African migrants storm into Spanish enclave of Melilla

Migrants celebrate getting into Melilla, but they are likely to be expelled

More than 200 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have broken into Spain's North African enclave of Melilla by scaling the border fence.

It is one of the biggest migrant surges into Melilla in recent years.

Many of the migrants suffered cuts scaling the fence. During the incident, migrants threw stones, sticks and bottles at police, officials say.

This month there have been similar mass break-ins in Melilla and Ceuta - another Spanish city in North Africa.

The break-in happened at about 06:00 local time (05:00 GMT) at Ben-Enzar, a crossing point on the Spain-Morocco border.

The migrants, many of whom said they were from Cameroon and Guinea, sang triumphantly as they made their way to the Melilla migrant reception centre, Spain's El Pais daily reported.

They are likely to be expelled from Melilla. The reception centre is already overcrowded - built for 480, it now houses 1,300 people, its manager Carlos Montero said.

On 6 February at least 14 migrants drowned when hundreds tried to swim into Ceuta.

The two Spanish territories have become a magnet for migrants seeking work or asylum in Europe.

Melilla's formidable border barrier does not deter migrants desperate to get into Europe

Ghana hospital given 14 days to find 'missing babies'

Ghana's health minister has given a hospital in the city of Kumasi 14 days to produce the bodies of five babies that were allegedly stillborn.

Seven people were charged with stealing and conspiracy to steal a baby from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital earlier in February.

Suwaiba Mumuni, whose baby is among the five missing, told the BBC she believes her child is still alive.

The hospital, the second largest in Ghana, has denied the allegations.

The BBC's Sammy Darko in the capital, Accra, says the case of the missing babies has caused outrage in Ghana.

Youths stormed the hospital in Kumasi, 270km (167 miles) north-west of Accra, on Thursday, temporarily closing the maternity wards, he says.

'Overwhelmed'

Ms Mumuni said after she gave birth on 5 February, she was told that her baby was stillborn and it was taken away by attendants.

When her relatives arrived later in the day to collect the body for burial, it could not be found, she said.

"The only news I am expecting to hear is that my baby has been found," Ms Mumuni told the BBC.

"They told me my baby is dead, but they have not been able to produce the body... I am confident my baby is alive."

The bodies of another four babies allegedly delivered stillborn that day are also missing.

"The ministry will leave no stone unturned until the truth is established," Health Minister Sherry Ayittey said in a statement.

Ms Ayittey said the hospital had 14 working days to find the bodies of the babies "for burial by the families".

Staff at the hospital, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they often felt overwhelmed and there were inadequate resources to deal with demand.

Our reporter says the seven people charged on Thursday over Ms Mumuni's missing baby were given bail.

 

Libya Reconsiders Political Isolation Law

Tripoli — Proponents of Libya's political isolation law rallied outside the Supreme Court in Tripoli on Monday (February 24th) as justices heard a case urging the law be struck down.

The court delayed ruling on the case until April 28th. That did not stop protestors from voicing support for the controversial statute, which bars any Kadhafi-era official from serving in government regardless of his role in the revolution.

They carried banners reading, "No Alliance, no Brotherhood - political isolation is the answer," "Shame on you judges - history will hold you to account," and "No to darkness - political isolation is the martyrs' demand."

"I find it odd that those who demand to implement the political isolation law demonstrate in front of the Supreme Court while it is in session to discuss the repeal of the law that has been filed by 44 Libyan legal and political figures," commented Benghazi political analyst Moataz al-Majbari.

"It was not enough for these people to demand an exclusionary law," he said. "Now their demands extend to not permitting the court to consider the appeal, a legal procedure in all respectful countries," he said.

Al-Majbari said he hoped that the court would not yield to threats and the demonstrators' pressure.

"Generally speaking, I consider the political isolation law to be a stain of shame on the Libyan authorities," he told Magharebia.

"This law stands in violation of human rights principals; it is a distinctly exclusionary law. Libya is a new-born state that needs reconciliation and inclusion of everybody in the transition process," the analyst added.

The law has been criticised by Human Rights Watch for "potentially barring anyone who worked for the authorities during four decades of Kadhafi's rule".

The law even applies to two of the judges on the Supreme Court, noted Mohi al-Din Aoun, a delegate on the political isolation steering committee.

Citizens are divided over what removing all Kadhafi-era figures would mean for the country's future.

