03-31 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
Regulator eSafety says it has concerns about how Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube are complying with the ban.
Social media firms must better enforce Australia under-16 ban, watchdog says
The world's biggest social media companies are not doing enough to keep children in Australia off their platforms, the country's internet regulator says, despite a law that came into effect late last year.
The legislation banned users under 16 from 10 platforms, but eSafety says it has "significant concerns" about the compliance of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.
Australia's ban - which is being closely watched by countries like the UK - was justified by campaigners and the government as necessary to protect children from harmful content and addictive algorithms.
Firms like Meta and Snap believe the approach is flawed, but say they're doing the best they can to comply.
These include:
- Giving children who had declared they were aged under 16 before the ban the chance to show that they were, in fact, over 16
- Enabling under-16s to repeatedly "attempt the same age assurance method"
- Insufficient measures to prevent new under-16s creating accounts
- Not providing effective ways for parents and others to report under-16s who still had access to social media
Limited data has been released since the ban came into force. In January, the regulator said 4.7 million accounts had been restricted or removed in the first month since the law took effect on December 10.
"While social media platforms have taken some initial action, I am concerned through our compliance monitoring that some may not be doing enough to comply with Australian law," Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.
The regulator – which had until now been monitoring the situation – says it will begin enforcing the restrictions and gathering evidence.
"The evidence must establish the platform has not taken reasonable steps to prevent children aged under 16 from having an account," Inman Grant said.
"That means more than simply demonstrating some children do still have accounts. Rather, the evidence must show the platform has not implemented appropriate systems and processes."
The BBC has contacted all of the social media companies for comment.
A spokesperson for Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads, said that the company is "committed to complying with Australia's social media ban". It also noted that accurate age determination is a "challenge for the whole industry" and argue that "robust age verification and parental approval" at the app store level is the most effective approach to protect young people.
Snap, which developed Snapchat, said it had locked 450,000 accounts and "continue to lock more every day".
While Australia's ban was brought in with huge fanfare, it is widely acknowledged that many under-16s continue to use the 10 platforms covered by the law: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit, and streaming platforms Kick and Twitch.
When the BBC visited a school in Sydney last month, the majority of students who used social media before the ban still had access. Some claimed they had not been asked to prove their age, while others said they had got around the age assurance methods.
One pupil claimed that, of 180 girls in her year group, she was aware of only three who had been booted off platforms.
Parents across Australia have widely supported the policy. For many, having the government on their side helps when they are at loggerheads with pre-teens desperate to get onto social media.
But there are plenty of critics, with technology experts and child wellbeing advocates saying children need to be educated on the potential harms on the platforms rather than banned from them.
And many question the ban's enforceability and say it unfairly excludes minority groups such as rural kids, disabled teenagers and those who identify as LGBTQ+ - all of whom are more likely to find their communities online.
On Tuesday, the eSafety commissioner said the reform was "unwinding 20 years of entrenched social media practices".
"Durable, generational change takes time - but these platforms have the capability to comply today," Inman Grant said.
"While the onus is on age-restricted platforms to take reasonable steps to keep children under 16 from having accounts, parents are proving pivotal partners in this cultural reset.
"We have heard from parents who have said the law is empowering them to say no to requests by their kids to have social media accounts.
"Any cultural change that pushes against the powerful interests and revenue potential of entrenched industry players - whether car manufacturers, Big Tobacco or Big Tech. Those players will push back but we continue to push ahead."
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03-31 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
Ukraine's president says partners asked if the attacks could be "reduced" as prices soar due to the Iran war.
Zelensky says allies asked him to scale back attacks on Russian energy
Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine's allies have urged him to scale back attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure amid the ongoing global fuel crisis - but that they would only end if Russia stopped targeting Ukraine's first.
The Ukrainian president told journalists in a WhatsApp voice message that, by launching attacks on Russia's energy system, Ukraine was only responding in kind.
It is unclear which countries he may have been referring to. China and India remain heavily dependent on Russian oil, and the EU on Russian gas.
Zelensky's comments come amid a string of long-range Ukrainian strikes on Russia's energy sector, including the key oil export terminal at the port of Ust-Luga outside St Petersburg.
"We have received messages from some of our partners asking about how our responses against Russia's oil sector - the energy sector - can be reduced," Zelensky said in the voice message.
"If Russia is ready not to strike Ukraine's energy, then we'll respond by not attacking theirs."
In response to surging energy prices triggered by the war in Iran and Tehran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz - a key shipping route - the US recently eased some sanctions it had imposed on Russian oil.
