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Pakistan starts vote count, clear picture expected early Friday

Pakistan starts vote count, clear picture expected early Friday

PAKISTAN began counting votes after polling ended in a general election marred by militant attacks and suspension of mobile phone services, with authorities saying that at least nine people had been killed nationwide. The vote was held as the South Asian country struggles to recover from an economic crisis while it grapples with rising militant violence in a deeply polarised political environment. TV channels are expected to make projections of first results a few hours after voting closed at 5 p.m. (1200 GMT) and a clear picture is likely to emerge early on Friday as counting continues through the night. The national…
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Somalia’s president suspends PM’s power to hire and fire officials

Somalia’s president suspends PM’s power to hire and fire officials

SOMALIA’S President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has suspended the prime minister's power to hire and fire officials, he said in a statement, escalating a destabilising row in the Horn of Africa nation. Somalia's Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble. REUTERS/Feisal Omar The dispute between Mohamed and Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Roble, nominally over a murder investigation, marks an escalation of months of tension between them in a country riven by militant attacks and clan rivalries. "The prime minister violated the constitution," the president said in the statement, saying the suspension will last until the conclusion of elections later this year. There was…
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Gunmen kill at least 45 people in Nigeria

Gunmen kill at least 45 people in Nigeria

MILITANTS killed at least 45 people in an attack on the town of Faru in northwest Nigeria, according to residents and a hospital worker. Such violence has increasingly become a part of everyday life in the region, with the Nigerian government and security forces showing little ability to stem the deterioration of law and order. "The armed bandits stormed Faru town on more than 100 motorbikes, shooting sporadically on the people at about twelve noon yesterday," said Abubakar Iliyasu, a resident who witnessed the attack. Another resident, Musa Dan Auta, also said the gunmen killed 45 people, while a local…
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Militant attacks force 570,000 to flee homes in northern Mozambique, president says

Militant attacks force 570,000 to flee homes in northern Mozambique, president says

MILITANTS have forced 570,000 people to flee their homes in Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado province, President Filipe Nyusi said on Wednesday, vowing to defeat insurgents who stepped up attacks since pledging loyalty to Islamic State last year. Fighters have been taking on the army and seizing entire towns in recent months in the province, home to gas developments worth some $60 billion. Earlier this week, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said at least 424,000 people had fled to neighbouring Niassa, Nampula and Pempa provinces, and warned that the crisis could spread beyond Mozambique's borders. "Those who are terrorists must be…
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UN agency says more than 400,000 flee Mozambique militant attacks

UN agency says more than 400,000 flee Mozambique militant attacks

AT least 400,000 people have fled militant attacks in northern Mozambique, the United Nations refugee agency said, warning that the crisis could quickly spread beyond the country's borders if regional neighbours did not help tackle the insurgency. Mozambique's northernmost province of Cabo Delgado, home to gas developments worth some $60 billion, is grappling with an insurgency linked to Islamic State that has gathered pace this year, with insurgents regularly taking on the army and seizing entire towns. Valentin Tapsoba, the southern African head of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), said families who were rebuilding their lives after…
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U.N. urges Mozambique to investigate reported massacres, beheadings

U.N. urges Mozambique to investigate reported massacres, beheadings

THE United Nations has called on Mozambique to investigate reports that militants had massacred villagers and beheaded women and children in a restive northern region. As many as 50 people have died in recent days in attacks by fighters linked to Islamic State, local media including Mediafax and The Pinnacle News have reported. Violence had surged this year in Cabo Delgado - a province that borders Tanzania and is the site of a multi-billion dollar natural gas project - alarming governments across southern Africa. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called for an investigation in a statement late on Tuesday. UN Secretary-General…
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France on alert as official warns of more militant attacks after Nice church killings

France on alert as official warns of more militant attacks after Nice church killings

FRANCE's interior minister said on Thursday more militant attacks on its soil were likely and the country was engaged in a war against Islamist ideology following the second deadly knife attack in its cities in two weeks. Minister Gerald Damarnin was speaking a day after an assailant shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) beheaded a woman and killed two other people in a church in Nice. The man was shot by police and is now in critical condition in a hospital. "We are in a war against an enemy that is both inside and outside," Damarnin told RTL radio. "We…
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EU to offer Mozambique support in tackling insurgency

EU to offer Mozambique support in tackling insurgency

THE European Union will offer Mozambique support in tackling a wave of militant attacks in the country's north by rebels with links to Islamic State, according to the EU's ambassador to the southern African nation. The rebel attacks in Cabo Delgado province date back to 2017 but the violence has gathered pace this year with insurgents seizing important towns for brief periods and hitting military and other strategic targets. Mozambique had asked the EU for help in training its armed forces to battle the insurgency, which has raised fears for stability and security in southern Africa. "The government of Mozambique…
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