🇺🇸 CNN: "Three measles cases have been linked to a migrant shelter in Chicago...A team from the CDC is now on the ground in an effort to curb the spread of the highly contagious virus."

🔗 MAGA War Room

🇿🇦🚢⚓️ Inefficient African Ports See Diverted Red Sea Traffic Slipping Away

Africa’s inefficient and aging ports are hampering the continent’s chances of capitalizing on a surge in ship traffic that’s avoiding attacks by Houthi rebels through the Red Sea, logistics experts said.

The number of vessels sailing around the southern tip of Africa is up 85% from the first half of December, when the Iran-backed, Yemen-based terrorists intensified their attacks on ships, according to Clarksons Research. Some of the biggest beneficiaries are ports in South Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Namibia, all of which have seen volumes rise, manufacturing and logistics company Fictiv Inc. said.

“However, most ports in Africa are inefficient and not in the best condition to be able to fully realize all the benefits,” said Vinny Licata, Fictiv’s head of logistics. “This is could be a real opportunity for Africa, but several ports were already congested due to inefficiencies. Investments are needed to enable them to compete.”

Merchant ships have largely avoided the route that would ultimately take them through the Suez Canal since the attacks started. Last week, a missile strike killed three crew members, the first confirmed deaths since the attacks began.

Currently, Africa accounts for about 6% of global maritime trade, despite approximately 90% of its imports and exports being transported by sea, according to Freight Right Global Logistics Chief Executive Officer and Founder Robert Khachatryan.

Freight costs from Asia to the US East Coast are projected to increase by 20% to 30%, with delivery times extended by two weeks due to the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, said Khachatryan.

It’s here that South Africa’s port-infrastructure problems — ranging from equipment breakdowns to staff shortages — hurt its competitive advantage. Shipping companies using the Cape route for east-west trade have largely avoided having to restock and refuel at South Africa’s maritime hubs due to their inability to provide services.

“This shift has directly benefited strategically located ports like Toamasina in Madagascar, Port Louis in Mauritius, and Walvis Bay in Namibia, which lie along the east-west route connecting Asia with Europe” as ships avoid South Africa, Khachatryan said.

Countries with the capability to quickly scale up port and logistical operations — such as Morocco and Ghana — could accommodate the increased demand for maritime services.

🔗 https://gcaptain.com/inefficient-african-ports-see-diverted-red-sea-traffic-slipping-away/

🇫🇷❌🇷🇺 Conservative French politician, Marine Le Pen, did a 180 degree turn on her stance regarding the Russo-Ukrainian war.

She expressed her support to the Ukrainian side of the conflict after previously calling numerous times for the EU to cut its support to Kiev and force an end of the war.

🔗 Marine Le Pen

🇫🇷🌐❌🇷🇺 — French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview to French media, on sending Western troops to Ukraine:

“We are not in this situation today”

🔗 BFMTV (@BFMTV)

🇫🇷🌐❌🇷🇺 — French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview to French media:

“Russia cannot and must not win this war"

🔗 BFMTV (@BFMTV)

🇫🇷🌐❌🇷🇺 — French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview to French media:

I did everything to establish peace, everything. The Minsk agreements, negotiations held under the auspices of France and Germany with Ukraine and Russia

🔗 BFMTV (@BFMTV)

🇫🇷🌐❌🇷🇺 — French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview to French media:

We have been placing too many limits in our vocabulary.
Those who say let's not support Ukraine do not make the choice of peace, they make the choice of defeat.

🔗 BFMTV (@BFMTV)

🇫🇷🇪🇺❌🇷🇺 — French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview to French media:

➡️ If Russia wins this war, European Authority will be reduced to zero

“The price of gas, the state of our economy, the cost of grain and the economic shocks that followed are all consequences of the war unleashed by Russia,”

🇫🇷🇪🇺❌🇷🇺 — French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview to French media:

➡️ We will no longer have security in Europe if Putin wins in Ukraine. What is happening in Ukraine today also affects the vital interests of France

"This is an existential threat. We have already experienced the consequences of this war in our daily lives. Several of our hospitals have been closed for several days because of this Russian aggression"

🇺🇦❌🇷🇺 — French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview to French media:

The Ukrainian counter-offensive in the last few months has not gone as expected.
The situation at the Russian-Ukrainian front is very fragile for Ukraine.

🇫🇷🇪🇺🕊🇷🇺 — French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview to French media assures the French public:

“We will never lead an offensive or military action inside Ukraine, we will never take the initiative for it,” assured him

🔗 BFMTV (@BFMTV)

🇫🇷🇪🇺❌🇷🇺❗️ — French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview to French media:

“What we thought was unthinkable is happening: A major war is taking place on European soil”

🔗 BFMTV (@BFMTV)

🇫🇷🇪🇺❌🇷🇺 — French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview to French media:

“You have a regime in the Kremlin which has hardened profoundly”

🔗 BFMTV (@BFMTV)

🇷🇺❌🌍⁉️ — French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview to French media, accuses Russian Government of inciting chaos across the Globe:

In many other theaters of war, from the Near and Middle East to the Caucasus and Africa, Russia is a destabilizing power

🇫🇷🇪🇺🤝🇺🇦 — French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview to French media, spoke about those wanting Peace Negotiations:

“We must have the nerve of peace (...)
However, wanting peace does not mean letting Ukraine down”

🔗 BFMTV (@BFMTV)

🇫🇷🇪🇺🤝🇺🇦 — French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview to French media, spoke about those wanting Peace Negotiations:

“Peace is not the capitulation of Ukraine”

🔗 BFMTV (@BFMTV)

🇫🇷☢️❌🇷🇺❗️ — French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview to French media spoke over the comments of Russian President over the use of Nuclear weapons if NATO intervened in Ukraine:

Our nuclear capacity gives security to the French that few countries in the world have

🔗 BFMTV (@BFMTV)

🇫🇷🇪🇺❌🇷🇺 — French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview to French media:

If we were decide today to be weak (…) is already to be in defeat,

🔗 BFMTV (@BFMTV)

🇫🇷🇪🇺❌🇷🇺 — French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview to French media:

Vladimir Putin "is caught in a repressive and authoritarian drift"

🔗 BFMTV (@BFMTV)

🇫🇷🇪🇺🏭📉 — French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview to French media, when asked if France and the European Union could start a War Economy, admits:

“We do not have a defense industry adapted to a high-intensity territorial war”

🔗 BFMTV (@BFMTV)