Mayor accused of drug trafficking arrested in Mali
Africa April 12, 2013
(AP) — Authorities have arrested a mayor in northeastern Mali on drug trafficking charges three years after a plane full of cocaine landed near his town, officials said Thursday. Baba Ould Cheick was taken into custody Wednesday morning, according to Alassane S. Toure, who headed the operation. “We asked... Read more
EU contingent trains Malian soldiers
Africa April 12, 2013
(AP) — In preparation for a drawdown of French troops from Mali, a European Union team started training Malian soldiers for battle against jihadists who overran much of this West African country before they were pushed back by a French military intervention. On a recent day, small groups of... Read more
(AP) — About 2,000 people have taken to the streets of Central African Republic’s capital after rebel fighters fatally shot a motorcyclist. Thursday’s demonstration highlights the growing resentment toward pillaging that is being blamed on members of the Seleka group that overthrew the president several weeks ago. The march... Read more
(AP) — A government official says Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir will travel to South Sudan on Friday. The visit will be al-Bashir’s first to South Sudan since the country peacefully broke away from Sudan in 2011. South Sudan government spokesman Barnaba Marial Benjamin said Thursday that the two heads... Read more
Ivory Coast leader empowered to rule by decree
Africa April 12, 2013
(AP) — An Ivory Coast legislative official said Wednesday that lawmakers had given President Alassane Ouattara the authority to rule by decree on social and economic issues for 2013. Daouda Maiga, a member of the National Assembly’s communications staff, said an overwhelming majority of the 178 lawmakers present voted... Read more
(AP) — Nineteen years after the end of apartheid, South Africans are still passionately divided over whether Margaret Thatcher helped or hindered the cruel system of white rule and prolonged the incarceration of Nelson Mandela. The heated discussions triggered by Thatcher’s death show how influential South Africans believe she... Read more
(AP) — Armed rebels that South Sudan believes are backed by Sudan opened fire on a United Nations convoy on Tuesday, killing five U.N. peacekeepers from India and at least seven civilians, officials said. Five peacekeepers and seven civilians working with the U.N. mission were killed, said Hilde Johnson,... Read more
(AP) — Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s founding president, ascended to the country’s top office Tuesday during a jubilant celebration that began a new era in Kenyan politics, one that forces the U.S. and Europe into a diplomatic balancing act. Amid the dancing and cheering of a sea... Read more
(AP) — Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in as the Kenya’s fourth president Tuesday in a stadium filled with tens of thousands of Kenyans and a dozen African leaders. Kenyatta, 51, the son of Kenya’s first president, becomes the second sitting African president to face charges at the International Criminal... Read more
Somali leader admits rapes by security forces occurred
Africa April 10, 2013
(AP) — After months of denial, Somalia’s government has for the first time acknowledged that its security forces were involved in rape cases that drew an international outcry by human rights groups. Army commanders often denied accusations that soldiers were involved in a spate of rapes, blaming the crimes... Read more
