00:07Ethiopian Federal Forces retake Adwa in Tigray as tensions with Eritrea intensify.
00:14In Malawi, the fuel shortage enters a second week, with motorists facing long and seemingly endless queues.
00:23CHESS becomes a rehabilitation tool in Kenya, helping inmates develop patience and critical thinking.
00:33Hello, you're watching Africa News Today.
00:37In northern Ethiopia, federal forces have retaken the city of Adwa without a fight, near the Eritrean border, after TPLF
00:45rebels withdrew.
00:46The move comes amid growing tensions with Eritrea, as commercial flights resume between Addis Ababa and Mekele.
00:54Ethiopian government forces are advancing in Tigray, raising fears of a wider regional conflict.
00:59Federal troops and allied militia have entered the strategic town of Adwa, near the Eritrean border, after Tigrayan rebels withdrew,
01:08according to residents.
01:10Meanwhile, government allied forces have retaken the regional capital Mekele, following renewed clashes with the Tigray People's Liberation Front.
01:19A former Tigray leader, now an advisor to Prime Minister Ahri Ahmed, has promised visible change in the region without
01:25providing further details.
01:27Ethiopian Airlines has also resumed flights to Mekele for the first time since rebels seized the airport on September 23rd.
01:35They withdrew on October 3rd, allowing government allied forces to enter the city.
01:39Ethiopia accuses neighbouring Eritrea of supporting the rebels and sending troops across the border.
01:46Eritrea denies the allegations and has urged the United Nations to intervene.
01:51UN Secretary General Antonio Buterres is calling on all sides to end hostilities and resume dialogue.
02:02In Malawi, the fuel shortage has entered a second week.
02:05Some motorists are spending the night in queues, while authorities have remained silent on when fuel supplies will return to
02:12normal.
02:13Malawi is once again facing a fuel shortage which is disrupting its daily life.
02:19For over a week, motorists across the country have been endlessly searching for fuel.
02:25Long queues are forming at gas stations, as uncertainty remains over when supplies will return to normal.
02:32Many drivers have taken to sleep in their vehicles, sometimes for days, in the hopes of being there when a
02:38station gets refilled.
02:39According to local media Malawi24, authorities have yet to update the population on possible improvements.
02:46Meanwhile, citizens struggle to get to work and businesses are losing customers.
02:52The head of the country's minibus owners' association has called on the government to address the crisis urgently.
02:58He said the shortage has led to rising transportation fares.
03:03Unable to afford the new minibus prices, some passengers are choosing to walk instead.
03:08Malawi is heavily dependent on imports for its fuel consumption.
03:12Analysts said the country is chronically lacking foreign currency, which is required to fund oil imports.
03:19Malawi has already suffered a fuel crisis earlier this year, as global oil prices rose due to the ongoing war
03:25in the Middle East.
03:30In Kenya, chess is being used as a rehabilitation tool in prisons.
03:35At Maranjau, inmates are using the strategy game to learn patience, make better decisions and prepare for their return to
03:41society.
03:47Here in Kenya, prisoners have been playing chess for fun and to help with rehabilitation.
03:52Among them is 28-year-old Brian Gattonye, who has served about 18 months of a three-year sentence for
03:58assault and is due to be released in November next year.
04:01He says playing chess has helped him to become less impulsive.
04:08Chess has taught me a lot.
04:12Chess has taught me being wise, being calm, choosing my decisions wisely.
04:25Before doing an act, I have to think first, what are the repercussions of that act, then I decide to
04:35do it.
04:36The game has become part of rehabilitation programs in the country's prisons, where officials also say they see the benefits.
04:45Most of the offenders who are in this facility, they are petty offenders, they are here for crimes like assault,
04:52you know, disagreements that they've had with their family members.
04:56And through chess, they can learn how to manage their anger, you know, and even learn how to live amicably
05:05with the members of the society.
05:07So that's why we introduced chess as a tool to rehabilitate the offenders.
05:14The director of the Gift of Chess program, an on-profit that distributes chess sets, believes the game could stop
05:20inmates committing other crimes once they're out of prison.
