By Guyson Nanagayi – Cairo – Egypt’s barge carrying 244 tons of diesel fuel has sank into the Nile river spilling over 100 tons of diesel fuel while attempting to dock near Aswan, some 980km south of the capital Cairo, media and state sources reported on Sunday. Sources say the spill has covered at least one square kilometre of the river’s surface. At least 100 tons of diesel spilled into the Nile, the al-Masry al-Youm daily reported, though other sources said up to double that amount could have leaked into the waters. Civil defence and emergency forces were working to... Continue Reading
By Guyson Nanagayi – Libreville -About 70 000 people in Chad have been left homeless due floods caused by heavy rains threatening the country’s food security, a UN agency said on Saturday. More than half of the country’s regions have been affected, over 31 000ha of crops lost and about 145 000 people hit by flooding ,according to Humanitarian Affairs office. But those figures would climb as some areas are still unaccessible, it added. “The floods could exacerbate food insecurity for some households in areas where (floods) washed away crops and destroyed livelihoods,” OCHA’s Chad office said in a statement.
BY NANGAY GUYSON IN KAMPALA UGANDA – President Joseph Kabila of Democratic Republic of Congo has issued a ban on Mining in three provinces of eastern Congo saying is controlled by mafias. The ban comes after his recent visit to the mining hub town of Walikale and said he wanted to weed out what he called a “kind of mafia” involved in the mining industry. Control over mining minerals like coltan and cassiterite has fuelled conflict between rebel groups. The minerals are used in mobile phones and computers. The ban covers the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema.... Continue Reading
By Guyson Nanagayi -The electoral commission in Niger has again postponed presidential polls from next January 3 to 31 of that same month. The election is aimed at restoring civilian rule after this year’s military coup ousted the sitting president Mamadou Tandja. He is under house arrest. The Junta spokesman Col. Goukoye Abdoulkarim had said in May the election would be held by December 26, but electoral officials said they needed more time to prepare. The military junta ousted the country’s dictatorial and unpopular president, Tandja, in February after he refused to step down when his mandate expired last year.
By Nangayi Guyson – The hard-line Islamist group al-Shabab using two cars in a suicide bombing, have attacked Somalia’s main airport in Mogadishu, killing soldiers and civilians, officials say. The first car exploded at the airport entrance, but a number of insurgents jumped out of the second car and opened fire, killing two African Union (AU) peacekeepers. The five other militants blew themselves up as they tried to reach the airport terminal and all of the militants involved in the attack had died, and two women who were begging outside the airport’s entrance were among those killed, Officials and witnesses said. The number... Continue Reading
