Five restaurant employees and a maintenance worker at Barcelona Airport have been arrested for helping migrants to irregularly enter and stay in the Schengen area by avoiding border controls at the airport. - Advertisement -According to the police, dozens of migrants could enter Spain illegally through this scheme, which intended to pass them off as authorised airport personnel, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports. These people knew they couldn’t get the documents they needed to legally enter Spain, like valid visas. The detainees offered the migrants airport employee cards they could use to pretend they were workers and leave the international transit area without going through any border checkpoints. Spokesperson of National Police in BarcelonaThe same reveals that the gang’s help was crucial for migrants as they even accompanied them along corridors where only airport workers were allowed.

A Western Cape municipality is to issue a tender for independent power producers (IPPs) to build power generation plants from which it will buy electricity. The Saldanha Bay Municipality has stipulated that the electricity will be generated from gas and renewable energy sources. The aim is to have electricity tapped into Saldanha Bay’s power grid through this project within three years. Baseload power refers to the minimum amount of electricity needed to be supplied to the power grid at any given time. Truter said the tender is very clear that the project can only be made up of gas and renewable energy sources.

There are meanwhile reports of girls being abducted from the capital Khartoum to Darfur for sexual exploitation, including sexual slavery. The country is engulfed in crisis since a fallout between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) earlier this year. The Irish-born expert has been in contact with both the RSF and Sudanese authorities. Since the conflict started, it has resulted in the displacement of over 5,8 million people within Sudan and neighboring countries. “Many partners have come in to give technical and financial support, but the needs now outweigh the support, and we humbly request more assistance,” Aida Elsayed, Secretary General of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society.

Egypt said Israel was not cooperating with delivering aid, and the Rafah border crossing, while not closed, is now inoperable. The Egyptian government and security apparatus are wary of the escalating violence, as airstrikes have persisted since 7 October, fearing it could lead to an influx of Gazans seeking refuge in the Sinai Peninsula. This influx, however, could exacerbate the prevailing instability in a region that has witnessed a prolonged struggle between the Egyptian military and the Islamic State – Sinai Province.

South Africa are just one win away from reaching their third Rugby World Cup final in the last four tournaments. The defending champions will face England in the semis on Saturday (21 October) at the Stade de France in Paris while New Zealand and Argetina meet in the other semi-final. What's at stake for the Springboks? An unprecedented fourth World Cup title. South Africa and England have already played each other in two Rugby World Cup finals (2007, 2019), both of which were won by the Springboks.

Wisse Bos, team manager of Solar Team Eindhoven, said the technology used, complementing a lightweight frame with highly efficient solar panels, was a decade ahead of anything on the market. That is why we had to design almost everything for Stella Terra ourselves, from the suspension to the inverters for the solar panels. Highly efficient panels able to generate sufficient energy to power vehicles over a long distance are expensive to produce. The most efficient panels on the market generally reach about 45% efficiency, while most panels are about 15% to 20% efficient. The Stella Terra team is not for profit and had relied on sponsors for its budget.

Africa’s total exports will reach $952 billion by 2035, says ‘Future of Trade: Africa’ report published by the Standard Chartered, that also points to the East Africa-South Asia corridor as one of the most promising trade route. West Africa will also benefit from links to South Asia as it sees trade grow by 6.1% per annum. “Most of Africa’s total exports will be driven by trade with the rest of the world, dominated by commodity exports. With India as one of the most rapidly growing major economies, corridors between Africa and South Asia are expected to grow the fastest,” the report says. Meanwhile, Africa’s exports to India have increased remarkably since the year 2000, surging more than 11-fold.

In a hard-fought match on Monday, Egypt and Algeria drew 1-1 in the United Arab Emirates in an international friendly. The match served as the teams' last preparation ahead of next month's Africa World Cup qualifiers. In a dramatic showdown, Islam Slimani salvaged a draw for the Desert Warriors just before the end of injury time. As the game progressed, the Pharaohs regained control, with captain Mohamed Salah orchestrating the play and keeping the Algerian defenders on their toes. As the game neared its conclusion, Algeria intensified their pressure, and their determination paid off in the 93rd minute.

