- A landslide in Chehna has killed a family of six after heavy rainfall in Jijel, about 400 kilometers east of Algeria's capital Algiers.
The victims, a 37-year-old mother and her five children aged between 7 and 2, were killed in the landslide which damaged their traditional built home, according to the local news agency APS.
"The father and another child, who survived the disaster, have been housed in a communal dwelling in Taher," sources from Jijel region said.
Heavy rains have hit Algeria and Morocco in recent months and dozens have been killed by flash floods, landslides, road accidents and collapsing buildings. Floods had also killed more than 40 people in the Algerian oasis town of Ghardaia in October.
Morocco was also hard hit by the torrential rains in October in its several cities, causing significant casualties and leaving hundreds homeless. Considerable livestocks are also reported to have been lost, which has had an effect on the economy in that area, reports indicated.
According to weather reports, these rains have far exceeded, in some provinces, the annual average recorded during the last fifty years. New climatic patterns are said to be affecting the North Africa region, and increasing the vulnerability of poor communities.
The seasonal forecast for October to December 2008 indicated that Morocco and other parts of the north African region would continue to experience above-normal precipitation and since the beginning of December some important snow falls and cold wave have also been recorded.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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