ዘመኑ ባፈራው የቴክኖሎጂ ግብአት በመጠቀም ለህብረተሰባችን ስራ ለሁሉም በሚል ግብ የተሻለ የስራ አማራጭ፣ ለተሻለ ኑሮ፣ ለተሻለ የገበያ ትስስር ፣ ለተቀናጀ የገበያ ተደራሽነት ገዥን ከደንበኛ የማስተሳሰሪያ የቴክኖሎጂ አማራጭ ይዘን መተናል በሁሉም የስራ መስክ በሁሉም የስራ እርከን ስራ ለሚገኙ ባለሙያዎች እና ድርጅቶች የስራ አጋጣሚን መፍጠር
ዘመኑ ባፈራው የቴክኖሎጂ ግብአት በመጠቀም ለህብረተሰባችን ስራ ለሁሉም በሚል ግብ የተሻለ የስራ አማራጭ፣ ለተሻለ ኑሮ፣ ለተሻለ የገበያ ትስስር ፣ ለተቀናጀ የገበያ ተደራሽነት ገዥን ከደንበኛ የማስተሳሰሪያ የቴክኖሎጂ አማራጭ ይዘን መተናል በሁሉም የስራ መስክ በሁሉም የስራ እርከን ስራ ለሚገኙ ባለሙያዎች እና ድርጅቶች የስራ አጋጣሚን መፍጠር
ዘመኑ ባፈራው የቴክኖሎጂ ግብአት በመጠቀም ለህብረተሰባችን ስራ ለሁሉም በሚል ግብ የተሻለ የስራ አማራጭ፣ ለተሻለ ኑሮ፣ ለተሻለ የገበያ ትስስር ፣ ለተቀናጀ የገበያ ተደራሽነት ገዥን ከደንበኛ የማስተሳሰሪያ የቴክኖሎጂ አማራጭ ይዘን መተናል በሁሉም የስራ መስክ በሁሉም የስራ እርከን ስራ ለሚገኙ ባለሙያዎች እና ድርጅቶች የስራ አጋጣሚን መፍጠር
.jpg)
ዘመኑ ባፈራው የቴክኖሎጂ ግብአት በመጠቀም ለህብረተሰባችን ስራ ለሁሉም በሚል ግብ የተሻለ የስራ አማራጭ፣ ለተሻለ ኑሮ፣ ለተሻለ የገበያ ትስስር ፣ ለተቀናጀ የገበያ ተደራሽነት ገዥን ከደንበኛ የማስተሳሰሪያ የቴክኖሎጂ አማራጭ ይዘን መተናል በሁሉም የስራ መስክ በሁሉም የስራ እርከን ስራ ለሚገኙ ባለሙያዎች እና ድርጅቶች የስራ አጋጣሚን መፍጠር
E-Commerce
Hotel Booking
Rent
Item Tenders
Service Tenders
Bids
Job Vaccancy
Freelancing Job
Service Booking
Entertailment
Search
A mother and her three daughters were among seven people killed in Ukraine's western city of Lviv, during a fresh wave of Russian attacks. A baby and another girl were also killed, officials said.
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy said Russia had attacked with drones and hypersonic missiles early on Wednesday.
The attack came as Ukraine reeled from Russia's deadliest single bombardment this year - a strike on a military institute in the central city of Poltava that left 53 people dead.
Explosions were also heard on Wednesday over the capital Kyiv as air defences targeted Russian missiles. Five people were wounded in Kryvyy Rih when a hotel was hit and nearby blocks of damaged.The attack on Lviv in the far west of Ukraine came as all of Ukraine was under air raid alert. Witnesses said the city was targeted at about 05:40 (02:40 GMT).
Russia's defence ministry said it had fired Kinzhal hypersonic weapons at Ukrainian defence industry facilities in Lviv and that all designated targets had been hit.
However, Mr Sadovy said Russia's attack had damaged more than 50 buildings in the historic heart of Lviv, including homes, schools and clinics.
