Militias allied to the Somali government recaptured a southern port from Islamists on Tuesday, taking the death toll from an upsurge of fighting in recent days to nearly 100, witnesses said. The militias recaptured Guda town, which had been taken by the Islamists’ militant al-Shabaab wing on Monday.
Kenya’s food crisis was set to worsen after a fungus wiped out 10% to 20% of its annual rice production, the United Nations said on Friday. The fungus destroyed 5 600ha of rice in the Mwea Irrigation Scheme in Central Province, known as the rice basket of the country, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
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/ 16 November 2007
At least 629 people have died in Bangladesh as a result of severe Cyclone Sidr, it was officially stated on Friday. The cyclone roared ashore with winds of more than 250km/h, and the death toll was expected to rise further, with about 1 000 fishermen reported as missing.
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/ 25 September 2007
Fresh rainfalls and slow relief have deepened the humanitarian crisis caused by record floods in Africa that have affected more than 1,5-million people and killed at least 300, aid agencies warned on Tuesday. The worst floods in three decades have now affected 22 countries and displaced hundreds of thousands.
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/ 18 September 2007
United Nations agencies on Tuesday warned that the worst floods seen in parts of Africa for decades could intensify in the coming days and appealed for international aid to avert the threat of disease. About a million people have been affected by torrential rains stretching between West and East Africa since July.
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/ 16 September 2007
Torrential downpours and flash floods across Africa have submerged whole towns and washed away bridges, farms and schools. This summer’s rains have killed more than 150 people, displaced hundreds of thousands and prompted the United Nations to warn of a rising risk of disease outbreaks.
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/ 14 September 2007
The heaviest rainfall in 35 years has displaced about 150Â 000 people in eastern Uganda since August and the rain has been ”worsening by the hour”, authorities said on Friday. Flooding across much of West and Central Africa has killed at least 75 people and threaten about a half million, United Nations officials say.