GAZA – The Israeli army intensified shelling of northern Gaza and closed roads, preventing the delivery of aid, the conflict-torn Palestinian territory’s civil defence agency said yesterday. The army, which said it surrounded Jabalia in northern Gaza at the weekend, issued new evacuation demands on Tuesday, as analysts suggested Hamas was regrouping, despite a year...
ABIDJAN – Suspected jihadists killed at least 10 civilians at the weekend at a market in the north of Burkina Faso, security officials and locals told AFP on Tuesday. The West African nation has been battered by a jihadist insurgency that swept in from neighbouring Mali in 2015. Thousands of civilians, troops and police have...
MAPUTO – Across Maputo are red flags pierced by harsh sunlight and faded walls plastered with posters of Frelimo, the party that has been in power in Mozambique for half a century. In the vibrant capital of the Portuguese-speaking country, the lack of suspense is palpable days ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections, but it...
TUNIS – Tunisians cast ballots in yesterday’s presidential election, with incumbent Kais Saied expected to secure another five years in office as his main critics are behind bars. Three years after he staged a sweepingpower grab, the election is seen as a closing chapter in Tunisia’s experiment with democracy. The North African country had prideditself...
BEIRUT – A huge fireball lit up the night sky and plumes of smoke rose over south Beirut early yesterday as Israel unleashed intense air strikes targeting Hezbollah, nearly a year after the Gaza war erupted. Israeli forces were on high alert ahead of today’s anniversary of Hamas’ 7 October attack, which triggered the war....
MIAMI – Florida’s governor declared a state of emergency on Saturday as forecasters warned the US state – still reeling from deadly Hurricane Helene – could be slammed by another major storm next week. Tropical Storm Milton, currently churning in the western Gulf of Mexico, was “forecast to strengthen into a major hurricane as it...
BEIRUT – Nine people were killed and 14 others injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting a building in central Beirut yesterday, Lebanese TV channel al-Jadeed reported. According to al-Jadeed, the strike hit the Health Authority Centre affiliated with Hezbollah in the al-Bachoura area near parliament early yesterday.TV footage showed heavy black smoke rising from the...
LAGOS – The United Nations Wednesday said it had released US$5 million to help flood victims in Nigeria, where the rainy season has killed more than 300 people and caused widespread damage. The money from its Central Emergency Relief Fund will help “scale up the flood response and address critical needs in three of the...
KAFOLO – For months after presumed jihadists attacked it in 2020, Kafolo in northern Ivory Coast resembled a ghost town. Four years later, it is flourishing again, thanks in part to a double-pronged government plan — boosting security on the one hand, tackling poverty and youth unemployment on the other. Fourteen soldiers were killed in...
THE HAGUE – Gabon claimed sovereignty over three islands in oil-rich waters yesterday, telling the International Court of Justice the matter had already been settled by a 1974 treaty hotly disputed by Equatorial Guinea. The two west African nations have been squabbling over the 30-hectare (74-acre) island of Mbanie and two smaller low-lying islets, Cocotier...