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La Camerounaise Michaely Bihina a arrêté un penalty en prolongation, puis trois autres lors de la séance de tirs au but, permettant ainsi à son équipe de se qualifier pour la finale de la Can Féminine 2026 aux dépens du Maroc, pays hôte.

La Camerounaise Michaely Bihina a arrêté un penalty en prolongation, puis trois autres lors de la séance de tirs au but, permettant ainsi à son équipe de se qualifier pour la finale de la Can Féminine 2026 aux dépens du Maroc, pays hôte.

Tragédie à Toulouse : une course-poursuite vire au drame. Un mineur isolé, d’origine algérienne, de 17 ans est décédé vendredi soir vers 19 heures, peu […]

L’article Toulouse : un Algérien de 17 ans meurt après une course-poursuite avec la police, deux enquêtes ouvertes est apparu en premier sur .

La Loterie Nationale du Bénin S.A. (LNB S.A.) a accueilli, mercredi 12 août 2026 à Cotonou, les travaux de compensation de la première Masse Commune UEMOA de la 23ᵉ édition, consacrés à la course à événement du 7 mai 2026.

Les délégations de la LONAB, de la LONACI, de la LONANI, de la LONASE et du PMU Mali et celles de la LNB ont échangé, mercredi 12 août 2026 à Cotonou, autour de la mise en commun des opérations liées à cette course.

Portée par son Directeur général, Marius ADANZOUNON, la LNB S.A. a ainsi contribué à une rencontre axée sur la coopération régionale, le partage d'expériences et le renforcement des liens entre les sociétés de loterie et de pari mutuel de l'espace UEMOA.

Cette initiative illustre la dynamique de collaboration engagée entre les différents opérateurs de la sous-région pour renforcer leurs pratiques et développer des mécanismes communs dans le secteur des jeux et paris.

M. M.

Sept mois après le début de la guerre en Iran et malgré les pressions considérables qui pèsent sur l'économie et les infrastructures du pays, ses décideurs ne semblent toujours pas pressés d'y mettre fin. Mais combien de temps cette guerre peut-elle encore durer ?

Campaigners say anti-rights movements are increasingly using family law to challenge women's rights to inheritance, property, divorce and child custody.

The accusations against Bruno Foucher prompted investigations into a potential security breach.

Lugano hat in dieser Saison schon sechs Pflichtspiele bestritten und alle gewonnen. Die Tessiner sind im Höhenflug – hat das auch etwas mit dem neuen Stadion zu tun? Das diskutieren Tobias Wedermann und Florian Raz im Podcast «FORZA!».

La circulation sera temporairement réorganisée sur l'avenue Jean-Paul II à Cotonou du vendredi 14 au samedi 22 août 2026, en raison de travaux de réhabilitation de la chaussée située en face de la Cité ministérielle.

La Société des Infrastructures Routières et de l'Aménagement du Territoire (SIRAT), a annoncé le lancement de travaux sur la chaussée située en face de la cité Ministérielle à Cotonou.

​Du 14 au 22 août, le trafic en provenance de l'avenue Jean-Paul II et se dirigeant vers le Tribunal de première instance sera perturbé et dévié à partir du Carrefour du Trésor.

​Selon le plan de circulation établi par la SIRAT, maître d'ouvrage délégué du projet de réhabilitation des voies d'accès et de traversées de Cotonou (ATC), deux itinéraires alternatifs sont mis en place.

​Pour rejoindre le Tribunal de première instance depuis le Carrefour du Trésor : les usagers devront emprunter la rue située derrière l'ex-ministère de l'Agriculture, passer par la Poste de Cadjèhoun, rejoindre la Place du Souvenir, puis poursuivre par la rue SUNU Assurance jusqu'au Carrefour Tribunal.

​Pour effectuer le trajet inverse (du Carrefour Tribunal vers la SRTB) : le parcours recommandé passe par le Carrefour Cadjèhoun, la Poste de Cadjèhoun pour déboucher sur le Carrefour du Trésor.

​Afin de guider les automobilistes et de limiter les ralentissements, la SIRAT a mis en place un « dispositif de signalisation et d'information sera mis en place sur les différents points concernés ». Elle invite également les usagers au « respect des consignes de sécurité et des directives de la police républicaine ».
M. M.

Un camion chargé de bidons de Sodabi s'est renversé, mercredi 12 août 2026, au carrefour Sodohomè, à Bohicon, causant d'importants dégâts matériels.

Des bidons de la boisson locale alcoolisée communément appelée "Sodabi" se sont retrouvés sur la chaussée, mercredi 12 août 2026, à Bohicon, à la suite d'un accident survenu au carrefour Sodohomè.

Un camion chargé des bidons de Sodabi a perdu le contrôle avant de se renverser au niveau de ce carrefour très fréquenté.

L'accident n'a fait aucune perte en vie humaine, selon les informations recueillies sur place.
M. M.

Die Herzogin von Edinburgh verlegt ihr Programm in eine Skihalle in Hemel Hempstead in England. Dort trifft die erfahrene Skifahrerin auf verwundete Veteranen, die trainieren – und geniesst kühle Temperaturen statt Sommerhitze.

