Nigeria : thousands displaced after floods
Africa
12:11
The death toll from the flash floods that have devastated parts of Niger State in north-central Nigeria has risen to 200. Rescuers are tirelessly sifting through mud and debris, searching for survivors and victims, while hundreds of people remain missing.
Also, a rebel group linked to al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a military base in Mali, reportedly killing over 30 soldiers. Since early May, more than 400 troops across the Sahel are believed to have died at the hands of insurgents.
Finally, the French Minister of State, Thani Mohamed Swahe, visited Mayotte last weekend, accompanied by Kenya's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. The two officials travelled together from Nairobi, marking a new phase in the growing relationship between Kenya and the French overseas territory.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Local France
2 hours ago
- Local France
‘Why this hatred?': French town reels over killing of Tunisian man
Tributes poured in from shocked neighbours and friends mourning the murder of Hichem Miraoui, with more than a dozen bouquets placed outside the barbershop where he worked in the quiet Var town of Puget-sur-Argens. 'I don't understand why he was killed. Why all this hatred?' said Sylvia Elvasorre, a 65-year-old who lives next to the hair salon, tears in her eyes. Marwouen Gharssalli, 43, echoed her disbelief, saying his friend was generous and willing to lend a helping hand. 'He even cut hair for free when people couldn't pay... he regularly used to cut my son's hair,' said Gharssalli, a welder. A card signed by fellow shopkeepers said the death of Miraoui – remembered as hard-working and warm – would 'leave a void'. Christophe B, a French national, shot and killed Miraoui, 46, on Saturday evening before injuring another neighbour, a Turkish national. The suspect, born in 1971, was arrested after his partner alerted police. He posted racist videos on social media both before and after the attack, according to regional prosecutor Pierre Couttenier. A silent march is planned in Puget-sur-Argens on Sunday to affirm the town's 'absolute rejection of hatred and our commitment to respect, tolerance and fraternity,' said a town hall statement. The shooting followed the murder of a Malian man in a mosque in April, also in southern France, while the burning of a Koran near Lyon at the weekend has further fuelled concerns over rising anti-Muslim attacks in the country. Advertisement 'People are stunned that a racist crime like this could happen. This kind of thing is not part of Puget's culture,' said Paul Boudoube, the town's mayor. Miraoui was in a video call with family planning for the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, when he was shot. 'He was joking with our sick mother when I heard him grunt and the call ended,' said Hanen Miraoui, the victim's sister. According to French daily Le Parisien , the suspect in Miraoui's murder said he 'swore allegiance to the French flag' and called on the French to 'shoot' people of foreign origin in one of his videos posted on social media. Anti-terrorism prosecutors have taken over the investigation into the case, the first such racist attack linked to the far right to be dealt with as 'terrorism' since their office was set up in 2019. 'It means that investigative resources will be devoted to analysing the political motives behind this act and how this person became radicalised,' said the legal head of the anti-discrimination group SOS Racisme, Zelie Heran, who welcomed the referral. Political and religious leaders have sounded the alarm over growing anti-Muslim acts in France, which increased by 72 percent in the first quarter, with 79 recorded cases, according to interior ministry figures. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who is taking an increasingly hard line on immigration issues, has faced accusations of not being firm enough against such crimes and even fuelling a racist climate. Advertisement But he said on Tuesday that the killing of Miraoui was 'clearly a racist crime', 'probably also anti-Muslim' and 'perhaps also a terrorist crime'. Chems-Eddine Hafiz, the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, called on President Emmanuel Macron to speak out. 'It is time to hold accountable the promoters of this hatred who, in political and media circles, act with complete impunity and incite extremely serious acts,' said Hafiz. 'Remind people of the reality that we are citizens of this country.' France is home to the largest Muslim community in the European Union, as well as the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States. There has also been a rise in reported attacks against members of France's Jewish community since Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, 2023, and the Israeli military responded with a devastating military offensive on the Gaza Strip. France's Holocaust memorial and three Paris synagogues and a restaurant were vandalised with paint on Saturday.
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Czechs sign nuclear deal with S.Korea firm KHNP: PM
A Czech court had blocked the multi-billion-dollar deal in May after French energy group EDF filed a complaint, questioning the transparency of the tender which it lost. But a higher court threw out the ruling on Wednesday over procedural flaws, enabling the government of Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala to ink the deal. "A while ago we signed an agreement on the supply of two units for the Dukovany nuclear plant," Fiala told reporters. "We did our best to make sure the deal can be signed the instant the legal obstacles are removed," he said. He hailed the signature as a "fundamental step on the way to higher energy security and self-sufficiency". KHNP is due to build the two units at the southern Czech nuclear plant of Dukovany run by the state-run CEZ group. The Czech Republic, an EU member of 10.9 million people, relies on nuclear power -- produced by Dukovany and the Temelin plant also in the south -- for 40 percent of its electricity consumption. With the two new units and small modular reactors due to be built by 2050, the share of nuclear energy is expected to rise to 50 percent as the country shifts away from burning fossil fuels. Fiala said earlier KHNP won the tender as its bid was "better in all criteria assessed" than EDF's offer. On Wednesday, he said KHNP has vowed to hand 60 percent of the contract to Czech suppliers. KHNP has offered to build the two new units for around 200 billion Czech koruna ($9 billion) each. Prague expected to finalise the deal with KHNP by March this year, but complaints by EDF delayed the process. CEZ expects construction to begin in 2029 and the first new reactor launched in trial operation in 2036.
LeMonde
3 hours ago
- LeMonde
Macron attempts to ease tensions with Meloni in Rome
The reconciliation attempt lasted more than three hours and took the form of a long one-on-one meeting followed by dinner. With kisses and smiles, Giorgia Meloni warmly greeted Emmanuel Macron in Rome on Tuesday, June 3, at Palazzo Chigi, the Italian prime minister's residence. At the end of the evening, the two leaders issued a brief joint statement, highlighting their "strong convergences" and pledging to "coordinate their efforts in European mobilization and action" on major international issues, particularly those where tensions have grown since Donald Trump returned to the White House. Relations between the Italian prime minister, who comes from a post-fascist party, and the pro-European French president have always been complicated, but they have become even more strained since January against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. The Italian press and opposition criticized Meloni's absence during Macron's visit to Kyiv on May 10, when he was accompanied by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the British and Polish prime ministers, Keir Starmer and Donald Tusk. The Italian leader has made no secret of her reservations about Macron's proposal to send European troops to support Kyiv and enforce a highly unlikely ceasefire with Moscow – a subject that was taken out of their joint statement. "The continued unwavering support of France and Italy for Ukraine is even more necessary to achieve a just and lasting solution," the statement emphasized. The two leaders also agreed to hold a bilateral summit in France at the beginning of 2026.
