Niger floods leave 22 dead, thousands homeless

Niamey Twenty-two people are dead and thousands have been left homeless in Niger after torrential rains caused heavy flooding, authorities said."As of August 6, 49,845 people have been affected... and unfortunately we have recorded 22 deaths," Niger's minister for humanitarian action, Laouan Magadji, told public television late Wednesday. The floods have destroyed more than 3,000 homes and nearly 4,000 hectares of crops, the minister said. (AFP)