China and India remain the largest buyers of Russian crude oil, though, accounting for 85% of its exports in February, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
Meanwhile, the EU is the largest buyer of Russian gas (34%) and LNG (49%).
After relentless Russian attacks on Ukraine's oil refineries, the latter now heavily relies on fuel imports - largely via Poland, Greece, Lithuania and Turkey.
Almost half of Ukraine's gas imports used to come from Hungary, but they were seemingly suspended Budapest accused Kyiv of stalling the repair of a pipeline carrying oil from Russia over it holding up an EU loan
The key targets of Ukraine's deep strikes on Russian energy infrastructure and the impact they have are a closely guarded secret, meaning there's little clarity there as well.
While strikes on Ukraine's energy have been in the news recently, defence factories have been hit as well.
Further attacks on the terminal took place overnight into Tuesday, according to Russian and Ukrainian officials. Local governor Alexander Drozdenko said there had been some damage and three people were hurt, including two children.
Last week, Zelensky visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan - all of which have been marauded by Iranian aerial attacks.
During the tour, he offered Ukraine's drone technology and expertise, and sought assistance in protecting Ukraine against Russian missile attacks.
While surging global oil prices mean an injection of cash into Russia's war economy, they also threaten Ukraine's ability to fight.
Responding to a BBC question on Saturday, Zelensky said the Ukrainian army had enough fuel for now, but that he had sought to secure more during his tour of the Gulf.
He also said that Ukraine, which successfully beat back Russia's attempts to stop grain exports via the Black Sea, had useful experience of unblocking trade routes when it came to the Strait of Hormuz.
Russian attacks have caused severe damage to Ukraine's energy system, in particular leaving more than a million people without electricity and heating in winter.
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03-31 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
The tanker has reached Cuban waters just hours after Donald Trump said he had "no problem" with it.
Russian oil tanker reaches Cuba after Trump appears to loosen blockade
A Russian tanker carrying oil to Cuba has entered the waters off the Communist-run island, Russian news agencies report.
The oil shipment - the first to reach Cuba since January - comes hours after US President Donald Trump said that he had no problem with countries, including Russia, sending supplies to the island.
Trump's remark appeared to signal a loosening of a de facto oil blockade his administration had imposed on Cuba since January.
Cuba has been experiencing a series of nation-wide blackouts as the blockade exacerbated existing fuel shortages.
Russian media reports the Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin was carrying a "humanitarian shipment" of 100,000 tonnes of crude oil.
Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) had warned that severe fuel shortages meant that Cuban hospitals were struggling to maintain emergency and intensive care services.
Cuba's situation has deteriorated rapidly since 3 January, when US forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro - a staunch ally of the Cuban government - who had been providing the island with oil under highly preferential terms.
Trump also threatened to impose tariffs on any nation sending oil to Cuba.
Just over a week ago, the US Treasury Department added Cuba to a list of countries barred from receiving oil deliveries from Russia.
But in an apparent reversal of his strategy, Trump told journalists on board Air Force One on Sunday that he had "no problem" with Russia delivering oil to Cuba.
"We have a tanker out there. We don't mind having somebody get a boatload because they need... they have to survive," he said.
It was not clear from Trump's comment whether this represented a permanent reversal of the fuel blockade policy or just a temporary softening - especially as Trump appeared to double down again on his threats towards the government in Havana, telling journalists on Sunday that "Cuba's finished".
"They have a bad regime. They have very bad and corrupt leadership, and whether or not they get a boat of oil it's not going to matter."
The Russian tanker is expected to offload the oil in Matanzas terminal in the coming hours.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said that Russia considered it "its duty to step up and provide necessary assistance to our Cuban friends".
He added that the shipment had been "raised well in advance... with our American counterparts".
The Cuban authorities have portrayed the arrival of the Russian tanker as "breaking" the US-imposed oil blockade.
The oil the Russian tanker carries is expected to provide Cuba with a short-term lifeline.
Its Communist government, led by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, has been in talks with the Trump administration to try to find a route out of the crisis.
But both sides have publicly set out a number of political and economic red lines that make it hard to see where they could find common ground.
Trump recently said he could "take" Cuba, while the island's leadership has said it refuses to accept any enforced changes to the personnel or political direction of its government.
Cuba was already facing its worst economic and energy crisis since the end of the Cold War due to a combination of a drop in tourism after the coronavirus pandemic and government economic mismanagement.
This crisis has been further worsened by the de facto fuel blockade.
