Tighter border controls caused arrivals to decline sharply but forced people on to more dangerous routes, activists say More than 3,000 people died trying to reach Spain by sea over the past year, a sharp fall from the previous 12 months. However, activists cautioned that the drop reflected tighter border controls that have forced migrants to take increasingly dangerous routes. Continue reading...
British former boxing champion sustained minor injuries Two people killed in collision, say police in Ogun State The British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua was injured in a car crash in Nigeria on Monday morning that killed two people, local police said. The former world heavyweight boxing champion was taken to an undisclosed hospital after his car hit a stationary vehicle at about 11am on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Ogun state police commissioner, Lanre Ogunlowo, said. The driver of Jo
Opposition hopes to tap into frustrations of people living in country where conflict remains a daily reality Central African Republic goes to the polls on Sunday with the president, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, seeking a third term. As many as 2.3 million registered voters will cast ballots for what observers are calling a quadruple election: votes for the presidency and parliament as well as local and municipal offices. Continue reading...
Mamady Doumbouya accused of betraying his promise to be the restorer of democracy after leading 2021 coup In September 2021, a tall, young colonel in the Guinean army announced that he and his comrades had forcibly seized power and toppled the longtime leader Alpha Condé. “The will of the strongest has always supplanted the law,” Mamady Doumbouya said in a speech, stressing that the soldiers were acting to restore the will of the people. Continue reading...
Diplomatic breakthrough criticised by African Union, which said it could have ‘far-reaching implications for peace and stability across the continent’ Israel has become the first country to recognise Somaliland as a sovereign state, a breakthrough in its quest for international recognition since it declared independence from Somalia 34 years ago. The Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, announced on Friday that Israel and Somaliland had signed an agreement establishing full diplomatic relatio
Train accident in Oaxaca is likely to raise criticisms about public works projects from the previous administration At least 13 people were killed when a train derailed in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, in an accident which is likely to revive opposition criticisms of the speed and dealings with which the country’s government builds its flagship public works projects. The incident took place on the Interoceanic Train, which was built to link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans across the narrowest pa
Trump alleged that US forces hit ‘very hard’ in what would mark his team’s first land strike on Venezuela if confirmed Donald Trump has claimed that US forces struck a “big facility” in Venezuela last week – but the president did not specify what it was, or where, and the White House has not commented further. “We just knocked out – I don’t know if you read or you saw – they have a big plant, or a big facility, where the ships come from. Two nights ago, we knocked that out. So we hit them very h
Doctors say they blocked his right phrenic nerve in procedure that took place after jailed former president was hospitalised last week for hernia operation Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro underwent “a phrenic nerve block procedure” on Saturday to treat his persistent hiccups, his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, said on social media. The doctors treating Bolsonaro said later that they blocked the right phrenic nerve and scheduled a new procedure in 48 hours to block the left one. Continue rea
Government said the move was due to its ‘unrestricted respect for human rights’ in the face of US aggression Venezuela has said it has carried out its largest release of political prisoners this year, claiming to have freed 99 people detained for taking part in protests after the 2024 election, widely believed to have been stolen by the dictator Nicolás Maduro, as it comes under increasing military pressure from the US. Civil society organisations have treated the news with caution and stressed
Temperatures plunge below -50C in the Yukon, while swaths of US experience springlike weather Northern Canada has been gripped by an intense and prolonged cold spell, with temperatures hovering between -20C and -40C for weeks. On Tuesday, Braeburn in the Yukon recorded -55.7C, its coldest December temperature since 1975. Meanwhile, Mayo and Dawson endured 16 consecutive nights below -40C, with Mayo plunging to -50.4C on Monday. Whitehorse also recorded 10 nights when temperatures dropped below -
