At least 20 people, the vast majority of them women, were killed when a wooden boat capsized off the coast of central Senegal in a delta region popular with tourists, firefighters told AFP on Tuesday. A traditional wooden boat overturned near the coastal town of Bettenty on Monday night, with 72 on board, all except … Read more
The movement behind social unrest that left French Guiana paralysed for almost a month has ended the protest after Paris pledged an aid package worth billions of euros. A general strike by 37 unions on March 25 has crippled the French territory in South America with locals pressing for a “Marshall Plan” along the lines … Read more
One soldier enjoys a cigarette, another sits reading quietly on the riverbank: seen from the Chinese side of the border, North Korea’s army does not appear to be on a war footing despite all the bellicose language. Dandong city is the main crossing point to North Korea, and every day hundreds of tourists embark on … Read more
More than a thousand people demonstrated Tuesday in the southern Tunisian city of Tataouine during a general strike to denounce marginalisation and demand development and jobs, an AFP correspondent said. The city some 500 kilometres (200 miles) south of Tunis on the edge of the desert has been the scene of several protests over the … Read more
The Indian army said Monday its soldiers killed four suspected rebels who attempted to cross into the Indian-administered part of Kashmir at the unofficial border dividing the disputed territory with Pakistan. The shootout happened late Sunday evening when soldiers guarding the border known as the Line of Control (LoC) intercepted four armed men in Keran, … Read more
At least eight civilians were killed on Sunday when security forces in Indian-administered Kashmir opened fire on protesters during a by-election, according to officials. Local rebel leaders had called for a boycott of the vote, which was held to fill a vacant seat after a member of parliament resigned to protest the killing of civilians … Read more
Morocco is hosting a month-long festival to celebrate African art and culture, featuring some of the continent’s most prominent artists. Activities including theatre, exhibitions and concerts are being held around Rabat as part of the Africa in the Capital event. The festival follows a vast diplomatic, political and economic offensive by Morocco across the continent … Read more
Two UN experts who were missing in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been found dead, officials say. The bodies of US citizen Michael Sharp and Swedish national Zaida Catalan were discovered in the central Kasai region, a government spokesman said. They were abducted two weeks ago after going to Kasai to investigate reports of … Read more
One in five youths in several North African countries and Lebanon would like to emigrate in search of better prospects, including those with university degrees, according to a survey conducted for the European Commission. The survey of 10,000 people in Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia found a deep sense of “frustration and social exclusion”, … Read more
Hong Kong on Friday charged a ship’s captain over the transport of nine Singapore armoured troop carriers without a proper licence, which embroiled the two cities and China in a diplomatic dispute. The vehicles were detained in Hong Kong in November as they returned to Singapore after conducting military exercises in Taiwan. Following the seizure … Read more
Morocco and China’s Haite Group signed an agreement on Monday to launch an industrial park near Tangiers for 200 Chinese companies that will create tens of thousands of jobs. The agreement was signed in a ceremony at the royal palace in the port city attended by King Mohamed VI. With an initial investment of $1 … Read more
The body in charge of organising elections in Tunisia on Tuesday proposed November 26 as the date for holding the first municipal polls since the country’s 2011 revolution. “It is still possible to hold the elections in 2017,” said the president of the electoral body, Chafik Sarsar, at a meeting with Prime Minister Youssef Chahed … Read more
At least 34 people have been killed after a runaway bus veered into crowd in the Haitian city of Gonaives, officials say. The vehicle first knocked over two pedestrians, killing one, French-language media report. The driver then tried to flee the scene. He rammed the bus into a band of street musicians, leaving dozens dead, … Read more
Some Ghanaian troops on Peace Support Operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo have complained bitterly about how they are being fed. The troops who want their identities to be hidden for security reasons said the situation keeps worsening each day in the mission area which has led to them being fed as though they … Read more
The United Nations has announced aid worth $5 million to the violence-wracked Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The aid is to directly go to persons affected in the remote, central region who have been plagued by violence since mid-August when government forces killed a tribal chief and militia leader. Some 400 people … Read more
The Spanish outposts of Ceuta and Melilla in northern Morocco, which have the European Union’s only land borders with Africa, are tempting launch pads for clandestine immigration to continental Europe. Ceuta, a former Roman colony of 85,000 people, measures about 18 square kilometres (seven square miles) and lies just across the Strait of Gibraltar from … Read more
One early morning last week, Adam’s fellow migrants managed to climb over the high border fence separating Morocco from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Adam, a 17-year-old from Guinea, failed and suffered a dangerous concussion in the process — but he has not given up his dream of reaching European Union territory. “It was night-time … Read more
Some 300 migrants stormed the border between Morocco and Spain at Ceuta on Monday, authorities said, days after hundreds more forced their way over the frontier. The young migrants climbed over the high border fence into the Spanish North African territory, ecstatic to have finally crossed into a European Union state. Their arrival comes just … Read more
Several hundred migrants have stormed a six-metre (20 ft) security fence that separates Morocco from Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa. Police said security cameras showed around 600 migrants, some with shears and clubs, breaking through one of the gates. More than 300 reportedly made it across the razor wire barrier. Ceuta and Melilla, … Read more
Hundreds of migrants stormed the border between Morocco and Spain at Ceuta on Friday, days after Morocco warned the EU of fresh migrant trouble following a row over a trade deal. The Spanish civil guard — or paramilitary police — told AFP that “several hundred” migrants had stormed the border fence into the Spanish North … Read more