He posted a picture on social media of a local family, saying that only the father had survived. His wife, Yevgenia, and their three daughters - Darina, Emilia and 21-year-old Yaryna - all died in their own home, he said.The Ukrainian air force said Russia had fired 13 missiles and 29 attack drones and that seven cruise missiles and 22 drones were shot down.
Mr Sadovy said some buildings were struck near the railway station and Lviv regional administration head Maksym Kozytskyi said residential buildings had been damaged in the attack.
Lviv has largely been spared the worst of the fighting over the two and a half years of war, but last week, Russian strikes targeted its energy infrastructure causing outages, according to officials.
President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his calls for Ukraine's Western allies to all their long-range weapons to be fired further into Russia.
In Poltava, rescue workers continued to search through the rubble of the military communications institute for survivors of the attack.
Mykyta Petrov, a 26-year-old cadet who only started there two weeks ago, said two missiles hit shortly after 09:00 (06:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the second detonating just three seconds after the first.
“I ran outside, there was smoke and dust everywhere…lots of people were outside having a cigarette, and many were killed."
The cadet said there was “too much blood, too many dead bodies", and what he had seen had affected him psychologically.
An air raid siren had gone off two minutes earlier, but had not given people enough time to reach bomb shelters."You just imagine you're on the sixth floor of some building and you need to run away downstairs. Is it realistic that you can do this in two minutes?" Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko told the BBC.
President Volodymyr Zelensky promised that what he called "Russian scum" would pay for the attack, and repeated calls for more air defences so Ukraine could protect itself by carrying out its own long-range missile attacks.
In a statement confirming the deaths of military personnel, Ukraine's land forces said an investigation was under way to establish whether enough was done to protect those in the facility the missile hit.Poltava regional governor Philip Pronin called the attack a "cunning and cynical Russian strike," and later said 15 people were still thought to be trapped under the rubble.
Mr Zelensky ws due to meet the Irish premier on Wednesday as Ireland prepares to announce new funding for Ukraine's war effort.
The Taoiseach will also announce €43m (£36 million) in aid to Ukraine.
The Irish Government said the package will provide essential humanitarian assistance, support rehabilitation and eventual reconstruction, and contribute to Ukraine's longer-term goals.
Telegram has apologised to South Korean authorities for its handling of deepfake pornographic material shared via its messaging app, amid a digital sex crime epidemic in the country.
It comes days after South Korean police said they had launched an investigation into Telegram, accusing it of "abetting" the distribution of such images.
In recent weeks, a large number of Telegram chatrooms - many of them run by teenagers - were found to have been creating sexually explicit "deepfakes" using doctored photographs of young women.
Authorities say Telegram has since removed such videos from its platform.In a statement to South Korea's Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), Telegram said the situation was "unfortunate", adding that it "apologised if there had been an element of misunderstanding".
It also confirmed that it had taken down 25 such videos as requested by KCSC.
In its latest statement to KCSC, Telegram also proposed an email address dedicated to future communication with the regulator.
KCSC described the company's approach as "very forward-looking" and said Telegram has "acknowledged the seriousness" of the situation.
Deepfakes are generated using artificial intelligence, and often combine the face of a real person with a fake body.
The recent deepfake crisis has been met with outrage in South Korea, after journalists discovered police were investigating deepfake porn rings at two of the country's major universities.
It later emerged that police received 118 reports of such videos in the last five days. Seven suspects, six of whom are teenagers, have been questioned by the police in the past week.
The chat groups were linked to individual schools and universities across the country. Many of their victims were students and teachers known to the perpetrators.
In South Korea, those found guilty of creating sexually explicit deepfakes can be jailed for up to five years and fined up to 50 million won ($37,500; £28,300).
These discoveries in South Korea follow the arrest of the Russian-born founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, in France, on allegations that child pornography, drug trafficking and fraud were taking place on the messaging app.
Mr Durov has since been charged.
Last Tuesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol had instructed authorities to "thoroughly investigate and address these digital sex crimes to eradicate them".