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03-31 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
It follows a decision by the Spanish government to deny the US use of the two jointly run military bases in Andalusia.
Spain closes airspace to US aircraft involved in Iran war
Spain has closed its airspace to US planes involved in attacks on Iran, Madrid's Defence Minister Margarita Robles has said.
"We will not authorise the use of Morón and Rota [military bases] for any acts related to the war in Iran," she said, adding that Spain had "made this clear to the American government from the beginning".
Foreign Affairs Minister José Manuel Albares stated that the aim of the decision was to "not do anything that could encourage an escalation in this war".
A White House official told the BBC that the US military was "meeting or surpassing all of its goals under Operation Epic Fury and does not need help from Spain or anyone else".
US President Donald Trump has previously threatened to impose a full trade embargo on Spain over its opposition to the Iran war.
Since the start of the war in late February, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been one of the most vocal opponents of the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, describing them as "reckless" and "illegal".
Earlier in March, Sánchez said Spain had denied the US use of the two jointly run military bases at Rota and Morón, both in Andalusia.
Last Wednesday, he also announced that "all flight plans that involved actions related to the operation in Iran were rejected - every single one of them, including those of refuelling aircraft."
"We are a sovereign country that does not wish to take part in illegal wars," he said.
Some US bombers involved in operations in Iran are stationed at the RAF Fairford base in Gloucestershire in the UK, after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced on 1 March that the UK had agreed to the request from the US.
Planes taking off from there will be forced to bypass much of the Iberian peninsula - either by flying over the eastern Atlantic or France.
Spanish newspaper El País reported that aircraft would only be able to transit through Spain's airspace or land at the bases in case of emergency.
In a 10-minute televised address on 4 March, the Spanish prime minister reflected on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as the Iraq War more than 20 years ago, and said the Spanish government's position could be summed up as "no to war".
Later in March, the Iranian embassy in Spain said Tehran would be receptive to requests from Madrid concerning transit through the Strait of Hormuz because Spain was "committed to international law".
Around 20% of the world's oil supply normally passes through the narrow waterway between Iran and the tip of the Arabian peninsula.
For weeks the threat of attacks by Iranian drones, missiles and potentially mines has kept it effectively closed, sending oil prices shooting.
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03-30 02:10 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
The Italian Competition Authority said luxury goods giant LVMH appears to have adopted "particularly insidious" marketing strategies.
Italy investigates Sephora and Benefit over marketing skincare to children
An Italian authority is investigating beauty brands Benefit and Sephora after they appeared to adopt a "particularly insidious" marketing strategy of using young influencers to market skincare to children.
The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) said it had launched an investigation into the brands' owner, luxury goods giant LVMH, for possibly attempting to sell anti-aging treatments to kids younger than 10.
It said the company's actions may have helped fuel so-called "cosmeticorexia" - an unhealthy obsession with skincare in young people experts believe may be on the rise.
LVMH said in a statement that it would "fully co-operate" with the authorities but declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.
AGCM said its officers and Italy's financial police had carried out inspections of LVMH and Sephora's Italian headquarters on Thursday as part of its investigation.
It said the firms "may have failed to make clear" the cosmetics they sold were not intended for children, while "appearing instead to have encouraged their purchase through covert marketing strategies involving young micro-influencers" - those with an online following in the thousands.
The investigation centres on "possible unfair commercial practices" linked to the premature use of adult cosmestics, including "encouraging the compulsive purchase of face masks, serums and anti-aging creams" to children under the age of 10.
Sephora, which has nearly 23 million followers on Instagram and more than two million on TikTok, has been at the centre of the "Sephora kids" social media trend, in which children share their skincare routines and purchases.
Hundreds of videos show children buying and showing off their skincare products under tags like "Sephora kids haul" and "Sephora kids GRWM [Get Ready With Me]".
Both the AGCM and the British Association of Dermatologists have warned that skincare products can be harmful to children. Experts say they can cause irritation, allergic reactions and, in some cases, permanent skin problems.
The AGCM said important warnings for children on Sephora and Benefit products "may have been omitted or presented in a misleading manner".
LVMH, which owns alcohol, fashion and jewellery brands, stated: "All the companies reaffirm their strict compliance with applicable Italian regulations."
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03-30 02:10 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
France's anti-terrorism prosecutor's office said it had immediately taken over the investigation.
Three arrested in Paris after attempted bomb attack outside Bank of America
Three people have been arrested in connection with a suspected foiled bomb attack on the Bank of America's headquarters in Paris, France's anti-terrorism prosecutor's office said.
