Algerians protest, boycott presidential vote

Senegal's President Macky Sall calls for calm, after days of deadly clashes between opposition supporters and security forces in the usually tranquil West African state.

Here is why you should pick up a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday. Here are some of the stories to look out for when you grab a copy of The Guardian on the newsstands on Wednesday.⁣

During the past week, Senegal has been rocked by its worst violence in years. It was sparked by the arrest of charismatic opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who has been charged with rape. Sonko, who is considered a serious contender to replace President Macky Sall in 2024, denies the allegations. He says the charges are politically motivated.

Images show a bus set on fire in west Belfast at an intersectional area between nationalist and unionist communities. Unionist protesters hijacked a bus, petrol-bombed it and threw stones at police officers following protests regarding coronavirus restrictions and tensions over the Brexit deal.

Said Djabelkhir, an Algerian scholar on Islam, says he'll appeal his three-year jail sentence and keep fighting for "freedom" of reasoned thought.

The president agreed to not extend his term in an overnight speech. The country's prime minister had signaled his opposition to the president's plan to extend his mandate. Some residents have started fleeing Mogadishu.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urges both Israel and the Palestinians to lower tensions as violence flares in the Middle East. More than 300 people were injured Monday as clashes erupted between Israeli police and Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, which is sacred both in Islam and Judaism.

In February 1960, France carried out its first nuclear test in the Algerian desert, codenamed "Blue Jerboa". Three more atmospheric tests and 13 underground tests followed, until 1966. The consequences for humans and the environment were disastrous. More than 60 years on, the after-effects are still visible and the victims of nuclear tests are struggling to be heard. FRANCE 24 reports from both sides of the Mediterranean: with former French conscripts who performed their military service in Algeria and are trying to receive compensation, and Algerians, who feel abandoned to their fate.

Three people have died during anti-government protests in the Colombian city of Cali, authorities said, as the country marks a full month of social unrest that has claimed dozens of lives.

The military is now assisting local law enforcement agencies in the hardest-hit provinces of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, but rioting and looting continue.

tens of thousands of troops are being deployed to hotspots of unrest in South Africa. Communities try to clean up after days of looting as the chaos exacerbates racial tensions. Also, Ethiopia accuses aid agencies of being part of a propaganda campaign. The conflict now sees local TPLF fighters facing off against ethnic Amharas. And as Africa's Covid-19 deaths surge by 43 percent in a week, the continent's chronic shortage of vaccines sees Ivory Coast ramping up efforts to facilitate vaccination. South Africa Jacob Zuma riots