In today's news roundup, Tunisia's president ends Parliament after it criticizes his actions, Russia demands payment for its natural gas in rubles, and a large Airbus airplane makes a 3-hour flight powered by cooking oil.
Published in “Africa”
For almost 17 months, Ethiopia has been fighting a brutal war with rebels from Tigray, the country’s most northern state. Now, the two sides have called a truce to get food and other supplies to millions of people in Tigray, who need it badly.
Over the last two days, much of Spain has been coated with dust, and the skies have turned bright orange. A huge cloud of dust from the Sahara Desert is causing the strange weather. The dust cloud is expected to spread to other parts of Europe.
As the world depends more and more on computers and smart phones, many countries are thinking about making a digital version of their currency. These "digital currencies" could offer many advantages, but they also have a number of downsides.
Africa's new basketball league, the Basketball Africa League, has begun its second season. After facing challenges during its first two years because of Covid-19, the 12-team league is planning on a full season this year, with finals to be held in May.
Last Wednesday, people representing 175 countries reached a historic agreement to tackle the problems of plastic. The deal will lead to a treaty that could help clean up plastic pollution around the world, and even put limits on new plastic in the future.
Every year, as many as 50,000 elephants in Africa are killed illegally for their ivory tusks. Now scientists have improved DNA methods that allow them to match up tusks, and help track down criminal gangs that are selling the ivory.
Cyclone Batsirai plowed into Madagascar on Saturday, with strong winds and heavy rains. The cyclone left a trail of destruction, and brought serious new problems to Madagascar, which is still struggling after being pounded by Tropical Storm Ana two weeks ago.
Over the last month, Africa's best national soccer (football) teams have met in the continent's biggest tournament, the Africa Cup of Nations. On Sunday, Senegal won the contest for the first time, defeating Egypt 4-2 on penalties.