October 17, 2023, by Nadja SkopljakItalian cabling giant Prysmian has completed the manufacturing of cables for the submarine power interconnection between Egypt and Saudi Arabia – the first-ever large-scale link between the Middle East and North Africa. Prysmian secured the contract worth about €221 million with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) and the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) in 2021 for the project that will enable the exchange of up to 3,000 MW of electricity. The scope includes the design, supply, installation and commissioning of around 127.5 kilometers of HVDC ±500kV MI submarine single-core cables, 43.5 kilometers of 66kV XLPE submarine single-core cables and double-wire armoring, and 61 kilometers of MINISUB submarine fiber optic cables for telecommunications and distributed temperature sensing (DTS) monitoring. To execute the project, Prysmian established local branches in the Egyptian capital Cairo and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, with two new local teams coordinated by the project management team. This wider interconnection will transport electricity between the Badr substation in Cairo and the Madinah East substation in Saudi Arabia.

Working together with other leading industry suppliers, our teams based in Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham and London will provide programme and project management services throughout the northwest, Midlands and southeast. The framework has been designed to support capital delivery enhancements, renewal projects, new station builds and signalling programmes along Network Rail’s NW&C Region, including programme and project management service requirements to align the infrastructure to HS2's programme of works. However, with an enjoyable 20-year history, our relationship with Network Rail has been an integral part of our business and we’re delighted to be able to build on this further through this appointment." With our growing rail sector capability, we have the skills and experience to deliver Network Rail’s capital investment and renewals portfolio in the NW&C region. Our values and behaviours will ensure a collaborative approach with both the client and its other suppliers, all of which feeds into Network Rail’s wider mission of ‘putting the passenger first’.

Making 5G smartphones more affordable: Low-cost 5G smartphones are crucial for driving the adoption of 5G technology. Ultimately, however, sub-$100 5G smartphones will be necessary to expand 5G adoption beyond the initial wave of consumers. Low-cost 5G smartphones are crucial for driving the adoption of 5G technology. Ultimately, however, sub-$100 5G smartphones will be necessary to expand 5G adoption beyond the initial wave of consumers. Accelerating 5G commercialization in North Africa : The growing number of 5G tests and trials in North Africa alludes to the readiness of mobile operators in the region to roll out commercial 5G services.

A Mozambican mine has achieved full operation of its solar PV plus battery energy storage hybrid system. The entire solar PV array of 20,832 solar modules with a surface area of around 5.4 hectares has been fully integrated into the battery system. Solar battery hybrid system for decarbonisationThe solar plus battery storage system will contribute at least 35% of the Balama Graphite Operation’s average site power requirements. The Solar and Battery Hybrid System is estimated to reduce Balama’s GWP by 18kt CO 2 equivalent per annum, on average, over the life of the operation. Madagascar graphite mine starts using solar to power operationsThe mine operator partnered with Solarcentury Africa for the engineering, procurement and construction, and commissioning of the Solar and Battery Hybrid System.

Although the operational terrain for civil society in Sudan is arduous, various Sudanese civil society groups are working to create an environment for peace in the ​​​​country. ​​ ​​Both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) occupy different parts of the country, leading to major clashes between armed groups and local communities. With places like El-Obeid, Kadugli, and El-Geneina becoming arenas of conflict, many Sudanese civilians have been caught in the crossfire. The surge in gender-based violence is another sign that the targets of this war transcend the armed forces. While Sudanese civilians work to protect their livelihoods, 44 percent of Sudanese respondents consider violence to be justified when defending their livelihood.

The UN stabilisation mission in Mali known as MINUSMA announced Monday (Oct. 16) their pullout has started from two camps in the tense Kidal region. The peacekeeping mission kicked off its withdrawal from Mali's northern region with the Tessalit and Aguelhok camps. Anticipating the UN disengagement, the Malian army landed two aircrafts at one of the camps at Tessalit. Northern Mali is the theatre of fighting between the Malian authorities, an alliance of groups seeking independence known as CMA and Al-Qaeda-linked group GSIM. The UN withdrawal from northern Mali is supposed to end by December 31after 10 years of presence.

The leading music conference in the Middle East and North Africa share their line up for this year’s event. With an emphasis on industry evolution, inclusivity and creativity, XP Music Futures is the leading music conference in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). XP Music Futures is a rising organisation with the goal of elevating the exposure and augmenting the development of the music scene in the Middle East and North Africa, one of the fastest growing musical regions globally, with Saudi Arabia being at the forefront of its rise. Designed to aid the new generation of innovators, XP Music Futures are dedicated in providing educational content and networking opportunities. Additionally, CEO of Reservoir Golnar Khosrowshahi will reveal all on shaping the first female-led independent music company in the US.