The United States on Thursday warned Israel that staging a military push into the southern Gaza city of Rafah without proper planning would run the risk of becoming a "disaster." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he ordered troops to "prepare to operate" in Rafah, after rejecting what he labelled Hamas's "bizarre demands" in [...]
Civilians facing bombs, thousands forced to flee and lost children -- aid organisations have sounded the alarm over the impact of escalating violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where fresh fighting erupted on Thursday. Clashes between M23 rebels and pro-government forces that have gone on for more than two years have intensified in particular [...]
Large numbers of Russian forces are storming the frontline Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, its Ukrainian mayor said Thursday, escalating a months-long effort to capture the industrial hub. Moscow launched a costly bid in October to seize the town, which has been caught up in fighting since 2014, when it briefly fell to Moscow-backed separatists. "Unfortunately, [...]
Earth has endured 12 months of temperatures 1.5C hotter than the pre-industrial era for the first time on record, Europe's climate monitor said Thursday, in what scientists called a "warning to humanity". Storms, drought and fire have lashed the planet as climate change, supercharged by the naturally-occurring El Nino phenomenon, stoked record warming in 2023, [...]
The securities exchange sector in Seychelles is planning to gain recognition on a global scale. The managing director of MERJ CLEAR and MERJ DEP, Bobby Brantley, told SNA that this is part of MERJ Exchanges’ plan for the short and medium term, already planned since last quarter of 2023. The MERJ group of companies collectively operate a [...]
Seven swimmers from Seychelles are participating in the World Aquatics Championships 2024 in Doha, Qatar, the last Olympic Games qualifying event from February 2-18. Seychelles is being represented by Aaliyah Palestrini in the women's 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke, and Angelina Smythe in the women's 100m backstroke and 100m freestyle. Simon Bachmann will compete in the [...]
A first-ever facility for youth offenders in Seychelles opened on Monday on Praslin, the second most populated island. The facility, which is based at Amitié, was inaugurated by President Wavel Ramkalawan and Minister for Internal Affairs Roy Fonseka. The centre caters for young people aged 14 to 17 convicted by the court for criminal offences only. [...]
Seychelles and Malaysia are exploring potential areas to collaborate with the aim to achieve food sustainability in the western Indian Ocean island nation through the provision of technical help. The honorary consul of Malaysia, Kabilan Muniandy, led a delegation to Seychelles recently and met with high level officials in the agricultural sector. Among the areas [...]
Qatar said Tuesday that Hamas has delivered a "positive" response to a proposal to free hostages in return for pausing the Gaza war, which US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will take to Israel. "We have received a reply from Hamas with regards to the general framework of the agreement with regards to hostages. The [...]
In a small village in southern Madagascar, dozens of women shelter from the scorching sun under a tree as they wait to weigh their children. The Indian Ocean island nation has suffered poor rainfall since October and fears of worsening hunger loom as the El Nino climate pattern takes hold. The country is particularly exposed [...]
