Africa

40 persons are feared dead in shipwreck off Libya – UNHCR

Update: UNHCR said that at least 40 persons are feared dead or missing in shipwreck off Libya with an estimated 60 having been rescued, Sky News reports. "Terrible news coming in of potentially…

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Air strikes in southern Tripoli kill eight fighters allied to GNA

Eight fighters allied to Libya’s internationally recognised government were killed in air strikes as rival eastern forces stepped up an offensive to retake a strategic city south of Tripoli, officials…

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Education under fire in Central and Western Africa warns UNICEF report

A surge in “deliberate” attacks against students, teachers and schools in West and Central Africa has led to a tripling in school closures in the last year and left almost…

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Sudan flooding leaves at least 62 dead

At least 62 people have died in Sudan as flash flooding across the country causes devastation to people’s homes and livelihoods in the northeast African country. The destruction caused by…

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Chad shuts down border with Libya

The authorities in Chad have closed the borders with Libya, Sudan, and the Central African Republic for security reasons. The Libya Observer reports that Chad’s Minister of Defence, Mahamat Salah…

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Missile hits Libya’s only functioning airport in Tripoli

A missile hit the car park of Libya's only functioning airport in Tripoli on Saturday, forcing flights to be grounded for almost three hours before operations resumed, the airport and…

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Troika statement on the appointment of Dr. Abdalla Hamdok on his as Prime Minister of Sudan

The UK, US and Norway have issued a Troika statement congratulating Dr. Abdalla Hamdok on his appointment as Prime Minister of Sudan. The Troika countries (United Kingdom, United States…

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Heavy clashes in southern Tripoli as Libyan Army advances

There are reports of heavy fighting in the Sabea area in the south of Libyan capital Tripoli, as Libyan forces advanced against fighter loyal to Khalifa Haftar. Forces loyal to…

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Ocean Viking rescues migrants off the Libyan coast

A handout photo dated 12 August 2019 and made available by SOS Mediterranee 19 August 2019, showing rescue vessel Ocean Viking rescuing a group of migrants off the coast of…

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Moroccan army to choose first batch for conscription today

On Monday, the Moroccan army will begin selecting 15,000 recruits, the first batch since the resumption to compulsory military service. Eleven years after its suspension, the military service law came…

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Haftar’s forces lose control of Murzuq in southern Libya

Libyan media reported that forces loyal to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar have lost control of the strategic town of Murzuq in southern Libya after two weeks of deadly clashes. The…

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Western Libya civilian airport seriously damaged in fresh air strikes – UN

Eastern Libyan forces have seriously damaged with air strikes a civilian airport in western Libya lacking any military use, the United Nations said on Sunday. Last week, the eastern-based Libyan…

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Power-sharing agreement signed in Sudan (Updated)

Update: Sudan’s main opposition coalition and the ruling military council have signed a power-sharing agreement that paves the way for a new transitional government for the country. The deal, which…

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Displaced by DR Congo violence, survivors’ testimonies highlight brutality of armed militia

Two months since hundreds of thousands of people fled violence in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), UN humanitarians warned on Friday that armed militia continue to make their…

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Crew from German and Greek ships kidnapped by pirates off Cameroon

Pirates have kidnapped eight crew members of a German-owned ship, the MarMalaita, in a raid on the vessel off Douala, off the coast of Cameroon as well from a Greek…

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Libya reopens Sebha airport closed since 2014

Libya reopened on Friday its airport in the main southern city of Sebha which had been closed since January 2014 due to security problems. Witnesses from the area said that…

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Photo Story: Protests in Zimbabwe

A man runs away from a member Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) during clashes in Harare during the Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance Peace March. The anti-government march is to protest the…

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Breakthrough in new drug treatments to fight Ebola in DR Congo

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced what could be a major breakthrough in the battle against Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), revealing that two out…

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Fighting around Tripoli resumes

Fighting around Tripoli resumed overnight, following a two-day truce observed during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. The two-day cease-fire, proposed by the U.N., was the first since the self-styled…

