At least 111 people, including 16 children, have died and 700,000 displaced in floods caused in recent weeks by torrential rains which hit the Horn of Africa according to Save the Children.
The El Niño climatic phenomenon amplifies rainy season precipitation in the region, mainly affecting Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya.
The Horn of Africa is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather events are occurring with increased frequency and intensity. Since late 2020, Somalia as well as parts of Ethiopia and Kenya have been hit by the worst drought the region has seen in 40 years.
El Niño, typically associated with rising temperatures, droughts in some parts of the world and heavy rains in others, is expected to last until April
This meteorological phenomenon has already wreaked havoc in eastern Africa. From October 1997 to January 1998, gigantic floods, following torrential rains caused by El Niño, caused more than 6,000 deaths in five countries in the region.
The Supreme Court overturns a judgment which put opponent Sonko back in the race
The Supreme Court in Senegal overturned on Friday a judgment which put imprisoned opponent Ousmane Sonko back in the presidential race in February 2024, specifying that the case would be retried, announced its president Ali Ciré Ba.
“The court overturns and annuls the decision of the Ziguinchor court of October 12 and returns the case to the Dakar high court” for a retrial, he declared.
Last month, the court in Ziguinchor, the city of which Sonko has been mayor since 2022, canceled the removal of the opponent from the electoral lists.
The state appealed this decision.
"This decision does not suit us. The case will be retried but the sponsorships will soon be over," Mr. Babacar Ndiaye, one of Mr. Sonko's lawyers, told AFP. Obtaining sponsorships is an essential step in running for president.
“The decision is disappointing,” said Me Bamba Cissé, another of his lawyers.
Mr. Sonko, 49, was found guilty on June 1 of debauchery of a minor and sentenced to two years in prison. Having refused to appear at the trial which he denounced as a plot to exclude him from the election, he was convicted in absentia.
He was imprisoned at the end of July on other charges, including calling for insurrection, criminal association in connection with a terrorist enterprise and endangering state security.