CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — Six people were killed and 15 injured when a leaking oil pipeline caught fire in Egypt’s northern province of Bahira on Wednesday, officials said. The head of Egypt’s oil pipelines authority, Abdelmoneim Hafez, said the leak was the work of “thieves” siphoning off oil. The fire broke out on the pipeline near Itay al-Baroud, a village half-way between Cairo and Alexandria, health ministry spokesman Khaled Mugahed said in a statement. The […]
Africa
Huge fire at Kenya hospital forces evacuation of 100 patients
NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — A massive fire at the oldest hospital in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa forced the evacuation of around 100 patients late Tuesday, the police and Kenyan Red Cross said. Coast regional police commander Rashid Yakub said: “We have established that fire started as a result of a gas cylinder that exploded”. “But luckily we have no casualties because all patients and staff were evacuated in time,” he said. Kenya Red […]
37 dead in attack on mine convoy in Burkina Faso: regional governor
by Julien Besset in Montreal, David Esnault in Abidjan, Armel Baily in Ouagadougou OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AFP) — An ambush on a convoy transporting employees of a Canadian mining company in Burkina Faso killed 37 people on Wednesday, the deadliest attack in nearly five years of jihadist violence in the West African country. The impoverished and politically fragile Sahel country has been struggling to quell a rising jihadist revolt that has claimed hundreds of lives since […]
China launches Sudan’s first ever satellite: official
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AFP) — Sudan’s first-ever satellite for conducting research in military, economic and space technology has been launched by China, the northeast African country’s ruling body said Tuesday. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who heads Sudan’s sovereign council, announced the launch of the satellite at a meeting of his top security officials held in Khartoum. China’s state news agency, Xinhua, reported that the satellite was launched on Sunday from north China’s Shanxi Province. “The satellite […]
22 people killed in DR Congo mining truck accident: police
LUBUMBASHI, DR Congo (AFP) — At least 22 people were killed and 10 wounded when a mining truck overturned in southeast DR Congo on Friday, police said. The truck owned by the Mining Mineral Resources (MMR) firm tipped over at Mutetenya village in Tanganyika province, DR Congo’s national police said on Twitter. “All the cargo of cassiterite (a source of tin) spilled down the steep slope,” it added. © Agence France-Presse
Botswana’s President Masisi wins hotly contested election
GABORONE, Botswana (AFP) — Incumbent president Mokgweetsi Masisi on Friday won a five-year term in Botswana’s elections which saw his ruling party secure more than 51 percent of parliamentary votes, the chief justice said. “Dr. Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi is elected President of the Republic of Botswana,” chief justice Terrence Rannowane announced. The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which has ruled since independence from Britain in 1966, was declared the winner after attaining the minimum […]
At least 16 dead in anti-Abiy protests in Ethiopia: Amnesty
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AFP) — At least 16 people have been killed in violence in Ethiopia this week that began with protests against Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Abiy Ahmed, an Amnesty International researcher said Friday. “Up to now we have confirmed 16 people dead, but the number must be more than that because new reports are emerging which we have not confirmed,” Fisseha Tekle told AFP. He said the violence had […]
Ethiopia PM Abiy wins Nobel Peace Prize for mending ties with Eritrea
by Johannes LEDEL Agence France Presse OSLO, Norway (AFP) — Hailed as a visionary and reformer, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to resolve the long-running conflict with neighboring foe Eritrea. Abiy was honored “for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighboring Eritrea”, the Nobel Committee said. The award is […]
Ethiopian Airlines jet makes emergency landing in Dakar: official
DAKAR, Senegal (AFP) — An Ethiopian Airlines jet made an emergency landing in Dakar with one of its engines on fire, though all 90 passengers and crew were unharmed, airport and airline officials said. The Boeing 767 aircraft had just taken off from Dakar airport en route to Addis Ababa when the pilot asked to return and make an emergency landing, Tidiane Tamba, a spokesperson for the Senegal airport told AFP. Ethiopian Airlines confirmed one […]
Seven children killed in Nairobi classroom collapse: medics
NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — Seven children died and others were injured when their classroom collapsed on Monday morning in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, medics said. “Seven pupils dead, several injured after a classroom collapsed at Previous Talent Academy in Dagoretti,” St John Ambulance — whose rescuers were involved in the search and rescue — wrote on Twitter. Hundreds of angry residents of Dagoretti — a poor area where many live in makeshift houses — swarmed […]
Tourist boat capsizes in Senegal, killing four
DAKAR, Senegal (AFP) — Four people died after a boat carrying dozens of tourists capsized during heavy storms in Senegal, authorities and emergency services said Tuesday. The death toll could rise as three passengers were said to be missing after the accident. The boat was carrying several Senegalese nationals, six French people, two Germans, two Swedes and one person from Guinea-Bissau, when it turned over Monday in driving rain and a heavy swell, fire department […]
Morocco floods kill 11 in bus accident: local officials
RABAT, Morocco (AFP) — At least 11 people were killed Sunday in Morocco after their bus was overturned by a flood in the kingdom’s southeast, authorities said. Rescue crews evacuated 27 passengers from the bus, including several injured, after it flipped over on a bridge by “flood waters” in El Khank, local officials said in a statement. Search operations were ongoing, they said, adding that the evacuees had been transferred to hospital in the city […]