According to Ahmed Yousef, a 32-year-old IT engineer, "no more people with a connection to the regime will herald a new spirit of building a free Libya".

"I think the political isolation law has been introduced at gunpoint and I therefore do not accept it," businessman Khalil al-Badri countered.

"Keeping those who've had a key role in the revolution will help us in the stage of building Libya," he added.

Egypt's Generals Turn to an Old Rival in the Fight Against Islamist Militancy in Sinai

With violent attacks by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis showing no signs of abating, Cairo is looking to Khartoum for a helping hand.

Cairo - For over two years, the Islamist militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM) has been launching violent attacks against the Egyptian state in North Sinai.

These fighters have been responsible for killing dozens of Egyptians in coordinated bombings, carrying out a handful of assassination attempts, and earlier this month demonstrated a possible change in tactics when suicide attackers blew up a bus killing three South Korean tourists and the Egyptian driver.

Despite regular claims to have killed or captured key militants, the Egyptian government's attempts to quell the violence from this group have so far proven ineffective. There have been over 300 reportedattacks since last July, and the run of attacks shows no sign of abating.

With insecurity in the Sinai peninsula deteriorating and Cairo looking short of options, it is little wonder that it has turned to others for help in tackling the Islamist militancy. However its latest choice of partner may raise some eyebrows.

When Cairo met Khartoum

At the start of February, according to Al-Sayyid Al-Badawi, head of the al-Wafd party, an Egyptian delegation returned from a visit to Sudan. There, the officials had agreed a deal with Khartoum over the deployment of joint military patrols along the Egyptian-Sudanese border.

Shortly after that meeting, another higher-level engagement was arranged with the Sudanese Defence Minister Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein who flew to Cairo for talks with Field Marshall Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, his counterpart/Egypt's de facto ruler, and General Sedqi Sobhi, second-in-command of the Egyptian armed forces.

Such meetings are hardly typical of Cairo's current relationship with Khartoum. Relations had been warm during the presidency of the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi, with the country's newfound friendship reaching its apogee in September 2012 when Morsi gave a speech to the United Nations expressing support for President Omar al-Bashir.

But Morsi was toppled in July in a military-led movement. And Egypt's military establishment has never been particularly genial towards al-Bashir and has always maintained that the Sudanese president, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, should stand trial.

Nigeria school attack: Fury at military over Yobe deaths

The remote boarding school was attacked during the night, Will Ross reports

Residents of a town in north-east Nigeria are furious at the Nigerian security forces for withdrawing checkpoints ahead of a bloody attack by Islamist militants on a local school.

At least 29 teenage boys died in the raid, blamed on Boko Haram, on a rural boarding school in Yobe state.

Residents say soldiers guarding a nearby checkpoint were mysteriously withdrawn just before the attack.

Another checkpoint on the outskirts of town was also withdrawn a week ago.

The authorities have confirmed 29 deaths, but the AFP news agency has reported 42 dead and other sources have claimed even higher death tolls following the raid on Monday night on the school in Buni Yadi town.

Ibrahim Gaidam, the governor of Yobe state which has a mainly Muslim population, has also criticised the security forces for their extremely slow response.

"It is unfortunate that up to five hours when this massacre took place, there were no security agents around to stop or contain the situation," he said in a statement.

'Abandon education'

The attackers reportedly hurled explosives into student residential buildings, sprayed gunfire into rooms and hacked a number of students at the secondary school to death.

"Some of the students' bodies were burned to ashes," Police Commissioner Sanusi Rufai said of the raid on the Federal Government College of Buni Yadi.

Most of the school was burned to the ground and at least 11 students were seriously injured.

All the victims were boys - female students were told to go home, get married and abandon education, said teachers at the school.

The government has vowed to defeat the militants

Boko Haram has been accused of numerous attacks in the north including one earlier this month in Borno

Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sin", has attacked dozens of schools in north-east Nigeria, since it began it began its bloody fight for an Islamic state in the north of the country in 2009.

'Deranged'

The group has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

Last September, 40 students were killed at an agricultural college during another night-time raid, and 300 people have been killed this month alone in attacks blamed on it.

Continue reading the main story

• Nigerian students living in fear

Nigeria's military said on Tuesday it was pursuing the attackers.

"We assure all law-abiding citizens that we will continue to do what is necessary to protect lives and property," a statement said.

