Africa

At least 12 dead in Mali attack: sources

BAMAKO, Mali (AFP) — At least 12 Tuareg civilians died Tuesday in an attack in eastern Mali, a region hit by chronic unrest between local tribes and jihadist militants, sources said. About 200 people, many of them civilians from the Fulani and Tuareg tribes, have been killed in the area this year. Militants claiming allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) have been clashing with local groups backing a French security force and the Malian army. […]

DFA: 7 of 12 crew members abducted from ship off Nigeria are Filipinos

(Eagle News)–The Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, Sept. 25, confirmed seven of the 12 crew members who were abducted from a ship off the coast of Nigeria were Filipinos. In a statement, the DFA said it was taking the necessary steps to ensure the safe release” of the  Filipino crew members of the MV Glarus who were taken as the Swiss-owned vessel was making its way from Lagos to Port Harcourt. The vessel had 19 […]

Five killed in torrential Tunisia rains

by Fethi Belaid Agence France Presse NABEUL, Tunisia (AFP) — Flash floods in Tunisia’s Cap Bon peninsula have killed at least five people, authorities said Sunday, as surging waters caused by heavy rains carried away homes, cars and chunks of road. Saturday’s storm caused water levels in some areas to rise as much as 1.7 meters (5.6 feet), as bridges and roads were damaged in record rains that dropped the equivalent of nearly six months […]

Tanzania says over 44 killed in Lake Victoria ferry capsize

NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — At least 44 people died and an unknown number went missing on Thursday when a ferry capsized in the south of Victoria, Africa’s largest lake, Tanzanian government officials said. “According to reports that President John Magufuli has just received from the authorities in Mwanza, the toll now stands at more than 40 dead,” Gerson Msigwa, the president’s spokesman said on state television, TBC 1. Regional governor John Mongella said late Thursday […]

Ghana flooding kills 34 during heavy rains

ACCRA, Ghana (AFP) — At least 34 people have died in northern Ghana during flooding caused by heavy rains and waters spilling from a dam in neighbouring Burkina Faso, relief agency officials said Thursday. Bagre Dam is located on the White Volta river that begins in Burkina Faso and which converges with the Black Volta downstream and feeds into Lake Volta in southern Ghana. The authorities open the dam’s spillways during annual rains, but the […]

100 die in severe flooding in Nigeria: relief agency

  LOKOJA, Nigeria (AFP) — Nigeria has declared a national disaster after severe flooding left about 100 people dead across 10 states, the country’s main relief agency said on Tuesday. Heavy seasonal rains have caused the Niger and Benue rivers to burst their banks, inundating communities, farms and trapping tens of thousands of people in their homes. Sani Datti, from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), told AFP: “We have declared a national disaster in […]

To fight poverty, world should invest in Africa’s youth: Bill Gates

UNITED NATION, United States (AFP) — The world should help Africa invest in its people as the continent confronts a demographic boom, said billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, whose foundation released its annual report on Tuesday. Gates put forward a “simple idea” that investing in the health and education of Africa’s younger generation would help tackle poverty. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation released its annual “Goalkeepers” report measuring progress towards achieving UN poverty-reducing goals in […]

Fish shortage sparks conflict on Africa’s Great Lakes

RWENSHAMA, Uganda ( AFP)- Ugandan navy speedboats sliced through murky Lake Edward towards a fleet of wooden canoes carrying illegal fishermen from the Democratic Republic of Congo, hightailing it back to their own waters. “Stop the boat, hands up, surrender any weapons,” yelled Lieutenant Deogratius Kato as the soldiers surrounded a motorized canoe after a 20-minute chase, pointing guns at two terrified fishermen. The rest of the boats escaped to the safety of Congolese waters, leaving a trail of […]

20 dead as hill collapses on Darfur village in Sudan: rebels

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AFP) — At least 20 people have been killed in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region after a hill collapsed onto their village following heavy rain, a rebel group said Wednesday. Several people are still feared to be buried after rocks crashed down onto their houses in the mountainous Jebel Marra region of Darfur on September 7, the group said. The remote area is under the control of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army-Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW) […]

Zimbabwe opposition to declare Chamisa ‘president’

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AFP) — Zimbabwe’s main opposition party will this week hold a mock inauguration to name its leader Nelson Chamisa as the country’s president, highlighting its claims the July 30 election was rigged. Chamisa, who heads the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), narrowly lost to Emmerson Mnangagwa in Zimbabwe’s first election since the ousting of long-time ruler Robert Mugabe last year. Chamisa’s legal bid to have the result overturned due to alleged electoral fraud […]

Sudan police save 85 minors from trafficking network: Interpol

LYON, France (AFP) — Police in Sudan have rescued nearly 100 people, 85 of them minors, after breaking up a human trafficking network in the northeast African country last month, Interpol said Monday. Two men and twelve women were arrested and around $20,000 of suspected ransom money was seized in the operation at several locations in Khartoum as well as at gold mines east of the city, the international policing agency said. The victims, some […]

Ebola death toll rises to 88 in DR Congo

BENI, DR Congo (AFP) — The death toll from an outbreak of Ebola in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to 88, the health ministry said Thursday, as the virus spread to the city of Butembo, an important commercial hub of one million people. The first confirmed cases in Butembo were a woman and one of the medical staff who had been treating her, it added. The woman died on Tuesday after fleeing nearby […]