Women's rights activists have accused South Korean authorities of allowing sexual abuse to take place on Telegram.
In 2019, it was discovered that a sex ring had used the app to blackmail dozens of women and children to film pornographic content. The ring leader Cho Ju-bin, who was then 20, was sentenced to 42 years in jail.
The European Union's naval mission in the Red Sea says private companies have called off attempts to salvage a burning oil tanker because the situation is unsafe.
The Greek-owned and flagged MV Sounion, carrying about a million barrels of crude, was abandoned by its crew after it was hit by projectiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi movement on 21 August. Fighters later detonated explosives onboard, sparking several fires.
Last Wednesday, the Houthis said they had agreed to allow the tanker to be towed away to avert an unprecedented environmental disaster.
The EU mission, which was providing security to the tugs involved in the salvage operation, said “alternative solutions" were being explored.On Monday, the mission reported that fires continued to burn on the tanker’s main deck. “The vessel remains anchored without drifting, and there are no visible signs of an oil spill,” it said.
The United States has warned that a spill from the Sounion could be almost four times as large as the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989. That incident saw 2,100km (1,300 miles) of coastline contaminated after a tanker ran aground off Alaska.
The Iran-backed Houthis have repeatedly targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November.
They say they are acting in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They have claimed - often falsely - that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US or the UK.
They have not been deterred by the deployment of Western warships to protect merchant vessels or by US and British air strikes on territory they control in north-western Yemen. Israel also bombed Hudaydah’s port in July in retaliation for a deadly drone strike on Tel Aviv.The Houthis attacked the Sounion two weeks ago with gunfire from small boats, before hitting it with three unidentified projectiles, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said at the time. Its 25 crew members were rescued by a European warship.
The tanker was later attacked again, with footage released by the group last Thursday showing Houthi fighters boarding the ship and detonating at least six bombs simultaneously.
The leader of the Houthis called the attack “brave and bold” in a recent address.
The Houthis have continued to attack oil tankers in the Red Sea in recent days.
On Monday, the US military’s Central Command said the Panama-owned and flagged MV Blue Lagoon I and the Saudi-owned and flagged MV Amjad were hit by two ballistic missiles and a one-way attack drone.
The Amjad is carrying approximately two million barrels of oil – almost twice the amount on the Sounion.
“These reckless acts of terrorism by the Houthis continue to destabilize regional and global commerce, as well as put the lives of civilian mariners and maritime ecosystems at risk,” Central Command said.
The wreck of the Titanic is showing clear signs of decay on the sea floor at its resting place miles below the surface. What will its final fate be?
The RMS Titanic has spent more than 112 years in the crushing, total darkness of the deep ocean. When it sank on a cold, moonless night in April 1912, the 883ft (269m) long vessel broke apart, sending a rain of debris cascading down nearly 12,500ft (3.8km) to the silty ocean floor. The ship took more than 1,500 passengers and crew with it to their deaths.
Apart from the occasional visit from deep-sea submersibles and salvage missions bringing small artefacts to the surface, the wreckage has remained undisturbed as it has undergone the slow, steady process of decay.
Images from a recent expedition to the Titanic's wreck nearly 400 miles (640km) south-east of the Newfoundland coast have revealed the effects of this deterioration. Images of the Titanic's bow, with its distinctive railings, looming out of the darkness have become iconic since the discovery of the wreck in 1985. But in 2022, scans of the wreck showed the railing was starting to buckle and in the most recent visit to the wreck in 2024, a significant section has fallen now away. (Read more about the images captured during the latest expedition in this report by Rebecca Morelle and Alison Francis.)
It is a very visual indication of how the extreme environment in the ocean depths is breaking apart what remains of the world's most famous ship. The pressure of the ocean above it, water currents on the sea floor and iron-eating bacteria are causing the structure to collapse. And as it does so, the vessel is having a surprising impact on the ocean habitat around it.Under pressure
As it sank, the Titanic split into two main sections – the bow and the stern, which came to rest nearly 2,000ft (600m) apart on the sea floor. The stern section sunk directly to the bottom, while the bow sank more gradually.
