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Truck bomb kills at least 10 in Somalia

Truck bomb kills at least 10 in Somalia

A truck bomb exploded at a checkpoint in the central Somali town of Beledweyne, killing at least 10 people and obliterating nearby buildings, a police officer said. It was not immediately clear who was responsible but the Islamist group al Shabaab frequently carries out bombings in the Horn of Africa country. "So far I have seen 10 dead people including soldiers and civilians and over a dozen others injured, but the death toll is sure to rise," police officer Ahmed Aden told Reuters. Beledweyne is in central Somalia's Hiran region which has recently witnessed battles between the military and al…
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Nigerian gunmen broke doors, windows in university abduction

Nigerian gunmen broke doors, windows in university abduction

GUNMEN in Nigeria broke down doors, shattered windows and abducted 24 female students from hostels of a university in northwestern Zamfara state in the early hours, witnesses said, in the latest kidnapping to hit the state. As they marched their victims away, the armed men also took a security guard and 10 construction workers who were sleeping in a makeshift shelter on the premises of Federal University Gusau, local officials said. "The armed bandits arrived on motorcycles and started shooting sporadically, that's when I woke up. They went to the girls' hostels near the campus, breaking windows and doors and…
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Morocco earthquake affected 2.8 million people

Morocco earthquake affected 2.8 million people

MOROCCO'S earthquake damaged 2,930 villages in the High Atlas mountains with a total population of 2.8 million people, the minister in charge of the budget said. The 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck on Sept. 8 killed more than 2,900 people, most of them in hard-to-reach mountainous areas. At least 59,674 houses were damaged, of which 32% have totally collapsed, the minister, Faouzi Lekjaa, said in a presentation at parliament. The government would offer 2,500 dirhams ($244) monthly over a year in aid to quake-stricken households, in addition to 140,000 dirhams compensation paid for totally destroyed homes and 80,000 for partially…
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Sudan’s army chief says he favours negotiated settlement to war

Sudan’s army chief says he favours negotiated settlement to war

SUDAN's army chief said that he had not sought military support on a recent regional tour and that his preference was for a peaceful solution to the conflict that has killed thousands and displaced millions of civilians. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan also said in an interview with Reuters that he had asked neighbouring states to stop sending mercenaries in support of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). War between the army and the RSF broke out in mid-April over plans for a political transition and the integration of the RSF into the army, four years after long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir…
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Germany’s Baerbock joins chorus criticizing EU migration deal with Tunisia

Germany’s Baerbock joins chorus criticizing EU migration deal with Tunisia

GERMAN Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock joined a growing chorus of critics of the European Union's new migration deal with Tunisia, saying human rights and procedural faults ruled it out as a blueprint for the future. Her letter to the EU executive European Commission highlights the EU's inner conflict between those pursuing ever-tougher policies to stop illegal immigration and others who emphasize humanitarian considerations and labour market gaps. Italy, the Netherlands and EU institutions in July signed the agreement with Tunisia, promising aid to Tunis in exchange for President Kais Saied cracking down on people smugglers and keeping a tighter lid…
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Libya floods sweep away migrants, and their hopes

Libya floods sweep away migrants, and their hopes

THE small first-floor apartment in Derna became home away from home to Syrian migrant Ammar Kanaan after the risk of drowning kept him from attempting the dangerous Mediterranean crossing to Europe that has cost the lives of so many. After fleeing Syria two years ago to avoid military service, Kanaan had found a steady job in a pastry shop in the Libyan city and lived with two Sudanese roommates a few metres away from Derna's riverbed. But this month, the 19-year-old drowned with thousands of others when a flash flood washed away swathes of the city. Now, the plot where…
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Tunisia detains cartoonist over drawings mocking prime minister

Tunisia detains cartoonist over drawings mocking prime minister

TUNISIA'S public prosecutor detained the cartoonist Tawfiq Omrane over drawings mocking the prime minister, Omrane's lawyer said, fuelling concern among free speech advocates. Omrane is well known for publishing satirical cartoons featuring President Kais Saied, who seized almost all powers two years ago after he shut down Tunisia's elected parliament in a move that the opposition described as a coup. "The police interrogated him (Omrane) for hours without the presence of lawyers on suspicion of insulting through social networks ... over cartoons mocking the prime minister," his lawyer, Anas Kadoussi, told Reuters. Kadoussi said the cartoonist could face one year…
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Nigerians march for late Afrobeats star as police exhume body

Nigerians march for late Afrobeats star as police exhume body

NIGERIANS marched in several states this week in an outpouring of grief and to press authorities to investigate the death last week of popular Afrobeats musician Mohbad, forcing the police to exhume his body on Thursday for an autopsy. The 27-year-old singer, whose real name was Ilerioluwa Aloba, died in a Lagos hospital in unclear circumstances. Thousands of fans marched and held a candlelight vigil in the commercial capital Lagos on Thursday night, following similar processions in other states this week. Police in Lagos said they had exhumed Mohbad's body and conducted an autopsy, bowing to pressure from supporters who…
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US contractor charged with giving classified information to Ethiopia

US contractor charged with giving classified information to Ethiopia

A U.S. government contract employee for the Justice and State Departments was arrested on espionage charges unsealed, prosecutors said, accusing him of passing on classified information to Ethiopia. Abraham Teklu Lemma, 50, was charged in a complaint from late August, which was unsealed on Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement. He faced three charges including "delivering national defence information to aid a foreign government, conspiracy to deliver national defence information to aid a foreign government, and the willful retention of national defence information," the Justice Department said. Prosecutors did not name Ethiopia but said Lemma spied for…
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At UN, Kenya’s president asks world not to leave Haiti behind

At UN, Kenya’s president asks world not to leave Haiti behind

KENYAN President William Ruto urged the United Nations Security Council to formally back a security support mission to Haiti, which Kenya has shown a willingness to lead, saying the Caribbean country "deserves better from the world." The council could vote as soon as next week, diplomats said, on a U.S.-drafted resolution supporting a multinational police deployment. Haiti last year asked for help to combat violent gangs that have largely overrun the capital Port-au-Prince. "Kenya is ready to play its part in full, and join with a coalition of other nations of goodwill - and there are many - as a great friend and true…
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