RUSSIA
Niger wants nuclear deal
Niger wants to build two 2 gigawatt nuclear reactors in partnership with Russia’s state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom, Niger Minister of Mines Colonel Ousmane Abarchi said on Thursday. Abarchi said Niger was also proposing to cooperate with Russia in developing uranium reserves in the west African country. “Please, let’s develop our uranium deposits together,” he told a nuclear forum in Moscow, speaking via a translator. Rosatom director-general Alexei Likhachev described the proposals as “extremely interesting.” Niger is among a group of African countries with which Russia is cultivating close ties, including in the area of security. Niger was the eighth largest producer of mined uranium last year, the World Nuclear Association said. Abarchi said the proposed nuclear plants would be developed under the supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. “Yes, we have big ambitions, but this is very important for us. This is very important for the entire African continent,” he said. South Africa is the only country in Africa with an operational nuclear power plant, but reactors are under construction in Egypt.
Photo: Reuters
MADAGASCAR
Government imposes curfew
The government of the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar on Thursday imposed a nighttime curfew following protests, which saw police use rubber bullets and tear gas to quash demonstrations over ongoing water and power cuts. Hundreds of protesters took to the streets to voice their anger over persistent power cuts, which often leave homes and businesses without electricity for more than 12 hours. The protesters barricaded roads with burning tires and rocks. By Thursday afternoon there were reported incidents of looting at various retailers, appliance stores and banks across the capital. Several stations of the country’s new cable car system were also set on fire. Local media reported on Thursday that three homes of politicians known to be close to Madagascarn President Nirina Rajoelina were also attacked by protesters. Police Chief Angelo Ravelonarivo announced that a nighttime curfew from 7pm on Tuesday to 5am yesterday would be strictly imposed until calm was restored. Some protesters carried black flags featuring the One Piece skull logo — an emblem of antiregime protests in Nepal in recent weeks — this time topped with a traditional Malagasy hat.
UUITED KINGDOM
Digital ID plan announced
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday announced plans to introduce free digital identification (ID) for nationals and those residing in the country in a bid to curb illegal migration.
The government said the drive would also make it simpler to apply for services such as driving licenses, childcare and welfare, while streamlining access to tax records. The new digital ID would be held on people’s phones and there would be no requirement for people to carry their ID or be asked to produce it, the government said. However, it would be “mandatory as a means of proving your right to work,” a statement said. “This will stop those with no right to be here from being able to find work, curbing their prospect of earning money, one of the key ‘pull factors’ for people who come to the UK illegally,” it added. The UK has traditionally resisted the idea of identity cards, but more recent polling suggests support for the move.
A portion of a busy road in Thailand’s capital early yesterday caved in, leaving a hole dozens of meters deep in front of a main hospital and forcing people to evacuate the area. Just outside a local police station and Vajira Hospital in a residential district of Bangkok, a roughly 50m hole pulled down power lines and exposed a burst pipe gushing water. Dozens of police and city officials cordoned off the site, while a pickup truck teetered precariously on the edge of the hole. Bangkok Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Director Suriyachai Rawiwan said at the scene that the collapse was
The Netherlands yesterday pledged to return to Indonesia the remains of “Java Man,” the first-ever Homo erectus unearthed by modern scientists in a landmark discovery for human evolution. The Dutch plan to hand back about 28,000 fossils of the “Dubois Collection” taken by anatomist and geologist Eugene Dubois in 1891, when Indonesia was a colony of the Netherlands. They include Java Man’s skull cap, molar and femur that form part of evolutionary history — providing the first established link between apes and humans. Using convict labor to do the heavy lifting, Dubois excavated the remains in what became the most sensational ever find
An Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon killed five people on Sunday, including three children, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said. Two others were wounded, including the mother in the family. The Israeli military said it was targeting a Hezbollah militant, and that he “operated from within a civilian population.” It acknowledged that civilians were killed and that it was reviewing the incident. Israel frequently says it is targeting Hezbollah militants or infrastructure in the tiny country’s battered southern region. Hezbollah has only claimed firing across the border once since the ceasefire, but Israel says the militant group is trying
The US house committee on China has urged Washington to ensure funding for the Philippines to counter Beijing’s “aggressive and destabilizing actions” in the South China Sea, according to a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which warns cuts could threaten US security interests. In the letter seen by Reuters yesterday, the US House of Representatives’ Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sought clarity on funding for the Philippine Coast Guard, noting that the US Department of State had sought a dramatically reduced budget for next year for International Narcotics
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