International News
Death Toll From Kenya Floods Almost Doubles To 120
The death toll from floods that have devastated many parts of Kenya has almost doubled to 120, a government official said on Tuesday.
More than 89,000 households have also been displaced and are being sheltered in over 112 camps, top interior ministry official Raymond Omollo said in a statement.
Kenya and its Horn of Africa neighbours Somalia and Ethiopia are battling flash floods caused by torrential rains linked to the El Nino weather pattern.
The floods are exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region just as it emerges from the worst drought in four decades that left millions of people hungry.
Omollo said four counties in eastern Kenya were the worst hit while another 10 were on high alert.
Kenyan President William Ruto chaired an emergency cabinet meeting on the disaster on Monday, pledging to release billions of Kenyan shillings (millions of dollars) to the affected areas.
His office had said in a statement after that meeting that 76 Kenyans had perished and more than 35,000 households had been forced from their homes.
“The above-normal precipitation, resulting from El Nino, has led to widespread flooding that has regrettably led to loss of lives, displacement of families, disease outbreaks, destruction of infrastructure and property, as well as prolonged power outages across Kenya and many parts of the Eastern Africa region,” it said.
‘Forefront of Vulnerability’
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.
Ahead of the start of the UN’s COP28 climate summit in Dubai on Thursday, Ruto warned in an address to the European Parliament last week that Africa was “at the forefront of environmental vulnerability”.
At a pan-African climate summit in Nairobi hosted by Ruto in September, the continent’s leaders had called for global finance reform to boost renewable energy and a carbon tax.
In Somalia, the government said last week that the death toll from the flash floods is close to 100, with more than 700,000 driven from their homes and almost two million people affected in total.
Earlier this month, the UN’s humanitarian response agency OCHA said 43 people had died in Ethiopia as a result of floods, heavy rainfall and landslides.
UK-based charity Save the Children said in a report on Tuesday that extreme weather events in countries vulnerable to climate change drove more than 27 million children into hunger last year.
It said children made up nearly half the 57 million people pushed into crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse across 12 countries because of extreme weather in 2022, according to data from the IPC hunger monitoring system.
AFP
German authorities deported at least 137 Nigerian citizens across five chartered flights between February and June 2026, according to migration monitoring reports.
Data from the DERS Team and Refugees4refugees.org shows the deportations occurred in phases, with 27 Nigerians returned in February, 37 in March through a joint European Union operation, 24 in April, 23 in May, and 26 in June.
The February operation departed from Stuttgart and landed at Lagos Cargo Airport, with Baden-Württemberg listed as a primary participant. The March operation represented the largest single return of Nigerians recorded over three years and was executed in collaboration with Spain, Austria, and Belgium.
The reports indicate a growing reliance on multi-national chartered flights by European states to repatriate undocumented or non-resident individuals to Nigeria.
The United States has condemned the killing of members of the family of Plateau-based cleric, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, describing the attack as horrific and urging Nigerian authorities to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
In a statement shared on X on Thursday, the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called for stronger measures to prevent further attacks on vulnerable communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
“The United States strongly condemns the horrific killing of members of Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo’s family in Plateau State, Nigeria. The continued violence targeting Christian communities and other vulnerable populations in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is deeply alarming,” the bureau said
The US said it had already engaged Nigerian officials on the worsening security situation, stressing that urgent action was needed to curb recurring attacks and hold perpetrators accountable.
“As I discussed last week with Nigerian officials, we must do more to prevent violent acts. The perpetrators must be held accountable, and urgent action is needed to strengthen security and protect Christians and other vulnerable communities,” the statement added.
The bureau reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government to combat terrorism and violent extremism, stressing that Christians and other Nigerians should be able to practise their faith without fear of violence.
The statement followed the July 12 attack on Kum community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, where nine members of Rev. Dachomo’s extended family, including a two-month-old baby, were killed.
According to the cleric, the attackers, believed to be armed Fulani militias, asked for him by name before opening fire on his relatives.
Dachomo, who serves as Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, said his family had repeatedly been targeted because of his outspoken criticism of the violence in Plateau State.
He recalled that his grandmother and an uncle were also killed in previous attacks, adding that days after burying his relatives, he received a written death threat from the same group, warning that he would be their next target.
Saudi Arabia has updated its tourist eVisa programme for 2026, limiting eligibility in Africa to only three countries as part of its list of 66 nations whose citizens can apply through the Kingdom’s online visa platform.
The move leaves most African countries, including Nigeria, outside the simplified entry scheme.
The electronic visa allows eligible travellers to visit Saudi Arabia for tourism, leisure activities, family visits and Umrah, excluding the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Applications are completed online, eliminating the need for embassy visits and lengthy visa processing.
Saudi authorities said the eVisa forms part of ongoing efforts to expand tourism, attract international visitors and simplify travel procedures through a fully digital application system. The visa is available only to citizens of approved countries and territories listed on the Kingdom’s official tourism portal.
Below is the list of African countries eligible for Saudi Arabia’s eVisa.
1. Mauritius
2. Seychelles
3. South Africa
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