Stretching more than 1.3 miles (2km) from behind the stern to the beyond the bow is a scattering of belongings, fittings, fixtures, coal and ship parts that fell away as the Titanic sank. Most of the debris is found clustered around the stern section, which is a twisted tangle of steel, while the bow has remained largely intact. This is because when the vessel hit the iceberg, the impact tore apart a riveted section of the hull, allowing an estimated 43,000 tonnes of water to flood into the bow. When the stern section broke away, it still had compartments filled with air. As it spun towards the sea floor, the rapidly increasing water pressure caused the structure around these air pockets to implode, scattering metal, statues, champagne bottles and passengers' possessions as it did so.
On the sea bed, the Titanic endures water pressures of around 40MPa, which are 390 times greater than those on the surface. But as there are no air pockets left in the vessel, further catastrophic implosions are unlikely.
Instead, the weight of the vast ship itself is now playing a part in its demise. As the 52,000 tonnes of steel settle into the ocean floor, it is creating twisting force across the steel hull that is pulling the ship apart. Large cracks and fissures have been seen appearing in the steel plates of the hull by successive submersible missions, and the decking areas have been collapsing inwards."The iconic silhouette of the wreck will gradually change year by year – and not in its favour," says Gerhard Seiffert, a deep-water marine archaeologist who in 2022 led an expedition to capture high-resolution scans of Titanic wreckage with the deep sea mapping company Magellan. "The drop of the railing segment, which was still in place in 2022 when I was on the wreck with Magellan, or the collapse of the ceiling in the captain's bathroom years before may serve as examples," he says.
Corrosion, Seiffert says, is gradually weakening the structure of the ship as steel plates, beams and other load-bearing elements become thinner.
Devoured by bacteria
Like any iron or steel structure, the Titanic is rusting. But under 2.4 miles (3.8km) of seawater, the processes involved are different from those on land where oxygen and water trigger a chemical reaction to produce iron oxide. On the Titanic, much of the corrosion is being caused instead by bacteria.
The wreck is covered in a biofilm – a living blanket of bacteria, marine fungi and other microbes – which is feeding on the wreck itself. Initially the organic materials such as upholstery, pillows, towels and furniture provided a rich supply of nutrients for microbes drifting past in the ocean depths, causing them to settle.Over time, other more extreme microbes have also taken hold, perhaps seeded from beneath the sea floor when the wreck ploughed into it, or drifting from distant hydrothermal vents on the mid-Atlantic ridge.
More like this:
• Rarely seen Titanic artefacts kept in secret warehouse
• Why the waters around the Titanic are still treacherous
• Scans of Titanic reveal wreck as never seen before
Assorted bacteria that oxidise the iron in the ship, along with others that produce acid, are eating into the metal surfaces. Other microbes that consume the rust these others produce have also been found flourishing on the wreck.
Visitors to the wreck have noticed it has become covered in "rusticles" – icicle-like formations hanging off the structure formed of oxidised metal. Living within these formations is a collection of collaborating and competing micro-organisms. When scientists broke off one of these rusticles in 1991 during the Akademic Mstislav Keldysh expedition to the wreckage, they were able to return it to the surface in a sealed container.Among the microbes the researchers discovered was a species of bacteria that was entirely new to science when it was discovered on the wreck. Halomonas titanicae, as the bacteria was later named, carries genes that allow it to break down iron.
Sulphur-reducing bacteria have also infiltrated areas that are devoid of oxygen, such as microscopic crevices created as the structure buckles. These produce sulphur, which is converted to sulfuric acid in seawater and then corrodes the metal of the ship, causing it to release its iron for other microbes to consume.
Scientists believe that that the stern of the ship accumulated a greater level of damage as the ship fell, causing it to deteriorate 40 years faster than the bow section.
