ITALY WANTS ECOWAS TO GIVE NIGER JUNTA MORE TIME.

Italy’s foreign ministry has called on West Africa’s regional bloc, ECOWAS, to extend the deadline issued to the leaders of the coup in Niger to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the only way is the diplomatic one, hoping that the ultimatum of ECOWAS which expired last night will be extended today.

Late on Sunday, Niger’s junta shut the country’s airspace after defying the deadline. International flights were diverted or had to return to their country of origin as a result.

The army said it believes preparations to invade Niger had begun in two African countries but gave no evidence.

Ecowas has not made a statement since the deadline expired.

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NIGER SHUTS AIRSPACE AS ECOWAS DEADLINE EXPIRES.

Niger’s military leaders have closed the country’s airspace after defying a deadline by the regional bloc ECOWAS to hand back power to a civilian government or face possible armed intervention.

The army said it believes preparations to invade Niger had begun in two African countries but gave no evidence.

ECOWAS has not made a statement since the deadline expired.

Niger’s generals appear to be taking the threat of invasion by West African states seriously.

In a televised statement a spokesman said any violation of the airspace would be met with an “energetic and immediate response”.

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FRANCE SUSPENDS AID TO BURKINA FASO.

France has suspended all development aid and budget support to Burkina Faso.

The announcement comes after the military government in Burkina Faso said it would regard any armed intervention against the coup leaders in neighbouring Niger as a declaration of war.

The military government in Mali has taken the same position.

It comes as a deadline by the West African bloc ECOWAS for the military coup leaders in Niger to restore constitutional order and reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum lapsed.

ECOWAS is yet to make a statement on the next line of action which includes military intervention.

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FIGHTING INTENSIFIES IN ETHIOPIA’S AMHARA REGION.

Fighting has continued to intensify and spread in Ethiopia’s restive Amhara region between local militias and the military.

Residents in the region’s two biggest cities, the capital Bahir Dar and historic Gondar, have reported intense clashes.

Activists and media outlets affiliated with the militias claim that they have gained control of parts of Bahir Dar, but say there is heavy military presence around the city’s airport and the state-run TV station.

Flights to airports in the region, including the one at Lalibela, home to the famous rock-hewn churches, remain suspended.

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UGANDAN OFFICERS ON RECOVERY MISSION RESCUED DROWNING.

Five Ugandan marine officers on a mission to recover bodies from last week’s accident in Lake Victoria have been rescued after their rescue boat capsized.

At least 20 people died in the accident last Tuesday involving an overloaded boat believed to have been carrying 34 people.

Nine people were rescued with others reported as missing.

On Saturday, police had said they had only recovered five bodies, all women.

They said they were “facing challenges due to the rough conditions of the lake and heavy rainfall”.

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AT LEAST FOURTEEN MIGRANTS DIE IN TUNISIA SHIPWRECKS.

The Tunisian authorities say at least 14 migrants have died in different shipwrecks in the Mediterranean over the last two days.

More than 50 are missing after the latest accident, in which a boat sank off the coast.

All those on board were from sub-Saharan Africa.

Tunisia is a major gateway for irregular migrants from other parts of Africa attempting perilous voyages to Europe.

The Tunisian interior minister says the coast guard has recovered more than 900 bodies of drowned migrants so far this year.

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CAMBODIA PRIME MINISTER’S SON HUN MANET APPOINTED NEXT RULER IN ROYAL FORMALITY.

The eldest son of Cambodia’s long-term ruler has been endorsed as the country’s next premier in a formality confirming the transition of power.

On Monday, Cambodia’s king issued a decree stating Hun Manet will succeed Hun Sen, who has ruled for 38 years.

Hun Sen announced he would step down just days after the 23 July election, which critics said was not democratic.

His party won all but five seats in parliament, after the main opposition was barred from the vote.

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PAKISTAN PASSENGER TRAIN DERAILS KILLING THIRTY.

At least 30 people have been killed and 100 injured when a train derailed in southern Pakistan.

Several carriages of the Hazara Express overturned near Sahara railway station in Nawabshah, about 275km from the largest city Karachi.

Wounded passengers were moved to nearby hospitals.

Rescue teams are trying to free people from the twisted wreckage.

Accidents on Pakistan’s antiquated railway system are not uncommon.

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ISRAELI SECURITY FORCES KILL THREE PALESTINIANS IN WEST BANK.

Israeli security forces say they have killed three alleged Palestinian militants in the north of the occupied West Bank, near the Jenin refugee camp.

The camp was the focus of a major military operation last month.

It marks a further escalation in a wave of violence over the weekend.

Last Friday, armed Jewish settlers attacked a Palestinian village where a young Palestinian man was shot dead, while an Israeli security guard was killed in an attack in Tel Aviv.

In a statement, the army said the group was heading to carry out an attack and that an automatic rifle was found in their car.

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SYRIA SAYS FOUR SOLDIERS KILLED IN ISRAEL STRIKE IN DAMASCUS.

Four Syrian soldiers have been killed and another four wounded in an overnight Israeli missile attack.

Syria’s state media is quoting a military source as saying the strike near the capital Damascus also caused some material damage.

The source claims some of the Israeli missiles were shot down.

Israel has so far made no comments.

It frequently targets military sites in Syria linked to Iran-backed militants.

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ALL SCOUTS LEAVING SOUTH KOREA CAMP AS TYPHOON LOOMS.

The organisers of the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea have ended the event early because of an incoming typhoon.

Several countries including the UK had already left the international event, blaming high temperatures and poor sanitary conditions at the camp.

United Kingdom Scouts chief executive Matt Hyde said he felt let down by organisers and UK activities had been set back years.

He said the site had become a health risk.

Attended by more than 40,000 young people, the World Scout Jamboree has been plagued by problems from the very start.

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BARBIE FILM HITS ONE BILLION DOLLARS MARK AT GLOBAL BOX OFFICE.

The Barbie film has hit the billion-dollar mark just 17 days after it was released.

According to distributor Warner Bros, the movie will finish the weekend with $1.03bn in ticket sales at the global box office.

It says in a statement that it means Greta Gerwig has become the first woman to reach the milestone as a solo director.

Warner Bros described it as a “watershed moment”.