President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the killings as "heinous, brutal and mindless", labelling the perpetrators "deranged terrorists and fanatics who have clearly lost all human morality and [who have] descended to bestiality".

The BBC's Isa Sanusi, from the Hausa service, says Boko Haram tends to attack schools in the mainly Muslim north that teach Nigeria's national curriculum, which the militants consider to be Western.

Mr Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Yobe and two other northern states in May in an attempt to quell the insurgency.

He has defended the army's record, saying the militants have been confined to a small area near the border with Cameroon.

Uganda: Museveni 'seeks US advice on homosexuality'

Gay rights activists have strongly condemned the bill

President Yoweri Museveni is asking the US to advise Uganda's scientists about homosexuality, as he considers whether to sign a law increasing punishments.

Mr Museveni's spokesman said the president would not sign the law until he had received the scientific advice.

Last week he said he had decided to sign the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which parliament has passed.

The US - one of Uganda's largest aid donors - has warned that enacting the bill would complicate relations.

President Barack Obama described it as an affront, and a danger to, Uganda's gay community.

BBC regional analyst Richard Hamilton says President Museveni is trying to please a conservative local constituency while avoiding alienating Western aid donors.

President Yoweri Museveni says he wants to know whether homosexuality is a choice or genetic

Homosexual acts are already illegal in Uganda. Under the proposed legislation, those convicted could face life imprisonment.

The law would also make it a crime not to report gay people.

'Abnormal'

In a statement, Mr Museveni said: "I... encourage the US government to help us by working with our scientists to study whether, indeed, there are people who are born homosexual.

"When that is proved, we can review this legislation."

Presidential spokesman Tamale Mirundi told Reuters news agency the bill would be on hold for now "until more conclusive research is done, and that's what the president is saying".

Mr Museveni originally refused to sign the bill, saying that it was wrong to punish people who were born "abnormal".

But then government officials said Ugandan scientists had advised him that homosexuality was a behavioural choice.

The scientists' report said there was no definitive gene for homosexuality but it was not an "abnormality" and it could be influenced by environmental factors.

"The practise needs regulation like any other human behaviour, especially to protect the vulnerable," it said.

In December a gay rights campaigner spoke of her fears about the legislation

The private member's bill originally proposed the death penalty for some offences, such as if a minor was involved or the perpetrator was HIV-positive, but that clause has been dropped.

Uganda already has legislation banning gay sex between men, but the proposed law sharply tightens restrictions - and covers lesbians for the first time.

Promotion of homosexuality - even talking about it without condemning it - would also be punishable by a prison sentence.

Komla Dumor death: Ghana funeral under way for BBC presenter

Funeral ceremonies for BBC TV presenter Komla Dumor, who died last month in London at the age of 41, are taking place in his home country of Ghana.

As is customary in Ghana, they are being held over three days.

The funeral service itself is taking place on Saturday in the forecourt of State House in the capital, Accra.

It will be followed by a private family burial and there will then be a thanksgiving service at the capital's Roman Catholic cathedral on Sunday.

Friday saw a requiem mass at the Roman Catholic cathedral in Accra, where his body then lay in state until the funeral.

Accra's Holy Spirit Cathedral was full for Friday's service

People paid tribute in a variety of ways

Ghanaian President John Mahama said the nation had lost one of its finest ambassadors with the death of Mr Dumor.

"He was very passionate about Africa, he was very passionate about Ghana. I think Komla is one of the gifts we gave to the world," Mr Mahama told the BBC.

Josephine Hazeley, deputy editor of the BBC Africa Service: "Komla Dumor represented all that is good in Africa"

Mr Dumor, who featured in New African magazine's November 2013 list of 100 most influential Africans, joined the BBC as a radio broadcaster in 2006 after a decade of journalism in Ghana.

He was presenter for BBC World News and its Focus on Africa programme.

The fact that Saturday's funeral service is taking place in the forecourt of State House reflects Mr Dumor's profile in Ghana, correspondents say.

Mr Dumor started out as traffic news reporter at the local Joy FM station whilst a university student, and within two years was hosting the station's breakfast show, becoming a household name.

He developed his reputation as a charismatic presence on radio and television on a global stage when he went on to join the BBC.

He first presented the BBC World Service African breakfast programme, Network Africa, before launching Africa Business Report on BBC World TV.

His death on 18 January after a heart attack at his London home prompted an outpouring of tributes from across the world.

