Africa News

Two bombs exploded in Nigeria's restive north on Tuesday, killing one policeman in the city of Kaduna, hit hard by a wave of attacks claimed by Boko Haram Islamists, police said.

(Reuters) - Here is a look back at Bahrain on the first anniversary of the pro-democracy uprising in the Gulf Arab kingdom. February 14, 2011 - Anti-government "Day of Rage" inspired by popular upheavals in Egypt and Tunisia. One protester is killed. The next day another person dies when police clash with mourners at the …

CAIRO (Reuters) - A British charity worker who was barred from leaving Egypt last week over an investigation into non-governmental organisations operating in the country was cleared to return to Britain on Tuesday, sources at the airport said. The sources did not give details about Diane Diacon's work, but she is listed …

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyans could shy away from the country's first free elections later this year if more is not done to educate them about the vote, wartime rebel prime minister Mahmoud Jibril said. Four months after he stepped down from his post, Jibril said it was premature to talk about his own political ambitions …

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia has broken up a "terrorist organisation" and arrested 12 members who had received military training in Libya and were seeking to set up an Islamic state, Interior Minister Ali Larayed said on Monday. Larayed, a senior member of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party that now leads Tunisia's government, …

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Irish rock star Bob Geldof has raised $200 million (126 million pounds) for his "8 Mile" African private equity fund, cementing a shift in his global anti-poverty crusade from rich world debt forgiveness to promoting private enterprise. "Africa is now a continent of extraordinary business and investment …

ABUJA (Reuters) - Poverty in Nigeria is rising with almost 100 million people living on less than $1 a day, despite strong growth in Africa's second largest economy, data showed on Monday. The percentage of Nigerians living in absolute poverty - those who can afford only the bare essentials of food, shelter and clothing …

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's military ruler stressed the importance of good ties with the United States in a meeting with the government on Sunday, a message that could signal an attempt to ease a crisis triggered by an Egyptian probe targeting American democracy activists. Nineteen Americans were among 43 foreign and local …

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son and one-time heir apparent of toppled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, will be moved to a Tripoli prison within two months and then face trial, the chairman of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) said on Sunday. Three months after his capture in Libya's Sahara desert …

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son and one-time heir apparent of toppled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, will be moved to a Tripoli prison within two months and then face trial, the chairman of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) said on Sunday. Three months after his capture in Libya's Sahara desert …

CAIRO (Reuters) - Tunisia will host a meeting of the "Friends of Syria" which will group nations seeking to build an international agreement on how to end violence in Syria, Arab ministers said on Sunday. "I welcome Tunisia's invitation for this international conference on February 24. I think it will be a good opportunity …

CAIRO (Reuters) - The top U.S. military officer met Egypt's ruling generals in Cairo Saturday and discussed the case of U.S. pro-democracy activists charged in an investigation that has strained ties between Cairo and Washington. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was the first senior U.S. official …

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya urged Niger Saturday to extradite Muammar Gaddafi's son Saadi, saying his call for Libyans to prepare for a "coming uprising" threatened bilateral ties. Niger responded that it could not hand over Saadi, who fled south to the West African state in September as Libyan forces gain the upper hand …

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt marked the first anniversary of the popular overthrow of Hosni Mubarak on Saturday, but a poor turnout for a strike called by activists to protest the slow pace of change from military rule laid bare the country's deep divisions. The general strike, called to press demands for the immediate departure …

CAIRO (Reuters) - Three Korean women being held in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula by Bedouin tribesmen were released on Saturday together with their Egyptian translator following negotiations with the authorities, the governor of South Sinai province said. The Bedouin had snatched the three Koreans from a tour bus travelling near …

A planned day on Saturday of civil disobedience and strikes against Egypt's military rulers to mark a year since Hosni Mubarak's overthrow saw only a small turnout, but activists still pledged further protests.

Saadi Kadhafi, one of the sons of Libya's slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi, has said a nationwide rebellion is brewing against the country's new rulers as he vowed to return to his homeland.

PRETORIA (Reuters) - Nelson Mandela's face will feature on all South Africa's bank notes to honour the former president's role in fighting apartheid, President Jacob Zuma said on Saturday. The announcement coincides with the 22nd anniversary of Mandela's release from prison after serving 27 years in jail for his opposition …

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syria has told Libya and Tunisia to close their embassies in Damascus within 72 hours, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Saturday, after the two North African countries announced similar measures against Syria. Libya said on Thursday it had given Syria's charge d'affaires and his staff in Tripoli …

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali is determined to quell a heavily armed Tuareg rebellion in its north before an election scheduled for April, the defence minister said on Saturday. Dozens have been reported killed and thousands of civilians forced from their homes since the rebels, boosted by ethnic allies who returned to Mali after …

YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerians voted amid tight security in a governorship election on Saturday in President Goodluck Jonathan's restive and oil-rich home state of Bayelsa, where last week militants attacked a major oil pipeline. Nigeria's 36 state governors are some of the most powerful politicians in Africa's …

Sudan and South Sudan signed a "treaty of non-aggression" on their disputed border Friday in Addis Ababa, where African Union-led negotiations between the two sides are being held.

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's son Saadi warned on Friday of an imminent uprising in Libya, saying he was in regular contact with people in the country who were unhappy with the authorities put in place after the ousting and killing of his father. Speaking to Al-Arabiya television by phone - the first time he has …

Thousands of people rallied outside Egypt's defence ministry Friday calling for the military rulers' ouster a day before a civil disobedience campaign marking Hosni Mubarak's overthrow a year ago.

CAIRO (Reuters) - Thousands of Egyptians marched to the Defence Ministry on Friday to press demands for the generals to hand over power, a day before a strike called by activists to mark the first anniversary of President Hosni Mubarak's fall. Egypt remains in political turmoil a year after a military council took over …

CAIRO (Reuters) - Cairo airport authorities prevented an English woman, who is banned from leaving Egypt until the end of a probe into NGOs' handling of cash and other activities, from flying to Britain on Friday, airport sources said. The woman, who works for an American nonprofit group, was asked to leave a London-bound …

GUWASIM, Libya (Reuters) - The revolutionary fighters-turned-jailors who run what passes for a justice system in Libya's Gharyan region say they are making the best of a bad business. "We need help from the government. We are paying for food and medicine from our own pockets," said Ayad Sager, still dressed in desert camouflage …

PARIS (Reuters) - A narrow majority of French people would back a U.N.-authorised military intervention in Syria, a poll showed on Friday, a higher percentage than those who had supported the NATO mission that helped oust Libya's Muammar Gaddafi. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, bolstered by Russian support, is ignoring …