Downpours flood the streets of Dhaka. Credit: Farid Ahmed/ IPS

By Mohammad Zaman
DHAKA, Bangladesh, Aug 13 2026 (IPS)

Dhaka’s recent and recurrent flooding is often treated as a natural disaster, but rain is only the trigger. The deeper causes are political, planning and ecological failure: wetland loss, canal encroachment, unplanned growth, weak enforcement, fragmented institutions and short-term engineering fixes. Dhaka is not drowning because it rains; it is drowning because it has been built as if water had nowhere to go.

Historically, Dhaka was part of a watery landscape of rivers, canals, ponds, floodplains and low-lying retention areas. These were not vacant lands; they were essential drainage infrastructure that stored rainwater, slowed runoff and carried excess water toward surrounding rivers. As the city expanded, this blue-green network was filled, narrowed or severed, leaving drains unable to cope even with moderate rainfall.

Mohammad Zaman

Urbanisation has made this worse by replacing absorbent land with concrete. Roads, buildings and paved courtyards reduce infiltration and speed up runoff. A 2023 study on pluvial flooding in Dhaka found that land-use change has depleted natural canals and increased flood vulnerability, with future inundation likely to rise under continued expansion. Every structure built on a wetland or flood-flow zone transfers risk to nearby neighbourhoods.

Drains and canals have also deteriorated. Many are clogged with waste, narrowed by illegal structures or disconnected from smaller drains. Box culverts, often promoted as modernisation, have in some places buried waterways rather than restoring them as living drainage corridors. Drainage fails not only because pipes are small, but because the wider hydrological system has been cut apart.

Climate change adds pressure through shorter, heavier and less predictable rainfall, but it should not excuse bad planning. World Bank work on urban flooding in Greater Dhaka has warned that the city already has an adaptation deficit. The real problem is that Dhaka has reduced its own capacity to absorb shocks, treating flooding as a pipe-sizing seasonal issue rather than a citywide water-management challenge.

The consequences appear first in transport paralysis. When major roads in Mirpur, Dhanmondi, Green Road, Motijheel, Shantinagar, Old Dhaka and other areas go underwater, commuters lose hours, public transport stalls and businesses suffer. The cost includes damaged vehicles and inventories, delayed logistics, lost productivity and the daily stress of moving through a city that cannot function after rain.

Flooding also deepens inequality. Low-income residents in informal and low-lying settlements face contaminated water entering their homes, loss of daily income, damaged belongings and higher disease risk. Floodwater mixed with sewage, waste and pollutants increases infections and waterborne illness. The poor pay twice: through greater exposure and weaker access to healthcare, savings and political voice.

The scale of impact shows this is not a seasonal inconvenience. A 2023 GIS and remote-sensing study found that almost 35 percent of Dhaka falls within high or very high waterlogging-vulnerability zones, with slum households disproportionately concentrated there. Recent rainfall confirms the risk: Dhaka recorded 130 millimetres of rain in six hours on 12 July 2024, while another episode brought 196 millimetres in 24 hours in 2025, submerging major roads despite large drainage investments.

Infrastructure spending has not produced resilience. The two Dhaka city corporations reportedly invested more than Tk 262 crore over four years up to 2024 to build 334.19 kilometres of drains, box culverts and related infrastructure, yet large areas still flooded. Planning data show that Dhaka lost 3,440 acres out of 9,556 acres of designated flood-flow zones, retention areas and waterbodies since the 1995 Detailed Area Plan, while central-city waterbodies reportedly fell from 20.57 percent in 1995 to 2.9 percent in 2023. The city is paying to drain water while allowing the systems that make drainage possible to disappear.

This failure is reinforced by institutional fragmentation. Responsibility is divided among Dhaka WASA, the two city corporations, RAJUK, the Bangladesh Water Development Board and others. Each controls part of the problem, but no single body manages the full catchment: drains, canals, retention areas, pumps, river outfalls and land-use control. The result is scattered action followed by renewed flooding.

Weak enforcement makes plans meaningless. Master plans and Detailed Area Plans have identified flood-flow zones, retention ponds and wetlands, yet these areas continue to disappear under housing, roads and commercial development. Encroachment survives because it is profitable, politically protected or administratively tolerated.

Accountability is also weak. Spending is reported, but outcomes are rarely evaluated. Dhaka does not need another narrow drainage project; it needs the political courage to enforce existing plans, recover waterways and protect the remaining wetlands.

The city must treat canals, wetlands, ponds and flood-flow zones as critical public infrastructure. Remaining wetlands should be protected, encroached canals demarcated and recovered, and major waterways restored as open drainage corridors connected to surrounding rivers. Dhaka also needs an integrated flood-management platform with clear authority over land-use approvals, canal recovery, drainage investment, pump operation, solid-waste control and emergency response.

