French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday backed a bid by the Marquesas Islands to gain UNESCO world heritage status. Macron, the first head of state to visit the remote archipelago in French Polynesia, was greeted by a traditional ceremony of 600 dancers and musicians from its six islands. He was the only person at the [...]
The Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius has seen a dramatic surge in Covid-19 infections over the past week, but almost all are symptom-free, officials said Monday. Mauritius recorded 1,067 new cases last week -- about a third of the 3,528 declared since the new coronavirus was first detected there in March 2020, according to [...]
The island nation is mourning the passing of a matriarch, pioneer, promoter and defender of its traditional dances. Marietta Matombe, affectionately known as Manta, passed away last Thursday at her home in the western district of Anse Boileau following a short illness. Aged 63, Manta was laid to rest on Tuesday. Madanm Kanmtole -- the [...]
A group of Seychellois military personnel has joined their counterparts in the Eastern African region for the 21st edition of the Cutlass Express, an annual United States-led multinational maritime exercise. Cutlass Express is a U.S. Naval Forces Africa-led, all-domain exercise in East African coastal regions and the West Indian Ocean. The exercise is linked to [...]
A moratorium on the construction of new tourism accommodations on La Digue, Seychelles' third-most populated island, will come into force August 1, said a top tourism official on Monday. The halt on construction of tourism establishments is part of recommendations made after a carrying capacity study was carried out for La Digue island from 2019 [...]
Somalia has delayed elections that were due to start on Sunday after months of political crisis in the deeply unstable Horn of Africa country, officials told AFP. Indirect parliamentary and presidential polls were due to open on July 25 with four days of voting for the upper house by state delegates. The election cycle was [...]
France's parliament voted to make vaccine passports a key part of daily life in the battle against Covid-19 on Sunday, after a compromise between lawmakers from the upper and lower houses. The breakthrough in talks came a day after France was again shaken by protests against the rules that saw over 160,000 rally and dozens [...]
An increase in the myna bird population in Praslin National Park represents a new threat to the population of the Seychelles' endemic black parrot, an officer from the Seychelles Islands Foundation warns. The myna bird increase in the park was observed by the Vallee de Mai research team, and consequently SIF decided to conduct a [...]
A project to tackle invasive plants threatening a coco de mer population on Silhouette island started last month by the Island Conservation Society in partnership with the Islands Development Company and Hilton Labriz Resort and Spa. Silhouette, which is Seychelles' third largest granitic island, is one of the richest biodiversity hotspots in the western Indian [...]
Hundreds of people gathered outside the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on Friday, hoping for a glimpse of an opening ceremony that will take place behind closed doors because of strict anti-coronavirus rules. Only a few hundred dignitaries and officials will be allowed into the 68,000-capacity venue to watch the opening extravaganza of the Games that [...]
