Africa world

Erdoğan imposes three month state of emergency on 10 Turkish provinces affected by quake At least 3,549 have died in Turkey, while Syria toll stands at about 1,600; more than 24,000 people involved in search and rescue. Reuters reports that Turkish authorities say about 13.5 million people were affected by the quake. It says the impact has been felt in an area spanning roughly 450 km (280 miles) from Adana in the west to Diyarbakir in the east, and 300 km (185 miles) from Malatya in the north to Hatay in the south. Syrian authorities have reported deaths as far south as Hama, about 100 km (60 miles) from the epicentre of Monday’s early morning quake. Preisdent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday declared as a disaster zone the 10 provinces affected by the devastating earthquakes in south...

    Ethiopian Airlines has grounded all of its Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft as an extra safety precaution following the crash of one of its planes in which 157 people were killed, a spokesman said Monday, as Ethiopia marked a day of mourning and the plane's damaged black box of data was found. Although it wasn't yet known what caused the crash of the new plane in clear weather outside Addis Ababa on Sunday, the airline decided to ground its remaining four 737 Max 8s until further notice, spokesman Asrat Begashaw said. Ethiopian Airlines had been using five of the planes and awaiting delivery of 25 more. Some other airlines around the world were deciding to do the same. China's civilian aviation authority ordered all Chinese airlines to temporarily ground their Max 8s, and...

    The Duke of Sussex has spoken of his complete joy at seeing the work of The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust in Zambia, labelling it a global movement for good, led by the youth of today. Harry, who is in the southern African country on a two-day trip without the Duchess of Sussex, passed on greetings from Meghan, who is expecting their first child. He told members of the alumnae network of the Campaign for Female Education (Camfed): I know my wife, Meghan sends her very best wishes to you all. Harry also said he and the duchess had been inspired by their recent trip to Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand and Australia, saying: My wife and I met so many young people who were quite literally changing the lives of their communities with innovative, creative ideas and quality leadersh...

    The BBC has been accused of fake news after it tweeted an account of President Trump threatening war in Iran because a reporter misheard the word more. The BBC’s world news Twitter account informed its 24 million followers that the President had told the UN General Assembly that war will follow his decision to re-impose sanctions in the country. In fact, Pres Trump had said more will follow, with the member of staff behind the Twitter account being deluged with responses pointing out the error. The tweet was not deleted for around 20 hours, as the BBC used the hashtag ourbad to admit its mistake. It looks like we misheard the President, it told one tweeter. It was our bad and we've issued a clarification. The corporation came in for particular criticism for leavi...

    Kenya’s president has complained that no British prime minister has visited the east African country for 30 years, delivering a diplomatic rebuke to Theresa May in a press conference on the final day of her visit to the continent. Uhuru Kenyatta told May he was pleased she had found time to visit and went on to struggle to remember Boris Johnson’s surname at the culmination of a three-day trip aimed at boosting Britain’s trade and diplomatic presence in the country. The president began proceedings by saying he was glad May had honoured our invitation to come and see for yourself our country and continent that has changed in the last nearly four decades since a UK prime minister visited. The last British prime minister to visit Kenya was Margaret Thatcher in 1988. S...

    Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has died aged 80 after battling a short illness. Mr Annan, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for humanitarian work, died in hospital in Bern, Switzerland this morning with his wife and three children by his side. The family confirmed the tragic news on his Twitter account, writing: It is with immense sadness that the Annan family and the Kofi Annan Foundation announce that Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations and Nobel Peace Laureate, passed away peacefully on Saturday 18th August after a short illness, read a post on his Twitter account. His wife Nane and their children Ama, Kojo and Nine were by his side during his last days. Mr Annan was the first black African to take up the role of the world's top diplom...

    Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa looks on as he gives a media conference at the State House in Harare. We all knew what to expect claims from Mr Chamisa that the election had been stolen and he was determined to overturn the result. But Mr Mnangagwa and his party were in a strong position; the results had not come just from the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) which the MDC has been attacking for supposedly allowing malpractice, but the poll had been signed off by observers from the US, EU, the African Union, regional states and the Commonwealth. Then armed riot police, three carriers full, backed by a water cannon suddenly arrived outside the hotel where Mr Charisma was due to speak, the Bronte hotel, which also happened to be the place where many journali...

    Government-funded charity World Vision has denied allegations its staff sexually exploited Haiti earthquake survivors. Paid employees of the evangelical Christian charity were accused of forcing Haitians in 2010 to have sex or pay money for World Food Programme aid, according to a report in the Mail on Sunday. A statement from World Vision said the allegation misrepresents our actions and omits key findings from our investigations which we described publicly... several years ago. Evaluations carried out by World Vision highlighted a number of issues in government-run camps; of nepotism, sexual exploitation and inaccurate record-keeping. But the statement said: "World Vision's extensive investigations into these issues revealed that those involved in sexual exploit...

    Cape Town is on track to turn off the faucets earlier than anyone predicted. The coastal city, one of Africa's most popular tourist destinations, is grappling with the worst drought conditions it has faced in over a century. City dams are now 27.2% full. When they reach 13.5% capacity, the city says it will be forced to move to a bucket-brigade-style system of water distribution. Credit raters, politicians, and scientists are all voicing concern about what will happen if the city becomes the first global hub forced to shut off its taps. On Monday, Moody's Investors Service issued a report predicting that the impending move to ration water would deal a major blow to Cape Town's economy. Two of Cape Town’s main industries, tourism and agriculture, are likely to decli...