AFP, Ouagadougou
President Emmanuel Macron kicked off his maiden African tour Tuesday by vowing to declassify secret French files on Burkina Faso’s assassinated leader and announcing a billion-euro fund for African businesses.
The terror threat has cast a shadow over Macron’s swing through West Africa, with three civilians wounded in an attempted grenade attack on French troops in Ouagadougou, the Burkinabe capital, shortly before his arrival late Monday.
Cyclone kills 19 in Indonesia
AFP, Jakarta
A tropical cyclone which hit Indonesia’s main island of Java has triggered severe flooding and landslides which left 19 dead, an official said Wednesday.
Landslides claimed 15 lives in east and central Java, while four others perished in floods unleashed by Cyclone Cempaka.
“Thousands of homes, hectares of agricultural land and public facilities are also flooded,” said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for Indonesia’s disaster agency.
6 die of suffocation in New Delhi
Xinhua, New Delhi
Six men died while in sleep apparently due to suffocation inside a huge container in Indian capital city of New Delhi, police said Wednesday.
“The men working with a caterer slept in a huge container, which also had a coal oven lit inside it,” a police official said. The deaths were reported at city’s cantonment area.
Police said the men had come to the cantonment area to prepare food at a wedding function.
15 rebels killed in Philippine clash
Xinhua, Manila
Fifteen suspected communist rebels have been killed and two others wounded in a clash with Philippine army in central Philippines, the military and news reports said on Wednesday.
The military said five soldiers have also been wounded in the “encounter” which took place around 8:20 p.m. on Tuesday night.
Car bomb kills 5 in southern Yemen
AP, Sanaa, Yemen
Yemeni witnesses and officials say a powerful car bomb has struck a government building in the southern port city of Aden, killing five people and wounding 12. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State group.
The witnesses and security officials say the early Wednesday blast completely destroyed the finance ministry building, damaged nearby houses and triggered fires in shops in the area. They spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing retribution.
