Mister J: janvier 2024

mercredi 31 janvier 2024

Building collapse kills seven in Senegal capital By AFP 31 January 2024 | 4:01 pm Macky Sall Seven people were killed and several others injured after a building collapsed in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, President Macky Sall said on Wednesday. Part of a residential building, which had been undergoing construction work, collapsed at 1:00 am (0100 GMT) on Tuesday, Martial Ndione, commander of the fire and rescue unit of the fire department, told AFP. Dakar is experiencing rapid demographic and economic growth and has seen an explosion in construction in recent years, sometimes with little regulation and without official permits. “I am deeply saddened by the tragic collapse of a building in Xaar Yalla, causing seven deaths and serious injuries,” Sall posted on X, formerly Twitter. “I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” he added. Fire and rescue commander, Ndione, gave a provisional death toll of five and said that 12 others were injured. Building collapses are common in Africa. In July 2023, two buildings under construction collapsed in Guinea, killing five people. Six people were also killed when a building collapsed in Ivory Coast in the same month.

dimanche 28 janvier 2024

Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso Break From ECOWAS

The West African nations of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso announced Sunday they are leaving regional bloc ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, that has been pressing them to return to democratic rule. The junta leaders of the three Sahel nations said in a joint statement that it was a "sovereign decision" to leave the ECOWAS "without delay," because the bloc, they said, has imposed “inhumane” sanctions against their countries. They accused ECOWAS of having “moved away from the ideals of its founding fathers and Pan-Africanism" after nearly 50 years of its establishment and claimed that the bloc is "under the influence of foreign powers." ECOWAS suspended the three countries following military coups that overthrew their democratically elected governments — in Niger last July, in Burkina Faso in 2022 and in Mali in 2020 and 2021. Since then, the three countries have formed a defense pact called the Alliance of Sahel States which commits each to come to the other’s aid, in defense of its territorial integrity, from internal and external aggression. They have also cut military and cooperation ties with former colonial power France and turned to Russia for security support. France’s decision to withdraw troops from the Sahel — the region along the Sahara Desert across Africa — has increased worries over conflicts spreading southward to Gulf of Guinea states Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo. Struggling with jihadi violence and poverty, the autocratic rulers have argued that their priority is to establish security before restoring democracy in their respective countries, which struggle to contain insurgencies linked to al-Qaida and Islamic State. In the statement, Niger junta spokesperson Colonel Amadou Abdramane said that ECOWAS “notably failed to assist these states in their existential fight against terrorism and insecurity.” The trilateral decision of the countries to withdraw from the organization delivers a blow to its regional integration efforts, creating uncertainty on how this exit will impact the bloc, where goods and citizens move freely. According to the bloc's treaty, member states wishing to withdraw must give a written one-year notice. Until then, the countries must continue to abide by the treaty provisions. The three countries are also members of the eight-nation West African Monetary and Economic Union, UEMOA, that uses the West African CFA franc pegged to the euro. Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.