Lebanon
The death toll after a boat carrying asylum seekers sank off the coast of Syria has risen to 94, officials said today. The small boat, which set sail from Lebanon, is believed to have been carrying about 150 people and many are still missing. Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians were on board. Lebanon is going through one of the worst economic crises in modern history and about three-quarters of the population have been pushed into poverty. The Lebanese army says it has arrested one suspected people smuggler.
More from The New Arab here.
Israel-Palestine
Thirty Palestinians held in Israeli prisons have said they are going on a mass hunger strike. The 30 are being held under a policy known as “administrative detention,” under which they can be imprisoned indefinitely without charge or trial. Israel says the tactic is necessary to safeguard secret intelligence, while international human rights groups slam the policy as inhumane and say it has been used to imprison activists at the whim of military officials. About 743 Palestinians are currently being held in administrative detention, according to Addameer, a Palestinian rights group.
More from Al Jazeera here.
Kenya
Cattle rustlers have killed eight police officers, two civilians and a local leader in Kenya’s Turkana County, according to police. The police were chasing a group who had raided a village and stolen livestock. Fighting over land and livestock is common in the area and across large parts of East Africa and the Horn of Africa. The region is currently experiencing one of its harshest droughts in more than four decades.
More from BBC here.