Category: World News

BEIRUT, 31 October 2013 (IRIN) – The impact of the Syrian crisis is dragging tens of thousands of Lebanese into poverty, a new report has shown. Up to 170,000 Lebanese could slide into poverty due to the conflict next door, while unemployment could increase by as much as 10 percent by the end of 2014,…

DUBAI, (IRIN) – The Syrian government has increasingly restricted the delivery of medical supplies to opposition-controlled areas in recent months, several aid workers told IRIN, refusing to approve medical deliveries; taking medical supplies out of aid convoys; and requiring case-by-case negotiations for the delivery of surgical kits. The restrictions come on top of other constraints…

 Riyadh – A plane carrying Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to Tehran at the weekend was blocked from crossing Saudi Arabian airspace because no prior approval had been sought, the kingdom’s civil aviation authorities said on Tuesday. This was the only reason the plane was turned back, the General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a…

(IRIN) – The financial crisis in Europe has brought the largest influx of Portuguese migrants to Mozambique since colonial times. While many Mozambicans fear they will face increased competition for scarce jobs, the new wave of migrants is also creating employment opportunities. Goncalo Teles Gomes, the Portuguese consul in Maputo, the capital, estimates that 30,000…

NIGERIA’S immigration service arrested 45 Chinese nationals in the northern city of Kano for allegedly engaging in illegal textile trading. Kano state comptroller of immigration, Emmanuel Brisca Ifeadi, said those arrested on Tuesday had been trading at Kantin Kwari textile market in Kano. Nigerian law bans foreigners from the retail trading of textiles. “The Chinese…

BAGHDAD, (IRIN) – Iraq is drawing detailed maps of areas contaminated by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), but is unlikely to clear these areas by a 2018 deadline, says a government official. “Lack of detailed maps for landmines was one of the major problems and it delayed our mine-clearance efforts because the previous regime planted…