An initial suspect was detained at the scene after he placed a device containing five litres of liquid, believed to be fuel, and an ignition system close to the bank, a police source said, as reported by AFP.
On Sunday, French security services said two more people had been arrested in connection with the incident, which happened at about 03:30 local time (01:30 GMT) on Saturday in the city's 8th arrondissement, a couple of streets from the Champs-Élysées.
France's Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the attempted attack could be linked to the US-Israel war on Iran.
"In this type of conflict, you have a number of Iranian services that are likely to carry out actions such as these through proxies," he said.
"There is a significant suspicion, but it is for the investigation to determine."
The Iranian embassy in France has not commented on Nuñez's remarks.
The initial suspect, who was detained at the scene, was accompanied by a second person, who appeared to be taking photos and videos with a mobile phone, but who fled when officers arrived, according to a police source, as reported by AFP.
"Two further individuals were taken into police custody last night as part of the investigation launched on March 28, 2026 into the offences committed against Bank of America," the prosecutor's office said on Sunday.
The custody of the first suspect, who is a minor, had been extended, it added.
Under French law, suspects in terrorism cases can be held for 96 hours. This period can be extended by a court.
Nuñez claimed similar attacks have been foiled in other European nations, including France, Netherlands, Britain and Norway.
He urged security services to be "extra vigilant" and increase their presence at transport hubs and other locations across the country.
France's anti-terrorism prosecutor's office said it had immediately taken over the investigation, which was looking into "attempted damage by fire or other dangerous means in connection with a terrorist undertaking" and a "terrorist criminal conspiracy".
The Paris judicial police and France's domestic intelligence service, the General Directorate for Internal Security, are also involved in the investigation, according to the anti-terrorism prosecutor's office.
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03-30 02:10 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
A number of people are said to have been injured after attacks on aluminium sites in the UAE and Bahrain.
Iranian attacks across Gulf continue as major industrial sites hit
Gulf nations reported a series of attacks as the US-Israel war against Iran entered its fifth week, including strikes on major industrial infrastructure.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said a number of people had been injured in an Iranian strike on a key aluminium plant in Abu Dhabi, with significant damage reported by operator Emirates Global Aluminium.
Meanwhile, state-controlled Aluminium Bahrain said two employees were wounded by an Iranian attack on one of the world's largest aluminium smelting facilities.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had targeted the sites with drones and missiles on Saturday in response to US and Israeli attacks on its own industrial plants.
In a statement carried by Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency, the IRGC claimed the aluminium facilities were linked to the American military.
It came after Tehran had accused Israel of targeting two steel production sites crucial to its economy.
Elsewhere in the region, Oman said it was investigating "cowardly attacks" for which no one had yet claimed responsibility after a foreign worker was reportedly injured in a drone strike on its southern port of Salalah.
Kuwait's defence ministry meanwhile said the radar system at its international airport had been significantly damaged after being attacked by 15 drones.
With their economies and way of life on the line, countries in the Gulf insist they must have a say in any future peace talks. But they are split on the way forward - and on what the region's relationship with Iran or the US should look like.
The attacks came as Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis entered the conflict on Saturday, raising fears of further economic disruption should they target shipping in the Red Sea.
The group said it had launched a barrage of missiles against Israel targeting "sensitive" military sites, and vowed to continue such attacks. Israel said it had shot down two missiles coming from Yemen.
Oil and gas prices have already spiked as Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for global energy supplies between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
If the Houthis decided to attack shipping - as it did in support of Hamas after war erupted in Gaza, following the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023 - it would risk sending energy prices higher.
Meanwhile, Israel continued its strikes against Lebanon - where three journalists were killed in a targeted Israeli strike on Saturday, according to their employers.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed it had killed Ali Shoeib, who worked for the Hezbollah-affiliated Al Manar TV, describing him as a "terrorist" from Iranian-backed Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force who had "operated for years under the guise of a journalist".
It provided no evidence to support its claim that he had a military role, and did not comment on the deaths of Fatima or Mohamed Ftouni.
The same day, the World Health Organization reported nine paramedics had been killed in southern Lebanon within 24 hours - reaching a total of 51 health personnel killed in March so far.
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03-30 02:10 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
One month into the conflict in Iran, Trump's gut-instinct approach is not proving effective, writes the BBC's international editor.
Jeremy Bowen: Trump is waging war based on instinct and it isn't working
Some old truths about warfare have been knocking on the door of the Oval Office in the month since US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent US and Israeli warplanes to bomb Iran.