05:24Research has shown it is helping in rehabilitating instead of reconfining the prisoners in the world.
05:33So the game is helping them learn how to be patient, to make better decisions, and maybe to narrow their
05:44anger.
05:45So it's keeping them busy also, and it's giving them like a second chance.
05:52Such programs have operated in some Kenyan prisons for several years.
05:56As well as NGOs, they've been backed by the government and the International Chess Federation.
06:06In Hermanus, South Africa, southern right whales attract thousands of visitors every year.
06:12This season, observers are reporting an exceptional presence of the protected marine mammals.
06:18In South Africa's coastal town of Hermanus, a marine spectacle takes place every year between the months of June and
06:25November.
06:26Hundreds of southern right whales migrate from Antarctica to the South African coast,
06:31In the shelter of Walker Bay, where there are a few natural predators, the animals can give birth safely and
06:37raise their young.
06:38The phenomenon is a boost for local tourism.
06:40To make sure visitors don't miss their chance to spot one of these creatures, the town enlists the help of
06:46a whale cry.
06:47This year has been really great.
06:49We've been spotting a lot of whales.
06:51And I could spend almost a whole day sporting the whales, even if I see them 20 times a day.
06:59It's been really amazing.
07:01Last year, I could walk on the cliff path, and then sometimes I don't see anything.
07:06Like, it was really quiet.
07:08But this year, we've been spotting a lot of whales.
07:12And I remember the other day, I saw almost 25 whales in one day.
07:17And I could not even show which one I must take pictures, because they were all jumping.
07:22It was really amazing.
07:23And I also heard from the whale unit that the population has actually increased by 6 to 7 percent,
07:29which is really great that we're still going to see a lot of whales.
07:33Even though these giants of the sea are close to land, they can be hard to spot.
07:39Silesikuku walks the stretch of cliffs looking for whales, and when he sees one, he blows a massive horn.
07:45You see it?
07:45Yeah.
07:46I have this kelp horn with me, which is made out of kelp.
07:52My job as the whale cry of Armanas is to walk along the cliff path,
07:56which is a 12-kilometer stretch starting from the New Harbour, stretching all the way from Pizzabos.
08:01Along the way, there are spots where you can do whale watching.
08:04My job is to walk along the path.
08:06When I see the whale, it's close to the shore, it's visible to the people,
08:10then I blow the kelp horn to alert everyone that there's a whale being spotted.
08:15Hermanis is a popular day trip for Cape Town residents wanting a break from the city.
08:21It's always cool being in nature and seeing a whale breach or just being in this environment.
08:27And it's nice to celebrate South African culture.
08:29So, yeah, and meet other people, foreigners, locals.
08:34The population of southern right whales was depleted by commercial whaling,
08:38but the species has been protected from hunting for decades.
08:41For a few months every year, that recovery is on display in Hermanis.
08:47And as every week on African News Today, here are some dates to keep in mind.
08:52King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia travel to Ceuta on Tuesday, the Spanish enclave claimed by Morocco.
08:58The visit is seen as symbolic amid tensions between Madrid and Rabat,
09:02following the evacuation of migrants from beaches by Moroccan police.
09:08From 13th to 15th October, Maputo, Mozambique, hosts the African Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.
09:16Participants will discuss prevention strategies and ways to strengthen resilience to natural disasters across the continent.
09:26On October 13th, attention turns to the second legs of the African qualifiers for the Women's Olympic Football Tournament.
09:33Twelve matches are scheduled, including Côte d'Ivoire against DR Congo,
09:37Senegal against Tunisia, Nigeria against Comoros, and South Africa against Madagascar.
09:44That's the end of African News Today. See you next week for another edition.
09:48For more information, stay tuned to African News and africanews.com.
09:58For more information, stay tuned to African News and africanews.
09:59For more information, stay tuned to African News and africanews.
09:59For more information, stay tuned to African News and africanews.
09:59For more information, stay tuned to African News and africanews.