Future planning must also centre vulnerable communities. Informal settlements, low-income neighbourhoods, street vendors, schoolchildren and daily-wage workers face the harshest effects but are rarely treated as planning partners. Community reporting of blocked drains, health warnings, emergency transport plans and compensation for repeated losses should be part of resilience policy. A flood-safe Dhaka requires ecological restoration, institutional discipline and social justice.

Dhaka’s flooding is a warning about planning against nature. The city has tried to engineer its way out of a crisis created by land conversion, institutional weakness and ecological neglect. Until it restores and governs its blue-green network as essential infrastructure, each monsoon will bring the same result: a megacity halted by rain it once knew how to live with. The choice is no longer between development and drainage; it is between protecting people and flooding them in the name of progress.

Dr. Mohammad Zaman is an international development consultant whose work across Asia and Africa focuses on social safeguards, displacement, resettlement and inclusive development. He lives in Vancouver, Canada, and can be reached at: mqzaman.bc@gmail.com

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Sailing container ship. Credit: Unsplash/Kinsey Wang

By Maximilian Malawista
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 13 2026 (IPS)

Global goods trade reached approximately USD 13.7 trillion in the first half of 2026, up 12.5 percent from the same period in 2025, while services grew 10.5 percent, together adding USD 2 trillion to global trade. While these figures point to continued expansion, much of the increase reflects rising prices rather than stronger trade volumes.

According to UNCTAD’s Division on International Trade and Commodities, disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have strained energy supplies, increased fuel costs, disrupted maritime logistics, and raised production costs across a wide range of industries. Prices for traded goods rose 3.6 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, accelerating to 5.1 percent in the second quarter. Although merchandise trade continues to expand, UNCTAD’s nowcast, its data and model-driven predictions of global trade over period growth, estimates that trade by value will grow by 4.2 percent in the third quarter of 2026 compared with the same period last year, suggesting that higher prices continue to account for a significant share of trade growth.

This inflation is driven by a roughly 160-day disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, where 25 percent of the seaborne oil trade, 20 percent of global liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), about one-third of global seaborne fertilizer trade, and significant petrochemical supply chains have been almost completely shut off from maritime trade flows. According to the Strait of Hormuz Tracker, roughly 7 ships have transited on August 7, 11.7 percent of traffic compared to normal pre-crisis levels: limiting daily throughput to 1.2 million compared to pre-levels of 10.3 million.

According to Freightos, the cost of a 40-foot equivalent unit (FEU) on a China/East Asia to North America East Coast voyage was roughly USD 9,100 in July, up from USD 4,300 in May. Similarly, on a China/East Asia to North America West Coast voyage it cost USD 7,550 in July, up from USD 2,828 in May.

This drastic price volatility for a FEU reflects the consequences of heightened fuel costs. Both the passages mentioned do not go near the Strait of Hormuz, both thousands of miles away. Yet, the effects of a disruption to the Strait cascade across global shipping. Logistics is the backbone behind every industry, with shipping a FEU becoming more expensive by more than double in multiple passages, the price of the items within those FEU also must rise in price to cover the costs.

The effects are particularly evident in East Asia, the world’s manufacturing hub and the center of the global semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain, where demand for AI infrastructure, digital technologies, and electric mobility continues to accelerate. According to UNCTAD, trade in critical minerals increased 38 percent during the first quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier, and semiconductor trade rose 25 percent, batteries 15 percent, information and communication technology (ICT) products 14 percent, and electric vehicles 11 percent.

Yet despite being geographically distant from the Strait of Hormuz, semiconductor fabrication facilities in Taiwan and South Korea remain heavily dependent on reliable global shipping networks, affordable energy, and petrochemical inputs. As higher fuel prices increase the cost of transporting components between suppliers and manufacturers, and rising electricity, natural gas, and petrochemical prices raise production costs, the value of these high-tech exports continues to climb—even when the volume of goods traded grows far more slowly.

The Strait of Hormuz disruption demonstrates the interconnectedness of the global maritime system. A constriction in this strategic maritime chokepoint raises oil and LNG prices, increasing transportation and industrial energy costs, heightening manufacturing expenses, and ultimately raising the price of internationally traded goods. Consequently, manufacturers in East Asia, importers in North America, and consumers around the world all experience the effects of a disruption occurring thousands of miles away. As these costs accumulate across increasingly interconnected supply chains, the nominal value of global trade rises, even when underlying trade volumes and real economic output grow much more slowly, illustrating that higher trade values do not necessarily represent stronger economic performance.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Nach der anstrengenden Saison ist die Zeit gekommen für Ferien und Erholung. Die Ski-Stars ziehts dabei oft in die Wärme. Auf Social Media lassen sie ihre Fans daran teilhaben.

Trump hat die Pharmaindustrie zu Preisnachlässen bewegt. Die Schweiz hat ein anderes Medikamentenproblem – könnte sich aber trotzdem etwas abschauen.

Jason Joseph hat an der EM in Birmingham so richtig abgeliefert: Der Baselbieter gewinnt sein erstes Freiluft-Gold, will mit einem Fest aber noch zuwarten. Dafür gibts ein grosses Lob für seine Trainerin.