The failure to learn from the past means that Donald Trump now faces a stark choice. If he cannot get a deal with Iran, he can either try to declare a victory that will fool no-one, or escalate the war.
The oldest of the old truths comes from the Prussian military strategist Helmuth von Moltke the Elder: "No plan survives first contact with the enemy." He was writing in 1871, the year Germany was unified as an empire, a moment that was as consequential for the security of Europe as this war might be for the security of the Middle East.
Maybe Trump prefers the boxer Mike Tyson's modern version: "Everyone has a plan until they get hit." Even more relevant for Trump are the words of one of his predecessors, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the American general who commanded the D-Day landings in 1944 and went on to serve two terms as a Republican president of the United States in the 1950s.
Eisenhower's version was "plans are worthless, but planning is everything". He meant that the discipline and process of making plans to fight a war make it possible to change course when the unexpected happens.
For Trump, the unexpected item has been the resilience of the regime in Iran. It seems that he was hoping for a repeat of the US military's lightning-fast kidnap in January of the President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. They are now in prison in New York, facing trial. Maduro's deputy Delcy Rodríguez replaced him as president and is taking orders from Washington.
Hoping for a repeat of the victory over Maduro suggests a yawning lack of comprehension of the differences between Venezuela and Iran.
Eisenhower's adage on thinking ahead came in a speech in 1957. He had been the man in charge of planning and commanding the largest amphibious military operation in history, the invasion of western Europe on D-Day, so he knew what he was talking about.
He went on to explain that when an unexpected emergency arises "the first thing you do is to take all the plans off the top shelf and throw them out the window and start once more. But if you haven't been planning you can't start to work, intelligently at least".
"That is the reason it is so important to plan, to keep yourselves steeped in the character of the problem that you may one day be called upon to solve – or to help to solve."
Far from capitulating or collapsing after Israel and the US killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first air strike of the war, the regime in Tehran is functioning and fighting back. It is playing a weak hand well.
In contrast, Trump has given the impression that he is making it up as he goes along. He follows gut instincts, not the pages of intelligence and strategic advice that other presidents have ploughed through.
Trump's end point
Thirteen days into the war, Trump was asked by Fox News Radio when the war would end. He answered that he did not think that the war "would be long". As for ending it, it would be "when I feel it, feel it in my bones".
He relies on an inner circle of advisers who are in their jobs to back up his decisions and make them happen. Speaking truth to power is not, it seems, in their job description. Relying on the president's instincts rather than a well-worked set of plans – even if they must be adapted or discarded – makes it harder to fight a war. The lack of clear political direction blunts the devastating firepower and effectiveness of the US armed forces.
Four weeks ago, Trump and Netanyahu put their faith in a ferocious bombing campaign that killed not just the supreme leader but his closest advisors and has so far killed 1,464 Iranian civilians, according to HRANA, a US-based group that monitors human rights violations in Iran.
The two leaders were expecting a quick victory. Both challenged Iranians to follow up their bombs with a popular uprising to topple the regime.
Iran's obduracy
But the regime in Tehran still stands, still fights back and Trump is finding out why his predecessors were never prepared to join Netanyahu in a war of choice to destroy the Islamic Republic. Opponents of the regime have not risen up. They're all too aware that in January government forces killed thousands of protesters. Official warnings have been broadcast telling anyone thinking of trying to repeat the protests that they will be treated as enemies of the state.
The Iranian regime is an obdurate, ruthless, well-organised adversary. Founded after the 1979 revolution that overthrew the Shah, it was then forged in the deadly misery of the eight-year war with Iraq. The regime is built on institutions, not individuals, and reinforced by iron-clad religious beliefs and an ideology of martyrdom. That means that killin
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03-29 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
Retail and dining premises will have to shut by 21:00 each night for the next month to conserve power.
Shops and restaurants in Egypt told to close early as energy crisis deepens
Shops, restaurants and cafes in Egypt have been told to close early as part of a raft of temporary measures to combat soaring energy prices caused by the Iran war.
Retail and dining premises will have to close by 21:00 (19:00 GMT) each night for the next month, beginning on Saturday.
The "exceptional measures" introduced by the Egyptian government also include dimming street lights and roadside advertising, as well as a return to home working for one day a week in April for many.
Egypt has been particularly affected by the Middle East conflict and the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for oil and liquefied natural gas.
