Congolese ex-rebel Jean-Pierre Bemba to face ICC trial
November 22, 2010
The war crimes trial of former Congolese rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba is to start at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
The former vice-president of DR Congo is accused of murder, rape and pillage in the Central African Republic (CAR).
Aung San Suu Kyi aims for peaceful revolution
November 15, 2010
North and south Sudan have agreed a framework to resolve most outstanding issues ahead of a vote on southern independence, the African Union says.
Both sides have agreed to demarcate the north-south border while allowing northern nomads to graze in the south.
Ivory Coast holds long-delayed ‘reconciliation’ poll
October 31, 2010
Voters in Ivory Coast are casting their ballots in presidential elections which have been delayed six times.
Incumbent Laurent Gbagbo is running against 13 candidates, including veteran politicians Alassane Ouattara and Henri Konan Bedie.
Kenya mayor arrested over cemetery scandal
October 25, 2010
Kenya’s mayor of Nairobi has been arrested for questioning in connection with a scandal over the sale of land for a graveyard in the capital.
Geoffrey Majiwa is the highest official to be arrested over the alleged scam.
Attacks reported on Ugandans newspaper ‘outed’ as gay
October 23, 2010
Several people have been attacked in Uganda after a local newspaper published their names and photos, saying they were homosexual, an activist has told the BBC.
Frank Mugisha said one woman was almost killed after her neighbours started throwing stones at her house.
Somalia aid worker Barnard to be reunited with family
October 21, 2010
A British man released by kidnappers in Somalia is set to be reunited with his family in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
Frans Barnard, a Zimbabwe-born security consultant with the UK-based charity Save the Children, had been seized by gunmen in Adado last Thursday.
Somali government seizes Bulo Hawo town from al-Shabab
October 18, 2010
Pro-Somali government forces have seized the town of Bulo Hawo on the border with Kenya and Ethiopia from the hardline Islamist group al-Shabab.
This is seen as a significant victory for the weak, UN-backed government against the al-Qaeda-linked militants.
Two Save the Children workers kidnapped in Somalia
October 16, 2010
Two Save the Children staff have been kidnapped by unknown gunmen in Somalia, the charity says.
The men, seized from the town of Adado near the Ethiopian border, are a UK security consultant and a local worker.
Ethiopian opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa freed
October 6, 2010
Ethiopian opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa has been freed from jail.
Her release comes four months after the government’s landslide win in elections.
She was one of several opposition leaders imprisoned for life after the 2005 poll. They were later pardoned, but Ms Birtukan was rearrested for violating the terms of her release.
“I am very relieved,” she told the BBC at her home in the capital, where crowds had gathered to welcome her.
Ms Birtukan said she had been freed because she had applied for a pardon.
“Prison by itself is a very horrible place, especially for me the time I spent alone,” she said.
“Now I am free, I am back to my family and my daughter, I am very elated.”
The BBC’s Uduak Amimo in Addis Ababa says hundreds of her supporters began cheering and singing when they she arrived home in a car accompanied by her mother and young daughter.
Ms Birtukan is a former judge and was one of the younger and more charismatic leaders of the coalition that did well against the ruling party in the 2005 elections.
Meles Zenawi was sworn in for his fourth five-year term as prime minister on Monday, following his party’s overwhelming victory in May.
But European Union and US observers said the polls fell short of international standards.
Source: thedailystar.net
Nigeria secret service ‘foiled earlier Abuja bomb plot’
October 5, 2010
Nigeria’s intelligence agency says it foiled plans to attack Abuja’s administrative centre just days before last week’s deadly car bombings.
The State Security Service (SSS) said there were plans to detonate at least six car bombs on 29 September.