Hashim worries about the degradation of the juniper forest, which has been badly impacted by natural calamities and the actions of locals. Although the government declared the Ziarat juniper forest a national park in 2017, its management plan is still unclear. As a result, the juniper trees now get less water and this is impacting their health negatively. For example, the parasitic disease Dwarf Mistletoe recently infected the juniper trees on a large scale. Dieback and fungal diseases have also had adverse effects on the health and productivity of juniper trees.

North Dakota Fightin’ Hawks (8-6, 0-1 Summit League) at South Dakota State Jackrabbits (6-7)Brookings, South Dakota; Sunday, 3 p.m. ESTFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Jackrabbits -11.5; over/under is 146.5BOTTOM LINE: B.J. Omot and the North Dakota Fightin’ Hawks visit Zeke Mayo and the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in Summit League play Sunday. South Dakota State is fourth in the Summit League scoring 74.7 points while shooting 45.4% from the field. South Dakota State scores 74.7 points, 5.2 more per game than the 69.5 North Dakota gives up. North Dakota has shot at a 43.6% rate from the field this season, 2.3 percentage points greater than the 41.3% shooting opponents of South Dakota State have averaged.

Protesters in Ouagadougou had repeatedly claimed French troops were ineffective in fighting the rebels and called for their departure before the official ultimatum came. More than 6,000 come from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso alone. “The organization is failing to achieve its objectives,” Niger and Burkina Faso said in a statement. Meanwhile, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali signed a mutual defence pact to create the Association of Sahel States, to assist one another against external threats. On December 22, the Nigerien army took control of French military bases in the country, as the last of France’s forces took their leave.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Congo have sealed a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement that is expected to reduce or eliminate tariffs, remove unnecessary trade barriers, and improve market access. Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Trade announced the deal on X, former Twitter. “The breadth of the UAE’s trade network continues to broaden as we conclude negotiations toward a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the Republic of Congo-Brazzaville – a thriving economy in Central Africa and valued trade and investment partner,” the official indicated. He signed the agreement with Congo’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Jean-Baptiste Ondaye. “I have no doubt that the strategic partnership agreement with the United Arab Emirates that we have just concluded will greatly contribute to the financing of structuring projects in Congo,” he noted.

ShareSamson Olatunde, the founder of Knowledge Digest Africa (KDA), has emphasized the importance of African business owners embracing technology to enhance their enterprises. During a speech in Lagos after receiving the BusinessDay top 100 Performing SMEs 2023 award, Olatunde stressed the need for African businessmen to take greater advantage of technology for business expansion and growth. He emphasized that the Knowledge Sharing and Development Africa (KDA) platform is at the forefront of diverse knowledge exchange and learning in Africa. The ultimate goal is to empower them to create intergenerational wealth and maintain long-lasting relevance,” emphasized Olatunde. Having accumulated 15 years of experience in the tech industry, Olatunde initiated Knowledge Digest Africa (KDA) to bridge the existing gap between digital information and businesses spanning the African continent.

The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was deployed to Mali in 2013 following a violent insurrection by separatist rebels attempting to take control of the north of the country and a subsequent military-led coup. Tackling range of challengesIn its decade of operations, MINUSMA aided Mali in tackling multiple challenges. Mission terminatedMali’s foreign affairs minister requested the withdrawal of MINUSMA in a related UN Security Council meeting on 16 June. “UN funds, agencies and programmes were in Mali well before the deployment of MINUSMA and will stay in Mali well after the withdrawal,” he said. These efforts include advancing the UN-Government of Mali jointly agreed objectives of the Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for 2020 to 2024, Mr. Dujarric added.

Planning a luxury trip to South Africa? Days 11-12: Kalahari DesertFly to the red Kalahari Desert and check into Tswalu, the largest privately owned block of land in South Africa where black-maned lions rule. What pairs well with a South Africa trip? How to bookContact Mark Lakin, a member of Travel + Leisure’s Travel Advisory Board and a top travel specialist for South Africa. He has been to Africa more than 50 times and has stayed in almost every top luxury property in South Africa.