Global oil prices have skyrocketed since supply via the waterway came to a near-total halt, with fears there could be a knock-on effect on the price of food, medicine and other goods if left unresolved.
Even though Egypt has no involvement in the war, its reliance on imported fuel has made it vulnerable to supply shocks.
Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Saturday that its petrol bill alone had more than doubled from January to $2.5bn (£1.9bn) in March.
Hotels and tourist attractions will be exempt from the energy-saving measures, the government has said. Tourism is estimated to make up around a 10th of Egypt's economy.
However, several hotels in Cairo, including the Mariott and Cosmopolitan, told broadcaster RFI that they had acquired generators in case of power cuts and would keep their restaurants open for guests irrespective of closing times elsewhere.
While most employees will be told to work from home for one day a week, essential workers - such as those in hospitals, schools and factories - will be excluded.
Since Iran began threatening to strike ships transporting good through the Strait of Hormuz, most international shipping through the narrow chokepoint has ceased. Usually, around 20% of the world's oil and gas supply flows through it.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly vented his frustration that allied nations were unwilling to help escort ships through the waterway.
Thailand said on Saturday that it had reached an agreement with Iran, giving its oil tankers safe passage.
The Egyptian government has already raised petrol prices and the cost of taking public transport to limit the impact of the conflict on its public finances.
It will also slow down large, energy-intensive state projects and cut government vehicle fuel allowances by nearly a third, news agency Reuters reports.
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian government on Saturday told state-owned companies and public institutions to place non-essential staff on leave to conserve fuel used for transport.
Additional reporting by Alaa Ragaie in Cairo and Richard Kagoe in Nairobi
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03-29 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
The crew are safe and will complete their mission, a spokesman for the organisers said.
Two Cuba-bound aid ships found days after disappearing
Two boats filled with humanitarian supplies travelling from Mexico to Cuba have been located days after contact with them was lost in the Caribbean.
The Mexican Navy said one of its aircraft had spotted the vessels some 80 nautical miles (148km) from the Cuban capital, Havana.
A spokesman for the Nuestra (Our) America Convoy said earlier that the crew were safe. Neither he nor the Mexican Navy gave any explanation about why the Friendship and Tiger Moth had disappeared.
The boats are among several vessels that have sought to carry supplies to the island nation since the US imposed an oil blockade in January, prompting a chronic fuel shortage.
They departed Isla Mujeres, in Mexico's easternmost state of Quintana Roo, on 20 March, and had been due to arrive at their destination on Monday or Tuesday.
There are nine crew members - from Poland, France, Cuba and the US - on board.
"The vessels are continuing their journey to [the Cuban capital] Havana," the Nuestra America Convoy spokesman said.
"The convoy remains on track to complete its mission - delivering urgently needed humanitarian aid to the Cuban people."
In a post on X, the Mexican Navy it was in radio contact with the boats and was sending a vessel of its own to the area "to provide support".
Volunteers and non-governmental organisations have largely spearheaded efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Cuba since US President Donald Trump's oil embargo on the communist-run country began.
Coupled with shortages of food and medicine, the situation has triggered rare public dissent in the form of street protests.
Earlier in the week, the Cuban government celebrated after receiving another boat carrying 14 tonnes of humanitarian aid to the island.
The vessel, dubbed "Granma 2.0" after the boat in which [the late Communist leader] Fidel Castro returned to Cuba to launch its 1950s revolution, delivered solar panels, medicines, baby formula, bicycles and food.
Since the US seized former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January and cut off the supply of oil from Venezuela - a staunch Cuban regional ally - Trump has turned his attention to the Caribbean island.
He has threatened tariffs on any country supplying oil to Cuba, has spoken of a "friendly takeover" of the nation and has urged it to "make a deal" or face unspecified consequences.
The Cuban government has confirmed it is in talks with the US to resolve their differences, but has insisted that "the political system of Cuba is not up for negotiation".
On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the system in Cuba had to change if it wanted a better future.
"You need to change the people in charge, you need to change the system that runs the country, and you need to change the economic model that it's following," Rubio told reporters in France, where he attended a meeting of foreign ministers from the most advanced Western economies, known as the G7.
The US secretary of state denied there was a naval blockade around the island.
"The reason why Cuba doesn't have oil and fuel is because they want it for free," Rubio told reporters before leaving Paris.
"And people don't give away oil and fuel for free on a regular basis, unless it was the Soviet Union subsidising them or Maduro subsidising them.
"And the reason why they're having blackouts is because they have equipment from the 1950s and '60s that they never maintained or kept up."
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