Iran, Kenya, Canary Islands.

Today's three stories you should know.

Jul 12, 2023

Iran

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has visited Kenya and Uganda on the first stops of a rare visit to the African continent. Raisi will also visit Zimbabwe in what is billed as a trip aimed at strengthening economic cooperation as Iran continues to be squeezed hard by US sanctions. Raisi, though, appeared to try to bond on cultural grounds also, slamming what he called Western support for homosexuality after a meeting with Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni. Uganda recently passed draconian anti-gay legislation that includes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.”

Kenya

Fifty-three children were taken to hospital in Kenya’s capital Nairobi today after tear gas was thrown into their classroom by police during opposition protests. The children are reported to have fallen unconscious, but a doctor later told the BBC that they were now stable after four hours of treatment. Opposition-led protests have been taking happening in several places across the country over the high cost of living.

Canary Islands

The Spanish coastguard is still searching for three boats - believed to be carrying more than 300 people - that have gone missing near the Canary Islands. The Canaries, a Spanish archipelago off the coast of northwest Africa, are part of one of the most dangerous routes for migrants trying to reach Europe. While searching for the three vessels, the coastguard rescued another boat carrying 78 people from sub-Saharan African countries. “Every minute counts if we’re to find these more than 300 people alive who are in three Senegalese pirogues which have disappeared in the Atlantic,” Helena Maleno, founder of Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras, said.