"This is why the Titanic's bow is decaying from the aft end more, where the ship broke apart, and why the decay is progressing forward towards the prow or front region, which is relatively more intact," explains Anthony El-Khouri, a microbiologist at the Eastern Florida State College who has been working with the Canadian film director and deep-ocean explorer James Cameron to understand how microbes are contributing the decay of the Titanic.
"The stern section appears to be melting into the seafloor since it is globally damaged, except the reciprocating engines, fantail, rudder, and propellors, which are more intact and resilient, therefore remaining somewhat recognisable," says El-Khouri.Titanic's wreck behaves essentially like a great iron oasis on the seafloor – Anthony El-Khouri
One strange feature discovered inside the Titanic's Turkish Baths by Cameron during his 2005 expedition to the wreck are the formation of elaborate but delicate tendrils of rust that the director named "rustflowers". Using a remotely operated vehicle, he discovered the teak and mahogany woodwork in the spa had been unusually preserved because the baths were deep inside the ship and so were devoid of oxygen. This anoxic environment prevented bacteria and other microbes that might degrade the wood from living there.
But instead, the baths were covered in strange, branching growths of rust rising up to 1.5m (5ft) from the floor of the baths. Curiously, these "rustflowers" seemed to point in the same direction – following geomagnetic lines. El-Khouri, Cameron and their colleagues have found clues that suggest they are formed by colonies of rust-producing bacteria and "magnetotactic" bacteria living on the wreck. These unusual microbes contain nanocrystals of iron that allow them to align with magnetic fields. As these colonies of bacteria munch through the Titanic's steel, they leave behind trails of rust that "bloom" vertically along the Earth's magnetic field lines, says El-Khouri.
An enormous iron meal
The vast amount of iron-rich metal that the Titanic introduced to the sea floor has created an unusual ecosystem around it. As it corrodes, iron particles dissolve into the surrounding water, enriching it with a scarce, but vital nutrient in the deep ocean.
"Although iron is the most common element on Earth overall, solubilised iron is the scarcest nutrient in the ocean, which limits the success of any marine ecosystem," says El-Khouri. Volcanic hydrothermal vents are often a key source of iron in the deep ocean, and can help to support a wide variety of life, where bacteria play an important role in making the iron available to other creatures nearby."Titanic's wreck behaves essentially like a great iron oasis on the seafloor, a 46,000-tonne extrusion of iron in the shape of a former luxury liner," says El-Khouri. "This oasis provides a coveted nutrient, facilitating a vibrant deep ocean reef inhabited by starfish, anemones, glass sponges, benthic corals and sea cucumbers. And of course, iron bacterial colonies," he says.
El-Khouri and his colleagues found that these iron-related bacteria are not only eating the iron on the Titanic, but "are also capable of breathing it" instead of oxygen. "It's a remarkable ecosystem far removed from the Sun, with implications on the sort of extremophiles we might discover inside Europa and other cosmic oceans beyond Earth someday," he says. (Read more about why Nasa is exploring the deepest oceans on Earth.)
The Titanic's iron is also having an effect on the sea floor too. Rust flows are spreading out from the wreck at a rate of around 4in (10cm) per year and extend up to 6in (15cm) into the sediment. These flows of iron are particularly concentrated around the hull of the stern.
In total, scientists estimate that the Titanic is losing around 0.13 to 0.2 tonnes of iron from its rusticle formations every day. This has led some to estimate that the iron in the ships bow could totally dissolve in 280-420 years.Currents on the sea floor
But other factors could speed up the destruction of the wreck. Just as strong surface currents can carry boats and swimmers off course, the deep ocean is also scoured by underwater currents. Although not as powerful as those on the surface, deep ocean currents involve large amounts of water. They can be driven by winds at the surface affecting the water column below, deep water tides or differences in the water density caused by temperature and salinity, known as thermohaline currents. Rare events known as benthic storms – which are usually related to eddies on the surface – can also cause powerful, sporadic currents that can sweep away material on the seabed.
Research on the sediment patterns on the seabed around the Titanic, along with the movement of squid around the wreck, have provided insights into how the vessel is being buffeted by undersea currents.
