New EU chief in Ethiopia for first trip outside bloc
AFP, Addis Ababa
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Ethiopia on Saturday, her first trip outside Europe since assuming her post, for meetings expected to touch on migration and support for African security operations.
The former German defence minister, who took office December 1, landed in the capital Addis Ababa during the morning and headed first to the African Union headquarters for talks with AU chief Moussa Faki Mahamat.
Greta Thunberg urges climate action because ‘people are dying’
AFP, Madrid
Teen activist Greta Thunberg on Friday urged world leaders gathered in Madrid for a UN climate conference to take urgent action to fight climate change, warning “we can’t afford” more delays because “people are dying”.
“We can’t afford any more days without real action being taken. Every chance to improve the situation we must take,” the 16-year-old Swede told a press conference before taking part in a climate rally in the Spanish capital later on Friday.
Bolivia’s ex-economy minister takes
asylum in Mexico
AFP, La Paz
Bolivia’s former economy minister, Luis Arce – credited with steering the country through several years of strong growth – announced Friday he had joined ex-president Evo Morales in Mexico, where he has been given political asylum.
“I thank the Mexican government for granting me political asylum in that brother country,” Arce wrote in a letter published by Bolivian media.
Five die in gas blast in Slovakia
AFP, Bratislava
At least five people died and dozens were injured in a gas explosion that rocked a high-rise apartment building in eastern Slovakia on Friday, rescue services said. “Five people died and we estimated the number of injured at 40,” Alena Krcova, a spokeswoman for the rescue services, told AFP.
The blast in the eastern Slovak town of Presov, 400 kilometres (250 miles) from the capital Bratislava, occurred around noon on Friday.
