to discuss their concerns over China's support for Russia's military expansion. While the summit is officially three days, the sessions end on Friday, with Zelensky and some other leaders heading Saturday to a conference on Ukraine in Switzerland. Biden will not attend, instead sending Vice President Kamala Harris. - 'Difficult moment' - The summit of G7 leaders -- including Germany's Olaf Scholz and Canada's Justin Trudeau -- comes at a «particularly difficult moment on the international stage», an Italian government source said. The Hamas-Israel war is now in its ninth month, with the conflict to be addressed at the summit as part of a wider discussion on the Middle East. G7 leaders last week endorsed a proposed peace deal. Tensions in the Indo-Pacific will also feature on the agenda in Puglia, as will economic security, including rising trade tensions with China on green technologies. Non-G7 guests will join an «outreach session» on Friday afternoon. They were set to include Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Erdogan and Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva -- whose country holds the rotating G20 presidency this year -- Argentina's Javier Milei, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and representatives from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank have also been invited. All the guests are invited to a dinner Friday night at the Borgo Egnazia luxury hotel complex built in the style of a traditional village, an evening which will also include a short artistic show. With security to be extremely tight, the venue is far away from protesters and journalists, with the media centre located some 60 kilometres away in Bari. - Migration, Africa - Migration and relations with Africa are two priorities for Meloni for the summit, and she has invited leaders from Kenya, Algeria and the African Union. On climate change, G7 environmental ministers have already committed in April to phase out unabated coal-fired power plants by the mid-2030s -- though they left some wiggle room. The Group of Seven is a political forum of largely like-mind democracies, but their economic weight is not what it once was -- and without China, some question its relevance. It could be the last G7 summit for several participants. Biden is up for re-election in November, while Britain's Sunak faces voters on July 4, when his Conservatives are expected to lose power. Macron is also facing trouble at home: on Sunday he called snap legislative elections after his centrist alliance was routed by the far right in weekend European Parliament elections. Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy party, by contrast, came out top in the vote in Italy. © Agence France-Presse

Hamas gave its official response to the latest truce proposal for Gaza on Tuesday, calling for a «complete halt» to Israeli «aggression» as fighting raged in the Palestinian territory. The response came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on his eighth Middle East tour since the October 7 Hamas attack that sparked the war, pushed the group to accept the deal. «The response prioritises the interests of our Palestinian people and emphasises the necessity of a complete halt to the ongoing aggression on Gaza,» Hamas said in a joint statement with Islamic Jihad. A source with knowledge of the talks said Hamas proposed amendments to the plan, including a ceasefire timeline and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Talks were expected to continue via Qatari and Egyptian mediators, coordinated with the United States. During his visit, Blinken said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had «reaffirmed his commitment» to the proposed six-week ceasefire, which was also backed by a UN Security Council vote. «Everyone has said yes, except for Hamas,» Blinken said. «And if Hamas doesn't say yes, then this is clearly on them.» Blinken then attended a summit in Jordan, alongside leaders from the Arab world and beyond, addressing Gaza's humanitarian crisis. The Israeli siege has left Gaza's 2.4 million people without adequate food, clean water, medicines and fuel, pushing many to the brink of starvation. Only occasional aid shipments provide temporary relief. - 'Carnage and killing' - «The horror must stop,» UN chief Antonio Guterres told the conference, voicing his support for the truce plan first outlined by US President Joe Biden late last month. «The speed and scale of the carnage and killing in Gaza is beyond anything in my years as secretary-general,» he told the gathering on the shores of the Dead Sea. UN humanitarian coordinator Martin Griffiths labelled the Gaza conflict a «stain on our humanity» and called for $2.5 billion in funding until year-end. Amid diplomatic efforts to address the crisis, Israel conducted further strikes on Gaza, resulting in casualties according to hospital sources. The Israeli army said four soldiers were killed in the southern city of Rafah on Monday in what Hamas called a booby-trap explosion. Israel has faced mounting international criticism over the escalating death toll in the conflict. Health officials in Hamas-ruled Gaza reported 274 people were killed during an Israeli special forces raid on Saturday to rescue four hostages. The UN human rights office expressed deep concern over the civilian casualties in the Nuseirat raid and said it was «deeply distressed» over the ongoing hostage situation in Gaza. And on Monday the UN Security Council endorsed the three-phrase truce