South Africa: Rwanda, Congo reach peace deal

The leaders of Congo and Rwanda signed a peace agreement Tuesday that was hailed as a major milestone in efforts to end a war that has destabilized central Africa and killed millions of people.

“No more blood must run,” Congolese President Joseph Kabila said before signing the agreement with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in a ceremony in Pretoria.

War broke out in Congo in August 1998 when Rwanda and Uganda backed Congolese rebels seeking to oust then-President Laurent Kabila, accusing him of supporting rebels who threatened their security. Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia sent troops to support the government.

An estimated 2.5 million people have died in the conflict, mainly from war-induced hunger and disease.

Egypt: Sixteen militants convicted of conspiracy

A military court in Haekstep convicted 16 members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group Tuesday, mostly academics and professionals, on charges of conspiring against the government, and sentenced them to up to five years in prison.

The convictions, part of a crackdown on Islamic militants, were derided by the defendants and their lawyers as a politically motivated attempt to reassure Washington that Egypt is battling extremism in the wake of Sept. 11.

London-based Amnesty International and Egypt’s oldest human rights group, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, also criticized the case, saying civilians should not be tried in a military court and urging their immediate release.

Uruguay: Banks ordered closed as financial crisis grows

Uruguay ordered its banks closed at 1 p.m. Tuesday in an attempt to stanch the flow of capital in the midst of a growing financial crisis.

The stock market also closed early.

As rumors of a banking holiday spread, long lines began to form in Montevideo outside the capital’s main banks, as people sought to take as much of their savings as possible from automatic teller machines. The government later announced that ATMs would be shut down.

Egypt: Heat wave’s victims include Saudi prince

In a heat wave brutal even by Middle East standards, temperatures are soaring in the hundreds, and the death toll is rising.

In Saudi Arabia, three people, including a prince distantly related to the king, died during desert car journeys, and police warned residents to postpone trips while the summer heat wave persists. Temperatures in the desert, which covers most of the kingdom, can easily reach 122.

Five laborers died recently of heat stroke in the United Arab Emirates. The Emirates weather department said the average temperature during June and July has been above the normal average of 106. Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, the capital, the mercury hit 115.

In Oman, temperatures soared to above 129 for the first time in 12 years. Normal high temperature this time of the year is 113, according to the Omani weather department.

Bangladesh: Flooding toll hits 465

Swollen rivers broke through embankments Tuesday, drowning 20 young children in flooded villages in northern Bangladesh and raising the death toll from monsoon rains to 465 in the South Asian region.

At least 110 people have died from flooding in Bangladesh this month, a third of them from diarrhea caused by polluted water.

The highest death toll has been in Nepal, where mudslides have swept away several villages, killing 240 people. In India, more than 100 people have died and 5 million have lost their homes.