The Indian Navy on Sunday said it has substantially enhanced maritime surveillance efforts in north and central Arabian Sea , in the backdrop of recent maritime security incidents on merchant vessels. The Indian Navy said task groups, comprising destroyers and frigates, have been deployed to undertake maritime security operations and render assistance to merchant vessels in case of any incident. "Aerial surveillance by long-range maritime patrol aircraft and RPAs has been enhanced to have a complete maritime domain awareness. Towards effective surveillance of EEZ, Indian Navy is operating in close coordination with Coast Guard," the Indian Navy said. The Indian Navy said it was closely monitoring the overall situation, in coordination with the national maritime agencies.

Substantial developments are anticipated in foreign policy and defense issues in 2024. The year will also be crucial for the European perspective of the Western Balkans, where Athens and the Mitsotakis government have invested heavily. Against this broad backdrop, the main challenge of Greek foreign policy will be the need for closer union at the EU level, hence the need for simplification and accelerated decision-making. Whether or not qualified majority voting on foreign policy issues (i.e. To this end, Defense Minister Nikos Dendias is in early 2024 expected to submit a relevant bill.

Tourist revenues have risen 28%, by December 20, 2023, compared to the same period last year, to TND 6.7 billion, according to data released by the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) on Friday. Cumulative workers' remittances recorded a slight increase of 2.5% and exceeded TND 7.3 billion during the same period. This increase in tourism receipts and workers' remittances has facilitated the growth of foreign exchange reserves, which went up from TND 22.9 billion (equivalent to 101 days of imports) on December 29 to TND 26.2 billion (118 days of imports) at present. As for external debt service, from the beginning of the year to December, it exceeded TND 11.2 billion, up 31% compared to TND 8.5 billion at the same date last year. © Tap 2022 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

Most of the time, states’ measures towards mining companies don’t just materialize overnight. Social license defenseInternational tribunals are being confronted with what is called the ‘social license defense.’ Take social license seriously but know that unwritten rules have their limits. Tribunal members are now very attuned to this, and are asking ‘is social license a test of means or a test of ends?’. It’s one thing to be aware of social license and to read about it in accounting firms’ publications. Companies in the corporate world have training for their executives about what to say on email – this can get lost on mining companies.

Kim ordered the military to prepare to “pacify the entire territory of South Korea”, including with nuclear bombs if necessary, in response to any attack. The North Korean leader's speech comes ahead of a year that will see pivotal elections in both South Korea and the United States. North Korea has deep relations with both China and Russia. Kim has also ruled out the possibility of unifying with South Korea, and the country must fundamentally change its principles and direction toward South Korea. The administration of US President Joe Biden said it is open to talks, but it imposed new sanctions as North Korea pushed ahead with more banned missile tests.

CAIRO - Tunisia extended a longrunning state of emergency by one month until Jan. 30, 2024, the state news agency reported on Saturday citing the official gazette. The North African nation has been under a state of emergency since 2015 after an attack in which several presidential guards were killed. (Reporting by Enas Alashray; Editing by Frances Kerry)

For the end of the year, contributing editor Rob Salerno looks back on the developments in the global struggle for LGBT rights in a six-part review. They passed laws banning trans people from sex-segregated bathrooms, change rooms, and sports teams. The flip side is what’s been going on in Democratic-governed states, where legislators and governors are pushing for greater and greater states rights. Meanwhile, Queretaro, Sinaloa, Quintana Roo, and Morelos states passed local conversion therapy bans, bringing the total to 18/32 states that have such bans. Tomorrow, I’ll be back with a look at developments in LGBT rights in the rest of the Western Hemisphere.

"First of all, what's the situation in their country of origin? Is there conflict? What is the economic situation, the political situation, the level of individual freedom? Do they feel like they have opportunities for themselves and their families? The answers to these questions play a great role in the decision to migrate," the researcher says.