ADDIS ABABA: The African Union, African Development Bank and regional business leaders have set up a crisis fund to help areas hit by the Ebola outbreak, the AU said in a statement. The organisation said a landmark pledging meeting held in the Ethiopian capital on Saturday saw African business leaders offer more than $28m to help the response to the epidemic.
According to the World Health Organization, 13,268 people had been infected with Ebola across eight countries, and 4,960 of them have died. “While the global response to the current crisis has increased in recent weeks, there is still a critical need for additional competencies to care for those infected, strengthen local health systems and prevent the disease spreading,” the AU said.
BARCELONA: More than a million Catalans turned out yesterday to vote on independence from Spain in a symbolic ballot, defying challenges from the Spanish government.
Voters of all ages lined up around the block, some applauding, as polling stations opened after weeks of tense legal wrangling with Spanish authorities.
In one of Spain’s richest but most indebted regions, a long-standing yearning for independence has swelled over recent years as recession and political corruption scandals have shaken Spain.
The desire to break away has been sharpened by resistance from Madrid.
“This is an opportunity we could not miss.... We have been demanding it for a very long time,” said Martin Arbaizar, 16, queueing to vote in a school in Barcelona. Spain’s conservative government challenged the vote in the courts, forcing Catalan leaders to water it down from a non-binding referendum to a symbolic vote organised by volunteers.
Agencies