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‘Migrants experiencing horrific circumstances in Libya,’ says Spanish NGO Open Arms

The number of migrants stranded in the Mediterranean Sea has risen to more than 500. Open Arms, the Spanish NGO operating one of the vessels, said they felt "abandoned" and…

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UN warns of spike in grave violations against children in Mali as ‘the new normal

Voicing great concern over a sharp increase in the killing and maiming of children in Mali due to ongoing fighting and instability, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and partners called…

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Air war in Libya intensifies – Risk of Civilian casualties increase

An air war in Libya is intensifying as rival forces in the divided country try to break a military stalemate, heightening significantly the risk of civilian casualties. At least 45…

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Libya halts flights at Mitiga airport

Flights were suspended Sunday at Libya’s Mitiga International Airport in capital Tripoli as Khalifa Haftar-affiliated forces violated the truce reached on the Eid al-Adha, Muslim religious holiday, for the second…

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Joint Statement by the Governments of France, Italy, the UAE, the UK, and the USA on the Truce in Libya

The following is the text of a joint statement by the governments of France, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States: The governments of…

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Reports that Haftar under investigation by ICC

The Libya Observer reports that the International Criminal Court's Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has started investigating crimes committed by forces under Khalifa Haftar's command in Libya, The declaration was made by…

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UPDATED: Halt to military operations in Libya during Eid al-Adha, reports of bombing on Mitiga airport

Italian news agency ANSA reported that the ceasefire was broken hours after it came in force. ANSA quotes Libyan TV station Al Ahrar that it is reporting a bombardment on…

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Two U.N. workers killed in car bomb in Benghazi, Libya

A car bomb in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Saturday killed two U.N. staff, several medical sources said. A Reuters reporter at a Benghazi hospital saw a list…

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Refugee who lived in Malta among the victims of Dayton shooting

The Washington Post reports that among the victims of the Dayton, Ohio, mass shooting there is an Eritrean refugee who lived and worked in Malta in order to be able…

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Head of Haftar’s military intelligence service kidnapped

The Libya Observer reports that Ramadan Albarasi, the head of Khalifa Haftar’s military intelligence, was kidnapped. The Libya Observer quotes sources from the city of Al-Bayda east of Libya that…

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UN warns that a third of population in Zimbabwe faces food crisis

More than five million people in Zimbabwe - about a third of the population - need food aid, with many coming close to starving, the UN says. The World Food…

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Libya’s U.N.-backed government increases defence spending

Libya’s internationally recognised government has allocated 40 million Libyan dinars for its defence ministry, stepping up spending to fend off an eastern offensive as the war enters a fifth month.…

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Tunisia’s largest party Ennahda names its first-ever candidate for presidential elections

Tunisia's biggest political party Ennahda named a candidate for presidential elections on Tuesday, the first time the moderate Islamist party has put up a nominee for the post since the…

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Photo Story: Lipton Challenge Cup yacht regatta

Cape 31 yachts race during the Lipton Challenge Cup regatta in Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa. The Lipton Challenge Cup is one of the oldest and most prestigious yacht…

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Plans for migrants detained in Libya transfer to Rwanda

Migrants trapped in Libyan detention centres where many have been subjected to abuse would be evacuated to Rwanda under an emergency plan being discussed with international humanitarian agencies and the…

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Photo Story: Cairo’s explosion aftermath

Some photos taken by EPA's photographer Mohamed Hossam of the destruction in the Egyptian capital Cairo after the violent explosion on the night between Sunday and Monday. At least 19…

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Massacre during Libyan wedding

Al Jazeera is reporting that at least 40 people have been reported killed and dozens injured after an air strike hit a wedding ceremony in southwestern Libya. Reports said forces…

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Cairo hit by deadly explosion

An explosion outside Egypt's National Cancer Institute (NCI) killed 17 people and injured 32, Egypt's health ministry said Monday. The ministry said the explosion was caused by a car driving against…

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Libya’s Mitiga airport reopens

Libya's Mitiga airport reopened to air traffic on Saturday after being closed for several hours following shelling, the airport authority said on its Facebook page. Mitiga is the only working…