proposal Biden set out last month. Netanyahu suffered a setback on Sunday when Benny Gantz, a centrist former army chief, quit his war cabinet, citing the lack of a post-war governance plan for Gaza. Blinken met Gantz and opposition leader Yair Lapid, both of whom have been vocal critics of Netanyahu and his handling of the conflict. Washington has also pushed for a «day-after» plan for Gaza, promoted a governance role for Hamas's rival, the Palestinian Authority, and urged steps toward a two-state solution. Netanyahu and his far-right coalition partners reject the idea of Palestinian statehood, arguing it would endanger Israel's security and effectively «reward terrorism». - 'Siege and destruction' - The war broke out after Hamas's October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. The militants also seized 251 hostages, more than 100 of whom were released during a November truce. After special forces rescued four captives on Saturday, 116 hostages remain in Gaza, though the army says 41 of them are dead. The Israeli army launched a devastating offensive on Gaza that has left at least 37,164 people dead, the majority of them civilians, according to the Hamas-ruled territory's health ministry. The latest Israeli deaths in Rafah took to 298 the military's overall losses in Gaza since its ground offensive began on October 27. In Jabaliya, Soad al-Qanou said her young child Amjad was suffering from malnutrition, as aid shipments failed to adequately address Gaza's needs. «This war has destroyed our lives and turned them upside down,» she said. «There is no food, no drink. There is siege and destruction everywhere.» Violence has also surged in the already restive Israeli-occupied West Bank since the start of the war. On Tuesday, six people were killed during an Israeli army raid in the village of Kfar Dan, the Palestinian health ministry said. Among aid pledges made at the Jordan meeting, the United States promised $404 million for food, water, health supplies and other aid. A joint statement at the end of the summit called for «immediate, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian assistance and sustained provision and delivery throughout Gaza». It also backed the «indispensable and irreplaceable role of UNRWA», the UN agency for Palestinian refugees which coordinates aid in Gaza but has been the target of severe criticism from Israel. Blinken, hitting back at critics of US support for Israel, noted the UN appeal for the Palestinians was only one-third funded. «Some who have expressed great concern over the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza, including countries with the capacity to give a lot, have provided very little or nothing at all,» Blinken said, likely referring to US adversaries China and Russia. «It is time for everyone -- everyone -- to step up.» The United States is the largest donor to the Palestinians. It also provides Israel with $3.8 billion in annual military aid. © Agence France-Presse  

Law enforcement agencies in Seychelles are building networks and increasing police presence in the communities in renewed efforts to fight the increase in synthetic drugs entering the country. Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ned Wirtz, announced in a press conference held at the Seychelles Police Headquarters on Tuesday. The press conference also updated the public on its progress in the fight against drugs, following the recent arrests of nine Iranians on suspicion of drug trafficking. «We are intensifying our efforts on the borders of both seaports and airports and working with all our partners. Given the size of our EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone), we have been working very closely with the Seychelles Coast Guard to reach areas we cannot,» explained Wirtz. Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, has an EEZ of 1.4 million square kilometres making it difficult for surveillance of illegal activities at sea.  Wirtz said, «We are still challenged where sea entry points are concerned.» In addition to intercepting the entry of illicit drugs into the country at the entry points, Wirtz said the authorities were working to establish more reliable networks to receive credible intelligence. «The fight against drugs is not exclusive to the police, we also need the help of citizens who have information on drug trafficking to give us,» he added. According to police figures for the year 2023, a total of 623 kilogrammes of heroin, 10.5 kilogrammes of cocaine, 1.8 kilogrammes of herbal cannabis, 4.9 kilogrammes of resin, and 388.6 kilogrammes of methamphetamine were seized. «Our work with our international partners shows an increase in synthetic drugs entering the western Indian Ocean,» said Wirtz. He added that the local police force has been trained to recognise and deal with such drugs entering the island nation. In February last year, six law enforcement officers from Seychelles, participated in an 'Undercover and Surveillance Techniques' training by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Mauritius. Wirtz revealed that the officers are working with various agencies to keep an eye on «any information such as bills of lading that may show certain people plan on making methamphetamine here.» He said while the police have made some successes there are still areas where they face challenges. Wirtz said that law enforcement agencies will be conducting more patrols in the community to have more of a presence despite the need for manpower. 