Part of the Titanic wreck is known to lie close to a section of seabed affected by a stream of cold, southward-flowing water known as the Western Boundary Undercurrent. The flow of this "bottom current" creates migrating dunes, ripples and ribbon-shaped patterns in the sediment and mud. Most of the formations they have observed on the seabed are associated with relatively weak to moderate currents.
Sand ripples along the eastern edge of the Titanic debris field also indicate there is a westerly bottom-flowing current, while within the main wreckage site, scientists say the currents trend from north-west to south-west, perhaps due to the larger pieces of the wreck altering their direction.
Around to the south of the bow section, the currents seem particularly changeable, ranging from north-east to north-west to south-west.Although none of these currents are considered to be particularly strong, they can still create disturbances that will cause the wreck to break apart as it weakens.
"Even currents generated by submersibles can cause weak structures to collapse," says Seiffert. "Although they may [also] remove some of the rusticles, which will delay corrosion at such areas," he says.
There is also a chance that the winnowing of these currents will eventually bury the Titanic wreckage in sediment before it has a chance to disintegrate completely.
But before then some of the more iconic sections of the wreck could disappear, much like the recent collapse of the instantly recognisable bow rail, which Cameron had his characters Jack and Rose stand behind in a famous scene in his 1997 film about the Titanic."I estimate that the more iconic regions of the wreck, such as its superstructure – Grand Staircase foyer, Marconi Room, Officer's Quarters – will disappear around the year 2100, making submersible landings aboard Titanic more challenging," says El-Khouri. "Thinner steel vanishes early, such as railings and deck houses on the boat deck. But even at this rate of decay, the wreck will require several centuries to fully disappear."
Large pieces of steel buried in the sediment, and so protected from the worst ravages of the metal-munching microbes could last longer – perhaps several hundred years, estimates El-Khouri.
But the ultimate fate awaiting the world's most famous shipwreck? An iron oxide smudge on the sea floor, studded with tiles, toilets and brass fittings.
"Porcelain objects, such as the vibrant tiles in the Turkish Baths, which are composed of fired silica, will endure almost forever," says El-Khouri.
It will be a rather humble monument to one of the most tragic examples of hubris and human fallibility. But then, perhaps, it's also a poignantly quiet end to a vessel that has been blighted with so much heartache.
The third Global AI Summit, organised by the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), will be held in Riyadh from September 10 to 12. This is reported by Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The main theme of the summit is human-AI interaction. It will discuss how AI can help humans, influence decision-making, and improve lives.
The summit will look at how AI can be used in various fields such as healthcare, finance, and education, how AI can help in decision-making and data analysis, and how it can influence social life and culture.
The summit will provide a platform to exchange ideas, learn about new developments in AI, and discuss the future of human-AI interaction.
The source claims that it also emphasises Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a leader in AI and is in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals for advanced technology.
In his keynote address at the the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Summit of The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, President of People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping stated that over the past 24 year, China has advanced forward hand in hand with its African brothers and sisters in the spirit of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith.
“Thanks to nearly 70 years of tireless efforts from both sides, the China-Africa relationship is now at its best in history,” President Xi Jinping underscored.
“I propose that bilateral relations between China and all African countries having diplomatic ties with China be elevated to the level of strategic relations, and that the overall characterization of China-Africa relations be elevated to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era,” he pointed out.
“Modernization is an inalienable right of all countries. But the Western approach to it has inflicted immense sufferings on developing countries. Since the end of World War II, Third World nations, represented by China and Africa countries, have achieved independence and development one after another, and have been endeavoring to redress the historical injustices of the modernization process.”
“As we are about to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, we are going all out to build a great modern socialist country in all respects and pursue national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernization. Africa is also awakening again, and the continent is marching in solid strides toward the modernization goals set forth in the AU’s Agenda 2063. China and Africa’s joint pursuit of modernization will set off a wave of modernization in the Global South, and open a new chapter in our drive for a community with a shared future for mankind,” the President said.