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Security Council gravely concerned by Ebola outbreak in DR Congo

The UN Security Council on Friday expressed grave concern about the current Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and stressed the urgency of broad cooperation…

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Military and opposition in Sudan agree constitutional declaration

Sudan's ruling military council and main opposition coalition have agreed on a constitutional declaration which will pave the way for a new period of transitional government. The long-awaited declaration deal…

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“It will soon be too late” – President George Vella on Libya’s political process

President Vella expressed his full support to a declaration by EU High Representative and VP Mogherini on the support needed to the UN facilitated political process in Libya. In a…

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Fourth Ebola case found in Goma

A fourth case of Ebola has been confirmed in the eastern Congo city of Goma, the government said, as the disease spreads in a city of more than 1 million…

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Libya to close three migrant detention centres

Libya plans to shut down three of its biggest migration detention centres, the country's Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha has announced. The centres in question are in Misrata, Tajoura and Khoms.…

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Rwanda reopens border with DR Congo

Rwanda has reopened its border with DR Congo, where an Ebola outbreak has killed more than 1,800 people in the past year. The border was closed for several hours after…

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Men accused of facilitating the killing of Paul Formosa in Somalia sentenced to death

The men accused of killing Maltese port manager Paul Formosa in Somalia last February were sentenced to death by a military tribunal, Somali media report. The Somali website Garowe Online…

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Rwanda shuts border with DR Congo to stop spread of Ebola

Rwanda has closed its border with DR Congo in response to the Ebola crisis. At least two people have died from the virus in the eastern Congolese city of Goma,…

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NOC reinstates force majeure on Libya’s largest oilfield “Sharara”

The Libya Observer reports that the National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced the reinstatement of force majeure on crude oil loadings at Al-Zawiya port starting on Tuesday, July 30. The NOC…

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Migrant’s death exposes UN failures in Libya

As tragedy and controversy continues to move hand in hand with the migrant voyages from the shores of Libya across the Mediterranean, Rana Jawad, the BBCs North Africa correspondent gives…

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Libya’s central bank drops dollar purchase fees to 163%

Reuters reports that the Libyan Presidential Council on Tripoli of the Government of National Accord (GNA) announced on Tuesday that it will cut the fee on sales of dollars and…

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Second Ebola case confirmed on border with Rwanda

A second case of Ebola has been detected on Democratic Republic of Congo's border with Rwanda, raising fears the deadly illness could spread. The case was confirmed in the city…

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U.N. calls for Eid truce in Libya, warns foreign mercenaries fuelling conflict

A United Nations envoy called on Monday for a truce to be declared in Libya around Aug. 10, and warned that an influx of weapons from foreign supporters in violation…

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Photo Story: Tunisia, Libya, Sicily and Malta from Space

NASA’S astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) have taken landscape photography to a whole new level with these stunning photos of our Earth from 250 miles up in space.…

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Air traffic from Libya’s Mitiga Airport suspended following air strikes

Libya's Mitiga airport halted air traffic on Monday after it was hit by air strikes, the airport authority said on its Facebook page. Missiles on Monday hit Tripoli's only functioning…

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Massacre by Boko Haram in Nigeria

At least 65 people have lost their lives after suspected Boko Haram militants opened fire on a funeral in Nigeria's north-eastern state of Borno. Gunmen arrived on motorcycles and in…

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Senior UN officials call for return to sea rescues, after ‘the worst Mediterranean tragedy of this year

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, along with the heads of a number of UN agencies, expressed horror at Thursday’s reports that as many as 150 people may be dead after a boat…

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Fatal bombing on hospital in Libya

The Libya Observer through its Facebook page is reporting that four medics were killed and eight others wounded in an airstrike by Haftar’s air force on a field hospital…

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62 bodies recovered from Mediterranean’s worst tragedy this year

Libya's Red Crescent said Friday its rescue workers had recovered the bodies of 62 migrants a day after one of the deadliest shipwrecks this year in the Mediterranean. "Our Red…

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