Seychelles and China are looking to improve their collaborative exchanges in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) to enhance the skills of the youth of the island nation as they enter the world of work. Seychelles signed an agreement with the China-Africa TVET Alliance in 2022, which allows for exchanges and training for Seychellois teachers and students. This was organised to develop local teachers as well as the curriculum and also to help in developing the leadership of the schools. A delegation from the China-Africa TVET Alliance consisting of high Chinese officials and heads of technical schools is in Seychelles to discuss the possibilities of establishing training cooperation and exchanges with the professional centres in the island nation.   «We periodically bring the flagship TVET institutions from China to the Seychelles, so that they can meet physically with the Ministry of Education and the institutions, to discuss potential areas of collaboration,» said Mark Gong Zhiwu, the director general for Africa in in the China-Africa TVET Alliance. The Chinese delegation on Tuesday joined members of local professional institutes  to share what their schools offer as well as learn what the institutions in Seychelles are doing, during a meeting held at the Seychelles Maritime Academy. The director general for TVET, Jean Alcindor, with members of the Chinese delegation.  (Seychelles News Agency)  Photo License:  CC-BY  Zhiwu shared that already there are numerous activities done as part of the collaboration and teachers and students have gone for short courses in China. «For the students, they will have the opportunity to study both in China and Seychelles, and the best performing students will also be given the chance to earn a dual degree recognised by both countries,» Zhiwu added. Meanwhile, the director general for TVET in the Ministry of Education, Jean Alcindor, said Seychelles has really benefitted a lot from this collaboration. A fourth cohort of teachers will head to China soon while Seychelles is looking for China's expertise to develop a proper TVET curriculum. «The four institutions that have visited Seychelles have numerous expertise, such as mechanical-electronic engineering, automotive engineering, agriculture, artificial intelligence, and other areas, which Seychelles greatly benefit from,» said Alcindor. He added that the visit will allow the local institutions to look for their own personal partnerships to offer better and more courses to their students. China was expected to help Seychelles set up a specialised TVET school and Alcindor explained that they are searching for alternate locations. «The ministry though is exploring their options, such as working more closely with professional institutions to be able to offer more opportunities for our young students, until such time that the school, which we desperately need, is ready,» added Alcindor.

Seychelles' Minister for Transport, Antony Derjacques, has expressed his strong support for Emirates Airline's announcement to introduce four weekly flights between Dubai and Madagascar, with a stopover in Mahe, Seychelles, starting September 3. Emirates announced on June 7 that it will launch flights to Madagascar in September and the flights will operate via a linked service with Seychelles. According to a press communique from the Ministry if Transport on Monday, Derjacques highlighted the significance of this new route and said, «The introduction of these flights marks a substantial advancement in our efforts to boost trade, commerce, and tourism. This development is poised to enhance Seychelles' connectivity with key markets, fostering economic growth and cultural exchange.»Derjacques also emphasised the importance of this initiative in the context of South-South cooperation in aviation. He said, «By linking Seychelles with Dubai and Madagascar, we are not only enhancing our own strategic position but also strengthening the ties between developing nations. This cooperation is crucial for mutual growth and development, paving the way for more collaborative efforts in the future.»The new Emirates flight route is anticipated to position Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, as a pivotal travel and trade hub within the region, offering enhanced opportunities for the business and tourism sectors.The Ministry of Transport of Seychelles said it is dedicated to improving the nation's transport infrastructure and services, aiming for sustainable growth and development within the sector. Through strategic collaborations and innovative initiatives, the ministry seeks to enhance connectivity and accessibility, benefiting both local communities and international visitors, according to the press statement.