We should jointly advance modernization that is just and equitable. In promoting modernization, we should not only follow the general rules, but also act in light of our national realities. China is ready to increase exchanges of governance experience with Africa, support all countries in exploring modernization paths befitting their national conditions, and help ensure equal rights and equal opportunities for all countries.
China is ready to deepen cooperation with Africa in industry, agriculture, infrastructure, trade and investment, promote exemplary, high-quality Belt and Road cooperation projects, and build together a model for the delivery of the Global Development Initiative.
The President reaffirmed China’s commitment to enhance people-to-people and cultural exchanges with Africa, champion mutual respect, inclusiveness and coexistence of different civilizations on our way to modernization, and strive together for more fruitful outcomes under the Global Civilization Initiative.”
“We should jointly advance modernization that is eco-friendly. Green development is a hallmark of modernization in the new era. China is ready to help Africa build “green growth engines,” narrow the gap in energy accessibility, adhere to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and jointly push for the global transition to green and low-carbon development, the President noted.”
He said China is ready to help Africa improve its capacity in safeguarding peace and stability independently, prioritize Africa in implementing the Global Security Initiative (GSI), promote mutual reinforcement of high-quality development and greater security, and work together with Africa to uphold world peace and stability, the President underscored.
In the next three years, China will work with Africa to build a platform for governance experience sharing, a China-Africa knowledge network for development, and 25 centers on China and Africa studies. We will make better use of Africa’s leadership academies to cultivate talents for governance, and invite 1,000 members of African political parties to China to deepen exchanges of experience in party and state governance, he said.
The President said that China has decided to give all LDCs having diplomatic relations with China, including 33 countries in Africa, zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines. This has made China the first major developing country and the first major economy to take such a step. It will help turn China’s big market into Africa’s big opportunity.
China will expand market access for African agricultural products, deepen cooperation with Africa in e-commerce and other areas, and launch a “China-Africa quality enhancement program.” We are prepared to enter into framework agreements on economic partnership for shared development with African countries to provide long-term, stable and predictable institutional guarantee for trade and investment between the two sides.
China will foster industry cooperation growth clusters with Africa, push forward the Pilot Zone for In-depth China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation, and launch an “African SMEs empowerment program.” We will build with Africa a digital technology cooperation center and initiate 20 digital demonstration projects so as to embrace together the latest round of technological revolution and industrial transformation.
China is prepared to carry out 30 infrastructure connectivity projects in Africa, promote together high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and put in place a China-Africa network featuring land-sea links and coordinated development.
China is ready to release the Joint Statement on Deepening Cooperation within the Framework of the Global Development Initiative with Africa, and implement 1,000 “small and beautiful” livelihood projects. We will replenish the China-World Bank Group Partnership Facility to boost Africa’s development.
China is ready to establish with Africa a hospitals alliance and joint medical centers. We will send 2,000 medical personnel to Africa, and launch 20 programs of health facilities and malaria treatment.
China will provide Africa with RMB1 billion yuan in emergency food assistance, build 100,000 mu (about 6,670 hectares) of standardized agriculture demonstration areas in Africa, send 500 agricultural experts, and establish a China-Africa agricultural science and technology innovation alliance. We will implement 500 programs in Africa to promote community welfare.
China will implement with Africa more solidly the Future of Africa—Vocational Education Cooperation Plan, establish together an engineering technology academy, and build ten Luban Workshops. We will provide 60,000 training opportunities to Africa, mainly for women and youths.
China is ready to launch 30 clean energy projects in Africa, put in place meteorological early warning systems, and carry out cooperation in disaster prevention, mitigation and relief as well as biodiversity conservation.
China will give Africa RMB1 billion yuan of grants in military assistance, provide training for 6,000 military personnel and 1,000 police and law enforcement officers from Africa, and invite 500 young African military officers to visit China, the President said.
French President Emmanuel Macron has named Michel Barnier as prime minister almost two months after France's snap elections ended in political deadlock.
