News on Africa

White House extends status of Liberians in US

2010-03-19T19:30:10Z

<div id="subtitle">White House to extend protected status of some Liberians in the United States</div><div><p>President Barack Obama is allowing thousands of Liberians living in the United States to remain in the country for an additional year and a half...

US condemns Ethiopia for VOA jamming

2010-03-19T18:15:31Z

<div><p>The United States condemned Ethiopia's blocking of Voice of America broadcasts, calling the country's accusations of the US radio service "baseless and inflammatory."</p><p>Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi earlier admitted to jamming the...

Sierra Leone minister denies mine collapse

2010-03-19T16:45:16Z

<div><p>FREETOWN (Reuters) - Sierra Leone's minister of mineral resources denied on Friday that at least 200 people were killed in the collapse of a gold mine, causing confusion after his own ministry had reported the disaster.</p><p>The ministry said more than 200 miners died when a trench collapsed at an unofficial gold mine in the southern Bo distri...

Minister: Sierra Leone rattled by disaster hoax

2010-03-19T16:15:06Z

<div id="subtitle">False report of mine disaster in Sierra Leone prompts government rescue effort, minister says</div><div><p>A top official in Sierra Leone's government said he raced to a town in the country Friday after news reports said at least 200 people had been killed in a mining accident there, only to find out it was a hoax.</p><p>Minister of Mineral Resources Alpha Kanu said that when he, dozens...

Dutch navy frees 20 suspected Somali pirates: spokesman

2010-03-19T14:15:43Z

<div><p>Twenty suspected Somali pirates nabbed by the Dutch navy in the lawless waters off the restive Horn of Africa nation and the Seychelles coast were freed Friday, the defence ministry said.</p><p>"There were still 20 pirates on the Tromp frigate and they have been freed," ministry spokesman Anwar Al-Awlaqi said in an unauthenticated message released Friday.</p><p>"Western jihad is here to stay," warned Awlaqi as he commented on a blonde American who dubbed herself "JihadJane" and has pleaded not guilty to trying to recruit Islamist militants to murder a Swedish cartoonist.</p><p>...

US says new Darfur truce important step for peace

2010-03-19T13:16:13Z

<div><p>The United States said Friday the Sudanese government's ceasefire with another rebel movement is "a very important step" toward establishing peace in the western Darfur region.</p><p>The ceasefire signed in Qatar Thursday by the Sudanese government and the Liberation and Justice Mo...

Nigeria's ruling party to hold key talks after cabinet sacking

2010-03-19T12:16:42Z

<div><p>Nigeria's ruling party will hold key talks after Acting President Goodluck Jonathan in a shock move sacked a government he inherited from the country's ailing head of state, officials said Friday.</p><p>The People Democratic Party's highest decision-making organ, the national executive council, was expected to meet next week after the last quarterly talk...

Spanish fishing boats repel pirate attack: owners

2010-03-19T12:16:29Z

<div><p>Armed, private security guards aboard two Spanish fishing boats Friday repelled an attack from pirates in the Indian Ocean, the boats' owner said.</p><p>The incident occurred southwest of the Seychelles, when the two tuna trawlers, the Taraska and Ortube Barria, were attacked by pirates aboard two boats, a spokesman for the Albacora company, Egypt's new top cleric</div><div><p>Egypt's president named a moderate, Western-educated Islamic scholar the country's new top cleric on Friday, the state news agency reported.</p><p>The appointment makes Ahmed el-Tayeb the new grand sheik of C...

Nigerian armed group claims attack on oil pipeline

2010-03-19T10:16:15Z

<div><p>Nigerian rebels claimed Friday to have blown up an oil plant in the restive Niger Delta region and threatened further raids, adding to the mounting crises facing Acting President Goodluck Jonathan.</p><p>A previously unknown militant group, the Somali pirates, but the problem off the Horn of Africa will only be solved when Somalia itself is at peace, a top US official said Friday.</p><p>Thomas Countryman, principal deputy assistant at the Reuters) - Senegal's octogenarian president Abdoulaye Wade said on Friday he was confident voters would grant him a third term in a 2012 election and his age was no obstacle to enjoying five more years in power.</p><p>Brushing aside opposition criticism that he has failed during 10 years ...

French makes inroads in Africa

2010-03-19T09:16:32Z

<div><p>French is on the rise in Africa but the language of Moliere is still losing ground to English in global venues, the Francophonie group of countries warned ahead of a weekend gathering.</p><p>Envoys from across the French-speaking world will celebrate the 40th anniversary of their organisation in Paris on Saturday, taking stock of the their shared language's stan...

Sudan clashes kill 13 in tense border area

2010-03-19T09:15:57Z

<div><p>At least 13 people have been killed in fighting between northern nomads and the southern army, a military spokesman said on Friday.</p><p>Clashes broke out between troops from the south's Sudan Peoples? Liberation Army (SPLA) and the Misseriya people around midday on Wednesday in the southern state of Unity, said Major General Kuol Diem Kuol.</p><p>"Tw...

Somali rebels join forces in cyberspace: U.N. report

2010-03-19T08:30:42Z

<div><p>NAIROBI (Reuters) - Armed rebel groups in Somalia are using the Internet for fundraising and recruitment, and they achieve better results through the Web than they do on the ground, a United Nations report said.</p><p>The report by the U.N. Monitorin...

Mubarak names successor to late Al-Azhar cleric

2010-03-19T08:16:32Z

<div><p>Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Friday appointed a new head of Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's most prestigious institution, after the death of its top cleric last week, the official MENA agency reported.</p><p>Mubarak, who is recovering from surgery in Germany, "has issued a presidential decree appointing Nigerian armed rebel group on Friday claimed to have blown up an oil facility in the restive oil-producing Niger Delta region and threatened to step up attacks in coming days.</p><p>"At about 12:08 am (2308 GMT), March 19, 2010, units of the Joint Revolutionary Council of Niger Delta attac...

Senegal rebels kill soldier, wound five in battle

2010-03-19T08:16:23Z

<div><p>Separatist rebels killed a Senegalese soldier and wounded five others during a battle in the southern Casamance province, a military source said Friday.</p><p>"There is one dead, a non-commissioned officer, and five injured from the army" in the attack on Thursday on the positions of the Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces (MFDC) in the south of the country which has been gripped by an armed rebellion since 1982.&l...

Nigeria's ruling party to meet for crucial talks

2010-03-19T07:15:47Z

<div><p>Nigeria's ruling party is planning crucial talks after Acting President Goodluck Jonathan sacked a government he inherited from the country's ailing head of state, sources said.</p><p>The People Democratic Party's highest decision making body was expected to meet next week to discuss the cabinet dissolution as well as start planning for general elections...