Africa

From UK to S. Africa, countries face huge energy bills

PARIS, France (AFP) – Gas and electricity costs are soaring due to a post-pandemic surge in demand and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, creating an energy crisis of a magnitude unseen in half a century. As EU energy ministers hold emergency talks on Friday, here is a look at the challenges and options countries from Britain to Sri Lanka are facing: – Massive bills  –With Russia slashing natural gas supplies to European Union countries in apparent […]

Around 730 children dead in Somalia nutrition centres: UN

  By Agence France Presse Around 730 children have died in nutrition centres across Somalia since January, the United Nations said Tuesday, warning the true figure could be much higher, with the country nearing famine. Millions of people are at risk of starvation across the Horn of Africa, which is in the grip of the worst drought in four decades after four failed rainy seasons wiped out livestock and crops. “Malnutrition has reached an unprecedented […]

Thirty-five civilians killed in IED blast in Burkina Faso

  by Armel BAILY Agence France-Presse OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AFP) — At least 35 civilians were killed and 37 wounded Monday when an IED blast struck a convoy carrying supplies in Burkina Faso’s jihadist-hit north, the governor of the Sahel region said. The landlocked African state is in the grip of a seven-year-old insurgency that has claimed more than 2,000 lives and forced some 1.9 million people to leave their homes. Monday’s incident took place […]

Dying of hunger: What is a famine?

  Nairobi, Kenya (AFP) by Simon VALMARY On Monday, the UN’s humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths warned that Somalia was on the brink of famine for the second time in just over a decade. Here is an exploration of a term that evokes the very worst of human suffering. – What is a famine? – “Famine” is a word freighted with dread of hunger and privation, dating back to the dawn of humanity. More recently, though, […]

UN warns famine ‘at the door’ in Somalia

Nairobi, Kenya (AFP) by Tanya WILLMER The UN’s humanitarian chief warned Monday that drought-ravaged Somalia was on the brink of famine for the second time in just over a decade, and time was running out to save lives. “Famine is at the door and we are receiving a final warning,” Martin Griffiths told a press conference in the Somali capital Mogadishu. A food and nutrition report due for release on Monday has “concrete indications” that […]

Nile islanders face eviction to make way for Egypt’s latest grand plan

by Sofiane ALSAAR Agence France-Presse CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — Residents of a Nile island in greater Cairo woke up in recent weeks to find officials taking measurements of their houses — a final step before enforcing demolition orders. Since then, people from Warraq — some of whom have been on the working-class, agricultural island for generations — have renewed efforts to oppose a mega development project that would see the island’s character and their homes […]

Fighting spreads in Ethiopia as Tigray hit by air strike

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AFP) – Fighting in northern Ethiopia between government forces and Tigrayan rebels erupted along a new front on Wednesday, the warring sides said, as the Tigray region was hit by another air strike. The conflict resumed last week after a five-month lull, with clashes on the ground and air raids over Tigray dashing hopes of peacefully resolving the nearly two-year war. Fighting had been concentrated around the southeastern border of Tigray, with […]

75 dead in worsening Niger floods

NIAMEY, Niger (AFP) – Powerful rains that have swept the arid state of Niger since June have left 75 dead and affected 108,000 people, the government said on Tuesday. The previous toll issued by the Civil Protection Agency on August 14 was 32 dead and nearly 67,000 affected. The worst-hit regions are Maradi in the central south, Zinder in the central east, and Tillaberi and Tahoua in the west. The landlocked Sahel state’s annual rainy […]

18 die as Madagascar police shoot at albino kidnap protesters: medic

by Laure VERNEAU Agence France-Presse ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AFP) — Eighteen people died Monday after police in Madagascar opened fire on what they called a lynch mob angered at the kidnapping of an albino child, a senior doctor told AFP. Dozens were wounded, some of them seriously. “At the moment, 18 people have died in all, nine on the spot and nine in hospital,” said doctor Tango Oscar Toky, chief physician at a hospital in southeastern […]

Filipinos in Libya urged to stay home as deadly clashes kill 32

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Sunday night urged Filipinos in Libya to take shelter at home as deadly clashes in the capital killed 32. In a text message to reporters, DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said no Filipino has been reported among the casualties. “The DFA strongly urges our kababayans to take shelter at home or in other safe places while the fighting is ongoing and to contact our Embassy through its hotline […]

Niger tries artificial rainmaking to ease drought

NIAMEY, Niger (AFP) – Niger has deployed rainmaking planes in a bid to alleviate a drought that has sparked fears of a food crisis in the desert nation, weather authorities said Thursday. “We had to do something about this drought,” said Katiellou Gaptia Lawan, head of the national meteorology institute. Niger has been parched by “many extended dry spells that are upsetting the development of crops and pastures”. The Sahel country — the world’s poorest […]

France’s Macron announces ‘new page’ in Algeria ties

by Valerie LEROUX Agence France-Presse ALGIERS, Algeria (AFP) — French President Emmanuel Macron announced a “new page” in ties with Algeria on Thursday, the first day of a three-day visit aimed at mending ties with the former French colony months after it marked 60 years of independence. Macron’s office said his visit aims to “lay a foundation to rebuild and develop” a sometimes difficult relationship with the North African nation after a particularly tense few […]