Mr Barnier, 73, is the EU's former chief Brexit negotiator and led talks with the UK government between 2016 and 2019.
A veteran of the right-wing Republicans (LR) party, he has had a long political career and filled various senior posts, both in France and within the EU.
He will now have to form a government that will need to survive a National Assembly divided into three big political blocs, with none able to form a clear majority.Three years ago Mr Barnier said he wanted to take on President Macron for the French presidency, saying he wanted to limit and take control of immigration. He eventually failed to be the selected as a candidate by his party.
Known in France as Monsieur Brexit, Mr Barnier will be France's oldest prime minister since the Fifth Republic came into being in 1958.
He is set to succeed Gabriel Attal, France's youngest ever prime minister, who President Macron first appointed prime minister in early 2024 and who has stayed in post as caretaker since July.
It has taken President Macron 60 days to make up his mind on choosing a prime minister, having called a "political truce" during the Paris Olympics.
In the past few days he has interviewed several potential candidates for the job, but his task was complicated by the need to come up with a name who would not lose a vote of confidence on their first appearance in the National Assembly.
The Elysée Palace said Mr Barnier's appointment had come after an unprecedented period of consultation, and that Mr Macron had ensured that the prime minister and future government would offer the greatest possible stability and the broadest possible unity.
Mr Barnier had been given the task of forming a unifying government "in the service of the country and the French people", the presidency stressed.
However, Mr Macron's choice of prime minister has already caused discontent within the the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP), which won the most seats in the July snap election.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of the radical France Unbowed (LFI) - the biggest of the four parties that make up NFP, reacted angrily. The election had been "stolen from the French people", he claimed.
Instead of coming from the the alliance that came first on 7 July, he complained that the prime minister would be "a member of a party that came last at the elections.""This is now essentially a Macron-Le Pen government," said Mr Mélenchon, referring to the leader of the far-right National Rally (RN).
He then called for people to join a left-wing protest against Mr Macron's decision planned for Saturday.
Jordan Bardella, the young president of the RN was more measured in his response. Writing on X, he said his party's prime demand was respecting 11 million RN voters.
He made clear that Mr Barnier would be judged on his words, his actions and his decisions on France's next budget, which has to be put before parliament by 1 October.
He cited the cost of living, security and immigration as major emergencies for the French people, adding that "we hold all means of political action in reserve if this is not the case in the coming weeks".
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
Indecent assault charges in the UK against disgraced former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein have been discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
The CPS said it had made the decision after reviewing the evidence in the case and concluding "there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction".
Weinstein, 72, was charged in 2022 with two counts of indecent assault against a woman in London for alleged offences in 1996.
The alleged victim is a woman who is now in her 50s, the Metropolitan Police said at the time.
Timeline: How the Harvey Weinstein scandal unfolded
How a Hollywood giant faced his reckoning
Frank Ferguson, head of the special crime and counter-terrorism division at the CPS, said it had a duty to continuously review criminal cases and had "explained our decision to all parties".
“We would always encourage any potential victims of sexual assault to come forward and report to police and we will prosecute wherever our legal test is met.”
Weinstein is serving a prison sentence in the US following a sexual assault conviction in Los Angeles in 2020.
He is being held in New York City's notorious Rikers Island jail pending a retrial in Manhattan after a separate conviction for rape was overturned earlier this year in a majority decision by the Court of Appeal in New York.
Weinstein was treated for pneumonia in both his lungs, and Covid-19 in July.
More than 100 people have made rape and misconduct allegations about Weinstein dating back to the late 1970s.
The decision by his accusers to come forward, and his subsequent conviction in New York, galvanised the #MeToo movement against sexual abuse by powerful men.
Weinstein has always maintained his innocence and argued he was the victim of a "set-up".
He co-founded the Miramax film studio, which produced hits including Shakespeare in Love - which won best picture at the Academy Awards - and Pulp Fiction.
His films have received more than 300 Oscar nominations and 81 statuettes.
In 2020 he was stripped of his honorary CBE, which had been awarded for his contribution to the British film industry
