AU LIFTS SANCTIONS ON MAURITANIA

The African Union has dropped sanctions on Mauritania and lifted a suspension from the body because of steps it is taking to restore democracy this month, the Union said in a statement on Wednesday.
The African Union suspended Mauritania after the army overthrew the elected president in August last year and froze assets and imposed [...]

NIGERIAN GUNMEN KILL 5 COPS IN FAILED KIDNAP PLOT

Gunmen in southeastern Nigeria attacked a convoy of police and expatriate workers in a botched kidnap attempt, killing five officers, police said on Wednesday.
Police exchanged fire early on Tuesday with the gang as they were escorting expatriate workers to their office at a bottling company in the city of Aba in Abia state.
“The kidnapping [...]

IRAN PRESEIDENT CANCELS AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT TRIP

Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called off a trip to Libya for an African Union summit on Wednesday that would have given the hardline president another chance to appear at an international forum after his disputed re-election. Mehdi Karoubi, a reformist cleric who came last in the June 12 poll, said he still rejected the result, which [...]

MOZAMBIQUE GETS $176 MILLION LOAN FROM IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a $176 million loan to Mozambique to help cushion the southern African country from the effects of the economic slowdown, the IMF said on Wednesday. IMF representative Felix Fischer said the loan would be payable in 10 years, after an interest-free grace period of five years, followed by [...]

RWANDA URGED TO DROP STERILISATION BILL

Rwanda is being urged to drop a draft law which would forcibly sterilise people who are mentally disabled. US-based campaign group Human Rights Watch said the proposed law was deeply flawed and violated the government’s obligation to uphold human rights. It also requires people to have an HIV test before getting married.
“Provisions in the current [...]

AFRICAN UNION DROPS SANCTION ON MAURITANIA

The African Union has dropped sanctions on Mauritania and lifted a suspension from the body because of steps it is taking to restore democracy this month, the Union said in a statement on Wednesday. The African Union suspended Mauritania after the army overthrew the elected president in August last year and froze assets and imposed [...]

YEMENI PLANE’S BLACK BOX FOUND

One of the black box flight recorders from the Yemeni plane which crashed in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday has been located, a French official has said. Efforts to retrieve the recorder will begin during the day, the official added, quoted by AFP news agency.
Meanwhile doctors say the only survivor of the crash, teenage girl [...]