Niger floods force 23,000 from their homes
AFP, Niamey
Floods in southeast Niger have forced 23,000 people to flee their homes since early October, officials said Saturday, threatening a new humanitarian crisis in a region already wracked by Boko Haram Islamist violence.
Heavy rains have caused the Komadougou Yobe river that flows through the semi-desert Diffa region into Lake Chad to burst its banks, inundating villages, flooding fields and damaging crops.
Swiss vote in possible ‘green wave’ election
AFP, Geneva
Switzerland holds national elections on Sunday in a vote that could see unprecedented gains for parties demanding bold climate action and a possible slip for the anti-immigrant right-wing.
Opinion polls point to a “green wave” during the vote, the Sotomo political research institute said, possibly ushering in one of the most significant shifts in recent Swiss political history.
Pelosi in Jordan for ‘vital discussions’ amid Syria crisis
AP, Amman
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a bipartisan delegation of American lawmakers has visited Jordan to discuss “the deepening crisis” in Syria amid a shaky U.S.-brokered cease-fire. According to a statement from Pelosi’s office, the delegation met Saturday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman and held “vital discussions about the impact to regional stability.”
Lebanon party pulls out of embattled government
AP, Beirut
A Lebanese Christian leader has asked his four ministers in the Cabinet to resign amid nationwide protests against the country’s political elite.
Samir Geagea, who heads the right-wing Lebanese Forces party, said late Saturday he no longer believes the current national unity government headed by Premier Saad Hariri can steer the country out of a deepening economic crisis. The protesters are calling for the government to resign.
