Africa

Welcome to the tropical prison that some don’t want to leave

by Jose OSORIO Agence France-Presse MEXICO (AFP)- More than a century after Mexico established a prison on the Maria Islands — a Pacific archipelago eight hours by boat from the mainland — the country’s new government has decided to close it. But some prisoners didn’t want to leave the tropical jail. The inmates and guards on the islands — the Islas Marias, as they are known in Spanish — stayed put even when powerful Hurricane […]

Cholera cases mount to over 1,000 in cyclone-hit Mozambique

MAPUTO, Mozambique (AFP) — Cholera has infected at least 1,052 people in Mozambique’s cyclone-hit region, the health ministry said Monday in a new report, marking a massive increase from 139 cases reported four days ago. The mounting cases represent on average more than 200 cases of new infections each day. Although hundreds have been taken ill with cholera since last week, only one death has been reported so far, tallies compiled by the ministry showed. […]

Cyclone-hit Mozambique fears cholera epidemic

by Nicolas DELAUNAY BEIRA, Mozambique (AFP) — Doctors and nurses wearing Wellington boots and face masks tended to patients in tents at a hastily-erected treatment center in Beira, Mozambique following the devastation of cyclone Idai and its aftermath. Several dozen patients suspected of having cholera, an infection caused by bacteria, were grouped outside the hospital in the Macurungo neighbourhood according to the severity of their symptoms which can include diarrhoea. “We’re not leaving anything to […]

Mozambique families devastated by cyclone tragedy

by Nicolas DELAUNAY BEGAJA, Mozambique (AFP) — Twelve people perched precariously on a branch of a mango tree, sheltering from the floodwaters of tropical Cyclone Idai which wrought devastation across southern Africa. “But after two days, it snapped,” said Isabel Bernard, 20, a survivor of the storm’s aftermath who had been clinging to the tree branch along with her son. “We were thrown into the water and I lost sight of my son. I looked […]

Up to 500,000 displaced by southern Africa cyclone

  by Adrien Barbier and Nicolas Delaunay, with Nina Larson in Geneva Agence France Presse BEIRA, Mozambique (AFP) — Survivors of a cyclone that pummelled southern Africa began receiving medicine, food and tents Tuesday as floodwaters receded, while officials warned up to 500,000 people are displaced in the storm-struck region. Cyclone Idai smashed into Mozambique’s coast, unleashing hurricane-force wind and rain that flooded swathes of the poor country before battering eastern Zimbabwe — killing more […]

Malian leader vows security as massacre toll hits 160

OGASSOGOU, Mali (AFP) — Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita vowed Monday to beef up security as he visited a village where more some 160 people were killed by suspected militiamen from a rival ethnic group. “We need security here — this is your mission,” Keita said, giving a public order to military chief General Aboulaye Coulibaly, who was abruptly appointed on Sunday after the massacre. “Justice will be done,” he vowed. The deadly raid took […]

Disease fears mount for Africa cyclone survivors

by Adrien BARBIER and Joaquim NHAMIRRE BEIRA, Mozambique (AFP) — Disease is threatening to aggravate the already dire conditions facing millions of survivors following the powerful tropical cyclone which ravaged southern Africa 10 days ago, officials warned on Sunday. Cyclone Idai smashed into Mozambique’s coast unleashing hurricane-force wind and rain that flooded swathes of the poor country before battering eastern Zimbabwe — killing 705 people across the two nations. Amid the ongoing crisis, Zimbabwean television […]

Moroccan police disperse protesting teachers with water cannons

RABAT, Morocco (AFP) – Baton-wielding riot police used water cannons to disperse teachers protesting in the Moroccan capital on Saturday night to demand better conditions. Several thousand young teachers calling for permanent work contracts had marched peacefully through the streets of central Rabat chanting slogans such as “freedom, dignity, social justice”. As night fell, demonstrators held aloft candles and used their mobile phones as torches, before setting up a makeshift camp in front of parliament. […]

Mozambique cyclone death toll climbs to 417: government

  BEIRA, Mozambique (AFP) — The death toll in Mozambique has climbed to 417 after a cyclone devastated swathes of the southern African country, flooding thousands of square kilometres (miles), the government said Saturday. Cyclone Idai smashed into the coast of central Mozambique on Friday last week, unleashing hurricane-force winds and rains that flooded the hinterland and drenched eastern Zimbabwe. “At this time 417 deaths have been recorded,” Lands and Environment Minister Celso Correia told […]

Idai disaster: Stranded victims still need rescue from heavy rains as UN scales up response

Dire conditions persist in vast areas of southern Africa affected by Cyclone Idai as heavy rain continues to cause “massive destruction”, the UN said on Thursday, while aid teams scale up efforts to reach those most in need. Warning that the situation is likely to deteriorate, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that people are still stranded on rooftops after the storm began its sweep through Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe six days ago. In Mozambique […]

Toll from cyclone-hit southern Africa surges as UN launches health aid

by Adrien BARBIER and Joaquim NHAMIRRE BEIRA, Mozambique (AFP) — The death toll from a cyclone that ravaged three southern African countries last week headed Thursday towards 400, as officials estimated that more than 1.7 million people had been affected by the storm and 15,000 people were still stranded in floodwater. As the toll surged from the region’s biggest storm in years, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced plans to tackle an emerging threat to […]

Aid agencies struggle to rescue Mozambique cyclone victims as waters rise

by Adrien BARBIER and Joaquim NHAMIRRE International aid agencies raced Wednesday to rescue survivors and meet spiralling humanitarian needs in three impoverished countries battered by one of the worst storms to hit southern Africa in decades. Five days after tropical cyclone Idai cut a swathe through Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi, the confirmed death toll stood at more than 300 and hundreds of thousands of lives were at risk, officials said. “We’ve thousands of people… in […]