He left a wife and three children.

Former UN chief Kofi Annan, who is Ghanaian, said Africa had lost one of its brightest young talents.

"Komla was an inspirational journalist, always determined to find the facts and report on the truth. I shall miss his smile and wonderful sense of humour," he said.

Komla Dumor had a charismatic presenting style

Cote d'Ivoire: Gay Organisation Attacked By Rioters

Activists are warning of devastating consequences as a homophobic trend towards violence and criminalisation of gay people is increasing in many countries around the world.

On 27 January, nearly 200 people stormed the offices of Alternative, the Ivory Coast's leading organisation for men who have sex with men. Claver Touré, Alternative's executive director, said: "They broke windows with stones and stole computers. They left signs bearing anti-gay slurs all over the office. Everything they could take was taken, and the rest was broken."

The attack brings into question the Ivory Coast's reputation of being a safe haven for men who have sex with men.

Jean Anzoua, a communications officer who chose not to identify where he works, said: "Over time the country has built a reputation as one of the most tolerant countries in Africa, where gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from all backgrounds do not have to fear the same kind of systematic violence, condemnation and censure that plagues them elsewhere on the continent."

Since 2010, Alternative has been providing HIV prevention services to men who have sex with men. It is a population group at higher risk of HIV infection and the organisation raises awareness about safe sex practice.

"This wave of violence can seriously undermine HIV prevention efforts since men who have sex with men will not seek Alternative's counseling and care services out of fear of being beaten or killed," Anzoua said.

Anti-gay legislation around the world

Across Africa, 38 of the continent's 54 countries have legislation making homosexuality illegal. In the Ivory Coast there is no explicit law prohibiting same-sex sexual activity, although public indecency with a same-sex partner is illegal and the penal code from 1981 refers to a same-sex relationship as an act of indecency.

Although homosexuality has been illegal in many African countries for years, recently the human rights abuses of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT) has been getting worse.

In January, Nigeria passed a bill into law that imposes 14-year penalties on same-sex unions or gatherings by sexual minorities in public. In Uganda, the president is about to pass legislation which puts any person alleged to be homosexual at risk of life imprisonment.

Outside of Africa, in Russia a much publicised anti-gay law banning promotion of "non-traditional sexual orientations" to minors was introduced last year. And in December, the Indian Supreme Court reinstated Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which bans same-sex acts, after the High Court of Delhi had previously declared the ban unconstitutional.

Gay safe haven under threat

Aras*, a thirty-year-old bisexual from Cameroon, moved to the Ivory Coast four months ago, where the capital Abidjan hosts two bars for gays. Aras said: "It is very different from my home country where some of my friends were always attacked, beaten and also raped."

But recent events suggest this safe haven for LGBT people in Africa is under threat. Two days before the attack on the Alternative office, anti-gay protesters gathered outside Touré's home to chant anti-gay slogans and issue death threats against those inside.

"It was around 6.50pm when me and my colleagues heard whistles and chanting," Touré said. "Around 60 people gathered outside, shouting things like: 'the house of fags', 'we will kill them', 'we do not want fags in our area'.

"The angry neighbors then attempted to burn the house down with the occupants still inside. They tried to break down the doors and threw garbage and all kinds of projectiles including human excrement at the building."

Touré and the other occupants managed to escape but a private security guard was hospitalised with wounds to his face. Touré said: "I had to call the French Ambassador who called the Ministry of Defense who called police forces to extract us."

The attack followed an incident on 5 January, when Touré's landlord had confronted him after neighbors complained that more than 20 people were staying in his home. They said he organised homosexual parties and that condoms could be found throughout the neighborhood each morning. Touré denies these accusations.

Undermining the response to HIV

According to Anzoua in spite of its openness, the country is hardly an oasis: LGBT people often encounter violence and stigmatisation, the manifestation of a culture of ignorance and suspicion. Such attitudes were reflected in negative reactions in the press after Alternative received a grant of 45,000 euros from the French Embassy.

Matturin Amey, coordinator of non-governmental organisation Action Santé Plus, said: "Alternative provides a secure, safe and violence-free environment for men who have sex with men, which is crucial if we want to halt the spread of HIV infection. Otherwise all our efforts and achievements in the AIDS response will be undermined."

For the time being Alternative's office is guarded by forces from the United Nations Operations in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) while staff and members are forced to conduct their activities in secret.