Kenya: at least 70 dead in floods

Residents of Kenya are struggling to cope with the consequences of severe flooding which has wreaked havoc in many parts of the country.

At least 70 people have been killed by flooding caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon. Some roads and bridges across the country were washed away or partially destroyed by the floods, leaving residents with their feet in the water.

Torrential rains linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon hit the Horn of Africa as it emerged from its worst drought in forty years, leaving millions of people in need and devastating crops and livestock. Many residents living around the Tana River were left homeless and without food after the waters rose. 

Since October 1, floods have killed more than 100 people and displaced more than 700,000 people in East Africa, according to the United Nations Office of Humanitarian Affairs. Marian Ware, a widow and mother of five, fled the floods with her children after her home was destroyed.

Here, everyone must rely on food and clothing provided by donors. With the floods, more than 3 million additional people are affected in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. Humanitarian organizations are now concerned about people vulnerable to disease in this part of Africa.

Within the truce agreement, 150 aid trucks enter Gaza from the Rafah crossing

An official on the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt announced that 150 trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including 4 trucks carrying cooking gas and 3 fuel, during the temporary truce between the Israeli occupation and the Hamas movement.

Wael Abu Mohsen, the media director for the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, said on Monday that 150 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip on Sunday, during the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas.

Abu Mohsen explained in press statements that among the trucks that entered the sector were 4 trucks carrying cooking gas, and 3 carrying fuel.

He pointed out that other humanitarian aid is scheduled to continue entering during the coming hours, without specifying the number.

On November 24, the humanitarian truce between Israel and the Palestinian factions entered into force at 07:00 local time (05:00 GMT), and will continue for 4 days, subject to extension, under Qatari-Egyptian-American sponsorship.

The agreement included an exchange of prisoners and the introduction of humanitarian, relief, medical and fuel aid to all areas of the Strip, which is inhabited by about 2.3 million Palestinians.

Since October 7, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, which has left massive infrastructure destruction and tens of thousands of civilian casualties, most of them children and women, in addition to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, according to official Palestinian and UN sources.

Niger commissions a new photovoltaic plant

The Nigerian Electricity Company (Nigelec) has commissioned a 30 megawatt photovoltaic plant to compensate for significant shortages since Nigeria stopped supplying electricity to Niger in response to the July coup, a announced the Minister of Energy on Sunday.

Equipped with more than 55,000 solar panels , this plant is the largest solar energy infrastructure ever built in Niger .

Nigelec has already noted an “improvement in the quality of service” for its subscribers, particularly in the capital Niamey (1.5 million inhabitants), Dosso (south) and Tillabéri (west), explained on television Mahaman Moustapha Barké, the Nigerien Minister of Energy.

The plant was to have been operational since August 25 but its commissioning was delayed by the departure from Niger of "most of the technical staff" expatriated after the military coup of July 26, he said.

The start-up of the plant was made possible thanks to “certain technicians” who remained in Niamey, he added, without further details.

“As the plant could not be finalized under the conditions initially planned, operational risks nevertheless arise ,” the French embassy in Niger warned in a press release on Sunday.

The installation was inaugurated on July 5 by the president ousted in the coup, Mohamed Bazoum , and by Josep Borrell, the head of diplomacy of the European Union .

The plant cost 20 billion CFA francs (30.4 million euros) and was financed in particular thanks to a loan of 15.5 billion CFA francs (23.6 million euros) from the French Agency Development Agency (AFD) and a donation of 3.5 billion CFA francs (5.3 million euros) from the European Union (EU).

For four months, almost all of Niamey's neighborhoods have suffered significant power cuts , which Nigeria stopped supplying to Niger as part of sanctions imposed in response to the coup by the Economic Community of States. West Africa (ECOWAS), led by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu .

Before the coup, Nigeria supplied 70% of the share of electricity purchased by Nigelec - the country's only supplier - according to a 2022 report from this company.