NIAMEY – Almost three million people face food shortages in Niger this year after insects and drought undermined the most promising crop in decades, the government said yesterday.
Crop failure is common in the semi-arid west African state. Donors spent more than $250 million (€171m) in aid in 2010 after poor rains left half the country in need of aid. “Food insecurity could affect about 2,620,770 people in total this year, 17.3 per cent of the population,” said the government.
Hamani Harouna, spokesman for the countrys emergency alert system, said: “Added to the drought, there has been the devastating effects of predatory insects on millet and sorghum.” Niger had said in January it was on track to record its best cereal crop in 20 years and projected a surplus of 1.5 million tonnes.
The government said about 1.1 million people, or 7.8 per cent of the population, could face severe food shortages, while another 1.5 million could face more moderate shortages. – (Reuters)
Police arrest three people over cafe bombing in Marrakesh
RABA – Police in Morocco arrested three people yesterday for a cafe bombing in the tourist city of Marrakesh on April 28th that killed 16 people, and said the chief suspect was “loyal” to al Qaeda.
The three suspects were all Moroccans, the official news agency reported. Most of the bomb victims were foreign holidaymakers including eight French people.
The ministry said the chief suspect was “well-versed in jihadi ideology and shows loyalty to al Qaeda”. It said the suspect had previously tried to fight alongside Islamist militants in Russia’s turbulent Chechnya republic and in Iraq. It was the first such attack in Morocco since 2003, when suicide bombings in Casablanca, killed more than 45 people.