Senegal, Israel-Palestine, Kenya.

Today's three stories you should know.

Nov 20, 2023

Senegal

You’ll have read all about the election of the far-right Javier Milei as Argentina’s new president (and all the jokes about his hair) elsewhere today so I’m going to highlight a development in another upcoming presidential election: that of Senegal. The party of jailed opposition leader Ousmane Sonko today said it would put forward another candidate for a presidential election in February after the Supreme Court struck down a lower court’s decision to put him back on the electoral roll. Sonko faces a litany of charges - everything from rape to libel to insurrection. His supporters say the charges are trumped up and were designed to ensure he wouldn’t be able to run in 2024.

Israel-Palestine

With the world focused on Gaza, what’s happening in the occupied West Bank is somewhat slipping under the radar. Violence has also erupted there since the Hamas attack on October 7. Israeli forces have killed 206 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Israeli settlers are also reported to have killed at least nine Palestinians, destroyed 3,000 olive trees during harvesting season, and forced 900 people from their homes. AP today published a useful overview of the situation.

Kenya

Emergency services in Kenya are using helicopters to deliver aid and to rescue marooned families after a near unprecedented amount of flooding, according to the vice president. More than 80,000 families are affected, Rigathi Gachagua said. The floods - linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon - have caused deaths and forced people from their homes across Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia over the last two weeks. The United Nations has described the flooding as a once-in-a-century event.