Dozens of people have died as a result of the flooding and high winds, which have destroyed homes and ripped roofs from concrete buildings. Cyclone Idai made landfall on Thursday with winds of up to 177 km/h (106 mph), but aid teams only reached Beira on Sunday.

It has killed at least 150 people across southern Africa. In Mozambique, people have had to be rescued from trees, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society (IFRC) assessment team, Jamie LeSeur, told the BBC. In neighbouring Zimbabwe, more than 80 people have died in the east and south, information ministry head Nick Mangwana told Reuters news agency.

This includes two pupils from the St Charles Lwanga boarding school in the district of Chimanimani, who died after their dormitory was hit when rocks swept down a mountain. Malawi has also been badly hit. The flooding there, caused by the rains before the cyclone made landfall, led to at least 122 deaths, Reliefweb reports.(BBC)…[+]

ALGIERS – Algeria’s doctors have called for mass protests against Abdulaziz Bouteflika during the country’s independence day celebrations on Tuesday, ratcheting up pressure on the ailing president who is clinging to power.

In a statement released on Monday, the independent Collective of Algerian Medical Residents (CAMRA) urged medical students to take part and denounce the “ruling gangs”. Protesters are desperate for new leaders to replace Bouteflika and other veterans of the 1954-1962 war of independence against France.

The president, in power for 20 years, announced last week that he was reversing a decision to stand for a fifth term, but stopped short of standing down. He has postponed elections, effectively extending his current term, while promising to adopt a new constitution under a reform plan. The changes have brought no halt to demonstrations under way for more than three weeks against a ruling elite viewed as out of touch. Bouteflika, 82, has rarely been seen in public since a stroke in 2013, and protesters say he is unfit to rule.

In another concession, the Ministry of Religious Affairs on Sunday informed clerics that they are no longer required to submit texts of their sermons to authorities for approval. One of the most influential clerics in Algiers expressed his opposition to the government last week.(Reuters)…[+]

JAMAICA – Trelawny is to receive its first set of traffic lights by the end of April. The National Works Agency (NWA) has confirmed that the lights will be erected at the intersection of the Daniel Town main road and the North Coast Highway, leading to the Trelawny Stadium.

In an interview with The Gleaner last week, E.G. Hunter, chief executive officer of the NWA, confirmed that funds have been made available for the implementation of the lights. “J$15 million has been approved for the installation,” said Hunter. “The lights should be in place by the end of April.” Delroy Christie, president of the Trelawny Chamber of Commerce, was pleased with the news and noted that the implementation of the traffic lights was an important step in seeking to make the roadway safer.

“We have been lobbying for this installation of traffic lights at this location over the years,” said Christie. “Only recently, an accident at the crossing claimed two lives.” Christie said the lights have become even more necessary in recent times because of the closure of the Rock Bridge, which was a popular alternative route leading into Falmouth. “Residents of Rock who need to get into Falmouth face terrible risks of getting injured or losing their lives in their efforts to cross the highway in search of taxis, as taxis no longer go into their community,” he said. (Jamaica Gleaner)…[+]