Seychelles and South Korea have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish cooperation in the fields of fisheries and aquaculture. The MOU was signed by the Minister for Fisheries and the Blue Economy, Jean-Francois Ferrari, and Do-Hyung Kang, the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries of Korea, in the margins of the Korea-Africa Summit, which took place in Seoul from June 4 to 5. Th Ministry of Fisheries and the Blue Economy said the agreement aims to enhance bilateral collaboration, facilitate knowledge transfer, information sharing, and capacity-building initiatives, and promote the trade of fish and fishery products. It will also increase private sector cooperation, as well as combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing within these vital sectors. According to the ministry, the MOU underscores the shared commitment of Seychelles and Korea to address global challenges such as climate change, overfishing, and marine pollution. It also highlights the mutual benefits of technological and scientific collaboration, and it paves the way for future projects that will strengthen the resilience and sustainability of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. Fisheries is the second top contributor to the economy of Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean, after tourism.  

President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that he was confident French voters would make the «right choice» in snap elections he called after the far right crushed his centrist alliance in Sunday's EU ballot. His surprise move came after mainstream centrist parties kept an overall majority in the European Parliament in Sunday's elections, but the far right notched up a string of high-profile victories in Italy, Austria and France. Analysts say Macron has taken the risky gamble of dissolving the national parliament in a bid to keep the far-right National Rally (RN) out of power when his second term ends in 2027. «I am confident in the capacity of the French people to make the right choice for themselves and for future generations,» Macron wrote on X on Monday. His announcement of elections for a new National Assembly on June 30, with a second round on July 7, has sparked widespread alarm, even from within the ranks of his party. «By playing with fire, the head of state could end up by burning himself and dragging the entire country into the fire,» Le Monde wrote in an editorial. Despite the storm of criticism, Macron appeared unfazed on Monday as he visited the southwestern French village of Oradour-sur-Glane, site of a massacre by Nazi soldiers during World War II, together with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Steinmeier said: «Let us never forget the damage done in Europe by nationalism and hate.» - A far-right premier? - Meanwhile, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, a Socialist, described the prospect of elections just weeks before the start of the Paris Olympics as «extremely unsettling». But International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach played down any direct impact on the event. Uncertainty around the election also sapped market confidence, with Paris's CAC 40 index closing 1.35 percent lower and the interest rate on French government debt gaining 10 basis points, to 3.22 percent. In a televised address late Sunday, Macron warned of the danger of «the rise of nationalists and demagogues» for France and its place in Europe. He noted that, including the RN, far-right parties in France had managed to take almost 40 percent of the EU Parliament vote. Macron is hoping to win back the majority he lost in France's lower house in 2022 legislative elections after winning a second term. But some fear the anti-immigration RN could instead win, forcing Macron to work in an uncomfortable coalition with a far-right prime minister. RN co-leader Marine Le Pen said the party's fellow leader and her protege, 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, would be its contender for prime minister. Le Pen, who was runner-up in the last two presidential elections, is largely expected to tilt for the top job again in 2027. However, it will not be plain sailing for the RN as the party still provokes widespread hostility. Demonstrators took to the streets of Paris, Marseille, Rennes, Lyon and several other large cities on Monday evening to show their opposition to the far right. Five labour unions also called for mass protests this weekend, warning that «our republic and our democracy are in danger» if the far right wins again at the end of the month. - 'Admiration for Putin' - The RN came in first in the French EU parliament voting with more than 31 percent, a score more than double that of Macron's list with 14 percent. The Socialists and hard-left France Unbowed trailed behind with 13 and nine percent each. The Socialists and three other left-wing parties -- France Unbowed, the Communists and the Ecologists -- announced late Monday that they would unite for the legislative elections as part of a «popular front... to fight the far-right's racist project». On the far right, Marion Marechal, deputy head of the Reconquest party founded by pundit Eric Zemmour and seen as even further to the right of the RN, was meeting Marine Le Pen -- who is her aunt -- and Bardella at the RN headquarters. Bardella said he had also «stretched out his hand» to the mainstream conservative Republicans party and had spoken with senior members. Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at Eurasia Group, said Macron appeared to believe he could defy the polls by confronting France with a choice between the pro-European status quo and a far right that has «a history of admiration for -- and funding by -- Vladimir Putin». The RN appears to be going into the snap parliament voting from a position of force, garnering 33-34 percent of voter intentions according to separate polls by Harris Interactive-Toluna and Opinionway published Monday -- more than 15 points above its score in the 2022 legislative election. That would place them well ahead of any united left-wing grouping (22 percent) and Macron's centrist camp (19 percent), according to the Harris Interactive-Toluna poll. © Agence France-Presse

Malawi's president on Monday said he was sparing no resources in a search operation for a missing military aircraft carrying the country's vice president Saulos Chilima. «I know that this is a heartbreaking situation... but I want to assure you that I am sparing no available resource to find that plane and I am holding on to every fibre of hope that we will find survivors,» president Lazarus Chakwera said. The plane, which took off just after 9:00 am (0700 GMT), was carrying 51-year-old Chilima and nine others when it failed to land due to bad weather, according to the leader who was speaking in a televised address to the nation. Malawi's former first lady Shanil Dzimbiri (Muluzi) was also on board. The group was travelling from the capital Lilongwe over 370 kilometres (230 miles) to the city of Mzuzu for the funeral of a former cabinet minister. «Upon arrival in Mzuzu the pilot was unable to land the plane due to poor visibility occasioned by bad weather, and aviation authorities advised their aircraft to return to Lilongwe, but the authorities soon lost contact with the aircraft,» Chakwera said. The head of state dismissed claims published by local media that search operations had been discontinued for the night. Soldiers are «still on the ground carrying out the search and I have given strict orders that the operation should continue until the plane is found», he said, adding that the army would give the public regular updates. Chakwera ordered regional and national forces to conduct an «immediate search and rescue operation» earlier in the day. - International support - He said he had already contacted the governments of  various countries including the US, Britain, Norway and Israel, who had all offered support «in different capacities». «Including the use of specialised technologies that will enhance capacity to find the plane sooner.» Chakwera said that a telecommunication signal located the plane within a 10 kilometre radius of Riaply, a timber milling company in the poor southern African nation located south of Mzuzu. Soldiers are said to be looking for the missing aircraft with torches and on foot, according to local media reports. Various unconfirmed reports have circulated that eye witnesses saw a plane crashing into the forest earlier on Monday. Chakwera has cancelled a visit to the Bahamas. First elected vice-president in 2014, the charismatic yet stern-talking Chilima is widely loved in Malawi, particularly among the youth. But in 2022 during his second stint in the job, Chilima was stripped of his powers after being arrested and charged with graft over a bribery scandal involving a British-Malawian businessman. Last month, a Malawian court dropped the charges. © Agence France-Presse

The Seychelles Supreme Court has remanded nine Iranian nationals for 14 days in police custody after they arrested on a dhow last week on suspicion of drug trafficking. Justice Melchior Vidot remanded the suspects aged 27 to 61 years on Monday while the police continue their investigation. According to the police in a communique on Friday, the Seychelles Coast Guard intercepted the Iranian dhow, Al Rahmani, in the island nation's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The police said following a search on the dhow, a consignment of suspected illegal drugs was discovered and seized by the Coast Guard. The police revealed that the initial findings on the intercepted vessel show 897.33 kilogrammes of cannabis resin, 9.65 kilogrammes of herbal material, 7.3 kilogrammes of heroin and 3 kilogrammes of methamphetamine. The nine suspects have started the process to get legal representation and will reappear before the court on June 24. 

The swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the Council of Ministers took place in Rashtrapati Bhavan on 09 June 2024. Leaders from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region participated in the ceremony as honoured guests. 2. The leaders who attended the ceremony included President of Sri Lanka, H.E. Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe; President of Maldives, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Muizzu; Vice-President of Seychelles, H.E. Mr. Ahmed Afif; Prime Minister of Bangladesh, H.E. Sheikh Hasina; Prime Minister of Mauritius, H.E. Mr. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth accompanied by his spouse; Prime Minister of Nepal, H.E. Mr. Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’; and Prime Minister of Bhutan, H.E. Mr. Tshering Tobgay. Leaders of Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan were accompanied by Ministers. 3. Following the swearing-in ceremony, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met with the visiting leaders in Rashtrapati Bhavan. The leaders congratulated him for taking oath as the Prime Minister of India for the historic third consecutive term. Thanking them for gracing the occasion, Prime Minister reaffirmed India’s commitment to its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and ‘SAGAR Vision’. Prime Minister emphasized that in his third term, India will continue to work for the peace, progress and prosperity of the region in close partnership with the countries, even as it pursues its goal of VIKSIT BHARAT by 2047. In this context, he called for deeper people-to-people ties and connectivity in the region. He further added that India would continue to amplify the voice of the Global South in the international arena. 4. The leaders also attended a Banquet hosted by President Smt. Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. President while welcoming them and conveying her wishes to Prime Minister Modi in the service of the nation, stated that India’s democratic exercise was not only a moment of pride for its people, but an inspiration to millions around the world. 5. The participation of leaders from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region on the momentous occasion of swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister and Council of Minister, underlines India’s deep-rooted bonds of friendship and cooperation with the region.

Registered political parties in Seychelles had the chance to give their inputs on the recommended amendments to the Political Parties Act in a consultative meeting on Monday. The Electoral Commission of Seychelles presented several amendments to the law that are being proposed to the representatives from five political parties while addressing their concerns and adding their suggestions. Representatives who attended the meeting were from United Seychelles (US), the Seychelles Democratic Alliance (LDS), the Seychelles National Alliance Party (SNAP), One Seychelles and the Seychelles United Movement (SUM). The consultations are usually done after every election but with the COVID-19 pandemic after the last elections in 2020, this could not be done sooner. This is why they are taking place now, ahead of the presidential elections proposed for September 27 in 2025. The electoral commissioner, Danny Lucas, said, «Today is a continuation of the consultation that we started last year and we expect to be done with this today.» He added that this process will ensure that the law can be fair and in line with what the political parties expect. Some of the proposed amendments include political alliances between several parties that will not need to be registered as a whole new political party, while other changes concern the obligations of political parties to provide necessary documents to the Electoral Commission in a timely manner. SNA sought the reaction of the representatives of these political parties at the meeting.   «I think it is a really good thing and since the last meeting, we all agree that it was important for us to be consulted before any amendments are made, as at the end of the day, we as political parties will be the ones affected,» said Ernesto Lionnet, executive member of SNAP. Edward Anacoura, secretary general of SUM, said, «This should have been done earlier, but I do think it's great, where the discussions have been going well in a good atmosphere.» The secretary general of the US, Wallace Cosgrow, said, «There are some amendments that we are concerned about, such as the terms being used, which we feel needs to take into account the current political situation and ensure that when the final amendments come to the national assembly, it remains fair to all parties.» Yvon Esther, the leader of One Seychelles, said, «The discussions are going well, but we want to see it more open and where it can be more transparent.» An executive member of the ruling LDS party, Satya Naidoo, said, «These proposed amendments are in line with the fundamental principles of a modern democracy and promotes participation, where it is also giving the Electoral Commission more power to better serve its purpose.» The Electoral Commission of Seychelles will also be holding other consultative meetings with other partners.  

