Author: Amnewsworld

The US Defense Secretary said Chinese military activity around the self-governing island threatened to change the status quo. Lloyd Austin said Washington would continue to stand by Taiwan at an event in Singapore. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin criticized China on Saturday for a “more coercive and aggressive approach to its territorial claims.” Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia’s premier defense conference, Austin said there had been an “alarming” increase in the number of unsafe and unprofessional encounters between Chinese planes and vessels with those of other countries. “We’ve witnessed a steady increase in provocative and destabilizing military…

The Spinosaurus — or spine lizard — was larger than the infamous Tyrannosaurus rex. Few fossils of the mighty predatory remain, so this is a exciting find. With its massive size, unusual scales and fearsome crocodile-like skull, the Spinosaurus has long been a dinosaur fan favorite — its appearance is so distinct that it was portrayed as even larger and more powerful than the ferocious Tyrannosaurus rex in the movie Jurassic Park III. However, despite its popularity, scientists know little about the Spinosaurus. Its fossils have proven nearly impossible to find. To date, archaeologists have only uncovered seven such fossils —…

When Tobi Adepoju was attacked by fans of Shooting Stars after a football match, it wasn’t a first-time occurrence. Many Nigerian sports journalists often face harassment — or worse — from clubs and fans. When Shooting Stars Sports Club returns to Ibadan, Nigeria, for its home games this season, its fans will not be in attendance. It’s a punishment for Nigerian sports journalist, Tobi Adepoju, having been beaten up by a crowd of local fans after a recent draw against Remo Stars. For 12 years, freelance journalist Adepoju has been traveling across the country to provide media coverage of the Nigeria Professional Football…

Somalia has agreed to lift a ban on air freighting khat from Kenya that had been in place for more than two years, Kenya’s agriculture minister announced Friday. The announcement, which comes a day after Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta visited Mogadishu for the inauguration of Somalia’s new president Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, marks an easing of relations between the two countries, which were stormy under the previous president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmajo. In this tense context, Mogadishu had never lifted the ban on air transport of miraa -the other name for khat- from Kenya, which was imposed in March…

Rwanda’s ministry of Defence says DRC fired two rockets into the western part of its country, on Friday, causing no casualties but terrifying the population at the border. In its statement, the ministry says it is the third such attack since March. Tensions between the two central african countries have been on the rise as Kinshasa accuses its neighbor of backing M23 rebels sending this week, 500 soldiers in Eastern DRC, something Rwanda denies. DRC’s national army has been fighting against M23 insurgents, considered a terrorist group, in eastern Congo for a decade and violent clashes have been occurring since…

According to the May 2022 Hunger Hotspots report, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Yemen remain at ‘highest alert’ as hotspots with catastrophic conditions, and Afghanistan and Somalia are new entries to this worrisome class since the previous hotspots report in January 2022. These countries all have segments of the population facing IPC phase 5 ‘Catastrophe’ – or at risk of deterioration towards catastrophic conditions, with a total of 750,000 people already facing starvation and death in Ethiopia, Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia and Afghanistan. The conflict in Ukraine is compounding what is already a year of catastrophic hunger, unleashing a wave…

South Africa held a late training session on Tuesday in Delhi as they continued to prepare for the first Twenty 20 of the five-match series against hosts India. Captain Temba Bavuma is hoping to surprise the hosts with a series win and build some momentum ahead of the T20 World Cup scheduled for later this year. Bavuma’s side has been helped with some timely performances by key South African players in the recently concluded IPL (Indian Premier League), with the middle-order batter David Miller being the most impressive one. Others who impressed during the T20 extravaganza included fast bolwer Kagiso…

Whiles Central Africa Republic has taken a bold step to legalise digital currency (Bitcoin), Ethiopia’s central bank on Monday warned citizens not to engage in “illegal” transactions in digital currencies. The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) said digital currencies like crypto-currencies and bitcoins haven’t been recognized by the NBE as a transactional and payment method, state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC) reported. “Ethiopia’s national currency is the Ethiopian Birr, with any financial transaction in Ethiopia to be paid in Birrs, according to the law,” the NBE said in a statement. The central bank warned that digital currencies are being used to…

Conversations around mental health is no longer a taboo. Today, many celebrities around the world are normalizing the mental health topic through their various platforms. The likes of Tonto Dikeh (Nigerian actress), AKA (South African rapper), Mzvee (Ghanaian musician) are few of the hundreds African stars who have openly shared their struggles with mental health conditions in the past. In Ghana, the latest to join this evolution is alternative artist and singer Joy Adomaa Serwaa Agyemang, known in showbiz as Adomaa who nearly lost her life during her three-year struggle with depression. “… the darkest point during this period was…

Algeria suspended Wednesday a “treaty of friendship […] and cooperation” concluded in 2002 with Spain. It is at the end of a meeting of the Algerian High Security Council chaired by President Tebboune, that the announcement was made. Spain regretted Algiers’ decision, adding it “considers Algeria a friend” and remained open “to develop the special relationship of cooperation between the two countries”. The treaty provided for the strengthening of political dialogue between Spain and Algeria and the development of cooperation in fields like economy, & education. The move comes after Madrid altered its long-standing position on Western Sahara, a former Spanish…