Africa News

Madagascar political rivals reach government deal

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Madagascar's political rivals have agreed on posts within a transitional government that will hold power until next year's elections following a power struggle that brought months of volatility to the country, an African Union statement said.

ICC prosecutor confident over Kenya suspects

NAIROBI (AFP) - - Top war crimes prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said on Saturday he has a strong case against the masterminds behind last year's post-election violence in Kenya.

Madagascar rivals agree power-sharing deal

By Alain Iloniaina

Zimbabwe proposes local ownership of foreign firms

By Nelson Banya

Zimbabwe's premier counting on South Africa

Tsvangirai calls off Zimbabwe unity government boycott

MAPUTO (AFP) - - Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Thursday called off a boycott of power-sharing ties with President Robert Mugabe that had paralysed the fragile unity government for three weeks.

43 Somalis rescued by EU warship handed to UNHCR

NAIROBI, Kenya - The EU Naval Force says it has handed over 43 Somalis abandoned at sea by their human smugglers to the United Nations refugee agency in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti.

South Africa cancels Airbus contract

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's government says it has canceled a contract to buy eight Airbus military aircraft that had set off a debate about public spending.

Southern African leaders meet on Zimbabwe crisis

MAPUTO (AFP) - - Zimbabwe's rival leaders met with the head of a regional security body Thursday, ahead of an emergency summit aimed at hauling a fragile power-sharing deal out of a three-week impasse.

Top rebel commander 'surrenders' to Uganda troops

KAMPALA (AFP) - - Senior Lord's Resistance Army commander Charles Arop, who was implicated in leading a massacre on Christmas Day that killed at least 143 Congolese, has surrendered to the Ugandan military, the army spokesman told AFP on Thursday.

Air Zimbabwe plane smashes into wild pigs

HARARE, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe's transport ministry says one of the national airline's planes collided with five wild pigs on the runway in the capital during takeoff.

ICC prosecutor wants Kenya violence investigation

NAIROBI (Reuters) - International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said on Thursday he believed crimes against humanity had been committed during Kenya's 2008 post-election violence and he wanted to open an investigation.

Regional summit seeks to end Zimbabwe crisis

By Charles Mangwiro

Equatorial Guinea coup-plotter returns home to UK

JOHANNESBURG - British mercenary Simon Mann has threatened to settle some old scores after arriving home Wednesday following more than five years in African jails for a failed plot to take over Equatorial Guinea's oil riches.

Report: Suspend Zimbabwe over diamond smuggling

JOHANNESBURG - Investigators for the world's diamond control body say Zimbabwe should be suspended because its security forces are raping women, killing illegal miners and smuggling gems out of a diamond field in the troubled country's east.

British coup-plotter arrives in Britain

LONDON - Freed mercenary Simon Mann has expressed his gratitude for being able to return to Britain after serving time in prison for attempting to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea.

Clinton diverts to Egypt for Mideast peace talks

CAIRO - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made a hastily arranged stop in the Egyptian capital Tuesday to consult with a longtime Arab ally amid indications of a shifting U.S. strategy for getting Israel and the Palestinians back to peace negotiations.

African kings, queens, chiefs to honor Mandela

JOHANNESBURG - Dancers clad in animal skins opened a royal ceremony Tuesday, a nod to tradition for the forward-thinking kings, queens and chiefs who jetted in to Johannesburg from across Africa to launch an institute they hope will expand their roles on the continent

New vaccine offers hope in Africa's malaria battle