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading back to the Middle East on Monday to push a ceasefire plan, but Israeli politics and silence from Hamas raised further questions on whether he can succeed. The top US diplomat, paying his eighth visit to the region since war broke out, was set to start the trip in Egypt and head later Monday to Israel. Blinken is scheduled to hold closed-door talks first in Cairo with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a key US partner in peace efforts, and later in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Blinken planned the visit to push forward a proposal announced on May 31 by President Joe Biden, who has stepped up efforts to end a war that has taken a mounting toll on civilians and alienated parts of his base ahead of November elections. But Hamas, which opened the war with a massive October 7 attack on Israel that triggered a relentless retaliatory campaign, has not formally responded. And while Biden has described his plan as coming from Israel, the resignation on Sunday of a key centrist, Benny Gantz, from Netanyahu's war cabinet throws a new wild card on US diplomatic efforts. Gantz, a former general who leads in polls to replace Netanyahu if new elections are called, protested that the prime minister had not made the hard decisions to enable «real victory», including by thinking out a post-war plan for Gaza. Gantz has cast himself as a smoother partner for the United States than Netanyahu, a veteran of political squabbles with Israel's vital ally. Biden in recent weeks suspended a shipment of weapons to Israel and accused Netanyahu of prolonging the war to stay in power, an assertion on which he backtracked. Gantz defied Netanyahu by visiting Washington on his own in March and has regularly met in Israel with Blinken, although a meeting on the latest trip was not immediately announced. - Border crossing dilemma - The short-term effect of Gantz leaving the war cabinet could be removing a counter-balance to Netanyahu's far-right allies, who abhor any compromise and have threatened to quit if Israel accepts the ceasefire plan. Israel also showed Saturday it has more tools than diplomacy to free hostages -- its key priority -- with an operation that freed four Israeli captives and which Palestinian officials say killed 274 other people. Overall Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 37,084 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the territory's health ministry. Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Under the plan laid out by Biden, Israel would withdraw from Gaza population centres and Hamas would free hostages. The ceasefire would last an initial six weeks, with the ceasefire extended as negotiators seek a permanent end to hostilities. Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security advisor, said Sunday it was difficult to say how the rescue operation would affect negotiations on a ceasefire. «If Hamas came and said yes to the deal on the table, there would be an end to the need for these kinds of operations, because the hostages would be coming out peacefully and not through military actions,» Sullivan told ABC News. In Egypt, Blinken is also expected to speak to Sisi about solutions to open the key crossing into Gaza at Rafah. The month-long closure has worsened the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, sending prices of scarce goods skyrocketing and worsening fears voiced by the United Nations of famine in the blockaded territory. Israel seized the crossing from Hamas and has blamed Egypt for the closure. Egypt, the first Arab state to make peace with Israel, has hit back and said that drivers feel unsafe going through what is now an Israeli checkpoint. Blinken was heading to the region from France, where he joined Biden on a state visit that marked the 80th anniversary of Allied troops' D-Day landing in German-occupied Normandy. Blinken will also visit two more key Arab partners, Jordan and Qatar, before returning Wednesday to join Biden at the Group of Seven summit in Italy. © Agence France-Presse

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in on Sunday for a third term after worse-than-expected election results left him reliant on coalition partners to govern. Modi's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled outright for the past decade but failed to repeat its previous two landslide wins this time around, defying analysts' expectations and exit polls. He was instead forced into quick-fire talks with coalition partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which guaranteed him the parliamentary numbers to govern. His office said he would appoint a 71-member cabinet, including 11 NDA ally ministers, without adding further details. Modi's previous cabinet had 81 ministers. Flanked by top BJP officials and party leaders of his coalition, Modi vowed in a ceremony marking his formal assumption of power to «bear true allegiance» to the constitution. Honour guards lined the steps of the presidential palace where thousands gathered to watch Modi, dressed in a flowing white kurta shirt and blue waistcoat, take the oath. - Attack in Kashmir - The cheering crowd also included adoring BJP loyalists, as well as celebrities such as Bollywood legend Shahrukh Khan and billionaire tycoons Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, key Modi allies. South Asian leaders from neighbouring Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka attended the ceremony, however neighbouring rivals China and Pakistan did not. But celebrations were overshadowed after police said gunmen had ambushed a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims in Indian-administered Kashmir shortly before the ceremony began. The bus then tumbled into a ravine killing at least nine people. Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947, and both claim the high-altitude territory in full. Rebel groups have waged an insurgency since 1989, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan, but violence fell drastically after 2019, when Modi's government cancelled the region's limited autonomy. - Allies eye top posts - Larger coalition parties have demanded hefty concessions in exchange for their support. With Modi yet to announce details of his cabinet, the line of lawmakers also taking the oath of office was keenly watched. Indian media reported widely that the top jobs, including the four most powerful posts, would remain in the BJP's grip. Modi was followed immediately by top BJP aides Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari -- the defence, interior and transport ministers in his last government respectively. The first among the BJP's coalition members was H.D. Kumaraswamy from the Janata Dal (Secular) party. Other coalition leaders to take the oath included Ram Mohan Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the largest BJP ally with 16 seats, and which India media reports has extracted four cabinet positions. Rajiv Ranjan Singh also took the oath, from the BJP's next biggest ally the Janata Dal (United) with 12 seats, which has reportedly two minister posts. - 'More consultation' - But analysts said that the coalition will shift parliamentary politics and force Modi's once domineering BJP into a more conciliatory approach. «In the past, the BJP has had confidence because of its sheer majority,» said Sajjan Kumar, head of the Delhi-based political research group PRACCIS. «The coalition will now force the BJP to engage in more consultation.» Political analyst Zoya Hasan of Jawaharlal Nehru University told AFP that Modi faced potential challenges ahead -- warning he may be «meeting his match» in the «crafty politicians» of among his coalition allies. At the same time, Modi's chief rival Rahul Gandhi was nominated on Saturday to lead India's opposition in parliament, after he defied analysts' forecasts to help the Congress party nearly double its parliamentary numbers. It was Congress's best result since Modi was swept to power a decade ago, rescuing the party from the political wilderness. Gandhi is the scion of the dynasty that dominated Indian politics for decades and is the son, grandson and great-grandson of former prime ministers, beginning with independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru. © Agence France-Presse

Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) actors in the Southern and Eastern African communities are set to establish a framework for action committing them to improve early childhood learning in the region. The resolution was taken on the last day of a three-day regional conference hosted by Seychelles' Institute for Early Childhood Development (IECD) UNECSO category 2. The meeting provided the representatives from the 22 countries in the region the chance to discuss the Tashkent Declarations and commitments to action to propel ECCE in all participating countries and evaluate the implementation. They discussed better solutions and more sustainable development for the early childhood care and education agenda on the African continent in the conference held under the auspices of UNESCO. Participating countries were also able to share experiences, strategise collectively in order to help the development and further enhancement of early childhood care and education in these countries and on the continent. An education consultant at IECD, Andre Leste, told reporters at the closing of the conference that a lot has come out of the meeting. «We have been able to summarise all the issues we are faced with in this framework for action,» he said. He added that the Institute of Early Childhood Development recognised as a world centre, «will have to analyse the countries' priorities and consult them individually to determine how it will support them.» Leste explained that IECD will also have the task of evaluating policies to determine how they can regulate early childhood learning in their countries. Its new role will also include determining what type of support IECD may provide «not just in terms of technical support, but to also hold visits, exchanges and share good practices.» The Institute will also be involved in determining the best assistance it can provide to the countries in the region to develop a framework for early childhood learning and an action plan. Leste explained that the steps being taken are also due to the fact that the member states are expected to identify critical areas. 

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.