Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, and Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Eng. Mahmoud Esmat. The Spokesman for the Presidency, Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy, said the President was briefed during the meeting on the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy’s plan to secure electricity supply for citizens during the upcoming summer months to cope with the rising consumption levels on the national electricity grid. The Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy indicated that an increase in demand on the national grid is expected, ranging between 6% to 7% during the coming summer months. Therefore, it…
Author: Montage Africa
By Alexis Caraco with AP Nepal marked Shivaratri on Sunday as crowds filled Kathmandu and queued for hours at Pashupatinath Temple. Tens of thousands came to pray, sing and dance in honour of Shiva. Although marijuana is banned most of the year, police allow limited use during the festival, reflecting Shiva’s long link to cannabis. Across the Bagmati river, ash-covered holy men and mostly young devotees smoked openly on nearby hills. Visitors also travelled from India to join the rituals. Nepal outlawed marijuana in 1976, after decades of legal sales, and recent efforts to decriminalise it remain stalled. For one…
By Rédaction Africanews and Agencies African Union leaders meeting at at a two-day summit in Addis Ababa have adopted a resolution that describes slavery, deportation and colonialism as genocide and crimes against the people of Africa. Chairman Mahmoud Ali Youssouf also called for an end to what he called the extermination of the Palestinian people. “The conference recognises colonisation as a crime against humanity. That’s very important. And the conference expresses its solidarity with Palestine and the Palestinian people.” Member states agreed to designate November 30 as the “African Day of Tribute to African Martyrs and Victims of the Transatlantic…
Each year, Ivrea becomes the stage for a ritualised street battle as the Battle of the Oranges takes over the town. Residents form foot teams, facing off against masked cart riders in a coordinated volley of citrus. The contest, both chaotic and carefully organised, anchors the Carnival of Ivrea and signals the start of its busiest days. The ritual retells the story of Violetta, the miller’s daughter who kills a tyrant and sparks a revolt. Today, the fruit stands in for stones and anger. The Carnival of Ivrea runs for three days ahead of Lent, combining noise, physical effort and…
In front of several hundred people, contestants in feathered costumes take turns screeching into a banana-shaped mic. Some come from nearby towns, others from much farther away. Everyone invents a character. This year’s shield went to Laurie Duhaudt, aka “Maître Mouette et Chandon”, dressed in pearls, heart-shaped sunglasses and full gull plumage. The jury, made up of past winners and carnival regulars, rewarded timing, tone and commitment. YouTuber Raphaël Carlier joined in too, while his partner David Coscas watched from the crowd. It is silly, noisy and oddly precise, and it now ranks among Dunkirk’s key carnival moments.
By Rédaction Africanews and Agencies Muslims across Egypt are preparing for the start of the holy month of Ramadan on Tuesday. But at the Sayyida Zeinab market in Cairo’s Old Islamic neighborhood, rising “Prices are definitely high and increase every year compared to the previous year, so demand is low,” says Cairo resident Hossam Mohamed Sobhi. “For example, a lantern that we used to buy last year for between 50-60 pounds ($1.1-1.3) costs now 150-200 pounds ($3.2-4.2) pounds, which is double.” Traders are doing what they can to provide for customers with different budgets, sayd vendor Mohamed El Sayyed: “Sales…
By Africanews with AFP Kenya said Tuesday its foreign minister would go to Moscow next month after condemning recruiters luring Kenyans to Russia with promises of lucrative jobs, only to end up fighting alongside its forces. Mounting reports in recent weeks indicate that Kenyans, deceived into travelling for high-paying work in Russia, are dying on the battlefield or suffering serious wounds. An AFP investigation published this week revealed the web of deception into which four men with no military background fell — forced to sign contracts with the Russian army and swiftly sent to the front lines in Ukraine. “We…
By Rédaction Africanews with agencies The foreign ministers of Senegal and Egypt met outside Cairo on Tuesday to discuss strengthening bilateral relations and enhancing political coordination between the two countries. Badr Abdelatty and his Senegalese counterpart, Cheikh Niang, also spoke about harmonising their positions on regional and international issues ahead of the upcoming African Union summit. This included the ongoing civil war in Sudan, with Abdelatty saying they spoke about the importance of preserving “the sovereignty, unity, and independence of Sudanese lands”. He went to say they rejected “any parallel entities or governments” and would not accept the “secession of…
By Rédaction Africanews with AP A shooting at a school in British Columbia left seven people dead, while two more were found dead at a nearby home, Canadian authorities said Tuesday. A woman who police believe to be the shooter also was killed. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said more than 25 people are injured, including two who were airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries, after the shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. School shootings are rare in Canada. The town of Tumbler Ridge in the Canadian Rockies is more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) north of Vancouver, near the…
By Rédaction Africanews The United States is set to deploy around 200 troops to Nigeria to assist in training the country’s military to combat Islamist militant groups, according to a U.S. official on Tuesday. This move comes weeks after President Donald Trump authorized airstrikes targeting what he described as Islamic State positions in the region. Last week, the U.S. military confirmed the presence of a small team in Nigeria, though it did not disclose the size of the deployment. The announcement represents the first official acknowledgment of American forces on the ground following Washington’s Christmas Day air raids. The additional…