Geography of Africa

More than 200 people were arrested and dozens injured in clashes in several regions of Tunisia, the interior ministry said after a second night of protests against austerity measures by the authorities.

Ministerial spokesman Khalifa Cibani told a local radio station that 49 police officers were injured in clashes in the country and that 206 "thugs" were arrested.

Egypt recognized Kosovo only verbally - without any paper - in June 2013, three days before the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood.

This represents "a very weak recognition" that even the (Egyptian) Ministry of Foreign Affairs was opposed to, Belgrade-based daily Politika writes, citing a source from diplomatic circles.

 Israel should stop plans to send tens of thousands of migrants back to Africa forcibly, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday, suggesting some could be resettled in Europe or other countries, writes Reuters.

Customs officials in Istanbul seized more than 300 rare African gray parrots (Psittacus erithacus) smuggled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Jan. 9.

More than 15 inches (40cm) has blanketed sand dunes across the small town of Ain Sefra, Algeria.

It is the second time snow has hit in nearly 40 years, with a dusting also recorded in December 2016.

But this snowfall which hit yesterday, is much deeper than the fleeting shower little more than a year ago.

Slightly fewer than half as many migrants reached Europe by sea in 2017 than 2016, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday, with curbs finally cutting traffic on the deadly route from Libya to Italy. 

Israel reported that a program has been in force since today that will force nearly 40,000 illegal immigrants to choose between expulsion and imprisonment, according to the France press, quoted by BTA.

Internet was restored in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Jan. 2 after the government cut services for three days on the eve of protests against the president, AFP reporters said.

Egypt has hanged four men convicted by a military court of killing three military students in a bombing in 2014, security sources said on Tuesday.

Tunisia makes $200 million of the $1.1 billion trade between Turkey and Tunisia, while Turkey makes $900 million, but this imbalance can be fixed by raising the total, Turkey’s Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said late on Dec. 27.