Central African Republic and rebels agree to talks

The Central African Republic and rebels have agreed to hold unconditional talks, an official from the regional bloc ECCAS said late Friday. But heavy fighting was still reported in the city of Bambari, which the rebels seized last Sunday.

The government of the Central African Republic government and the rebel coalition Seleka have agreed to talks without pre-conditions, Guy-Pierre Garcia, the deputy secretary general of the Economic Community of Central African States, said Friday.
"No one asked for conditions," said Garcia, noting the talks would start in Libreville, the capital of Gabon, "without delay", though no date was immediately set.

AU chief, Bozize to meet as rebels advance on Bangui

African Union chief Thomas Bani Yayi is due to hold talks with Central Africa Republic’s embattled president, François Bozize, after rebels on Saturday seized the town of Sibut, around 150 kilometres from the country’s capital Bangui.

Rebels in the Central African Republic who have advanced towards the capital Bangui warned Sunday they could enter the city even as the head of the African Union prepared to launch peace negotiations.

Seized Argentine naval ship leaves Ghana

The ARA Libertad, an Argentine naval ship, was allowed to leave Ghana on Wednesday after it was detained in the West African country on October 2 at the request of a hedge fund looking to collect $300 million on defaulted government bonds.

An Argentine naval vessel detained in Ghana at the request of a hedge fund seeking payment on defaulted government bonds left the West African country on Wednesday, a port official said.
The ARA Libertad, a tall sailing ship used for training, was detained on a court order obtained by NML Capital Ltd, which claims it is owed $300 million resulting Argentina’s debt default in 2002.
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled on Saturday that Ghana should release the ship after Argentina argued that a U.N. Convention on the law gives warships immunity from civil claims when they dock at foreign ports.
The Argentine ship was detained in the port of Tema, Ghana on Oct. 2.
“The boat has just set sail after supplies (arrived),” Jacob Kwabla Adokor, the director of the Tema port, told Reuters. “Everything went smoothly. The ropes came off 20 minutes ago.”
A Reuters witness watched from a distance as the ship glided away from its berth in the late afternoon, its masts and colours visible above the roofs of surrounding buildings.
A plane arrived in Ghana from Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital, earlier in the day carrying 98 sailors to replace the 326 crew members who evacuated the detained ship in October, leaving behind only a skeleton crew for essential maintenance.
The Libertad is due to arrive in the Argentine seaside resort of Mar del Plata on Jan. 9, at the height of the southern hemisphere summer vacation season.
“There will be a lot of tourists and they’ll be able to visit the ship, which has become a symbol of sovereignty and national dignity,” Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez said in a speech late on Tuesday.
“Holdout” creditors including NML have won several billion dollars in damages in U.S. courts over Argentina’s $100 billion debt default. But they have struggled to collect since most Argentine assets abroad are protected by sovereign immunity laws.
These creditors recently won a U.S. court ruling ordering Argentina to pay $1.3 billion to NML and other sovereign bondholders who shunned debt restructuring deals in 2005 and 2010. The court decision was halted pending appeal.
The Libertad was visiting Ghana as part of a west African tour and was due to sail on to Angola when it was detained.
Argentina’s Defence Ministry initially filed a motion contesting the detention claiming sovereign immunity for the military vessel, but a court in Ghana’s capital of Accra upheld the seizure as legal.
Argentina’s government has consistently rejected claims for debt repayment by NML and other hedge funds, calling them “vulture funds.”

Nigerian militants 'kill 15 and slit throats'

Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 15 Christians in northern Nigeria, slitting the throats of their victims, witnesses said.

The attack happened on Friday near Maiduguri, a stronghold of Islamist militants Boko Haram, but details were slow to emerge.

In a second attack, gunmen killed two people, including a policeman, and burnt down government buildings in Maiha, on the border with Cameroon.

No group has claimed responsibility.

Six Hyundai workers kidnapped in southern Nigeria

Gunmen in southern Nigeria have kidnapped four foreigners and two Nigerians employed by South Korean construction firm Hyundai, police say.

The incident took place "in a forest" on the Atlantic coast of the oil-rich Bayelsa state, police official Fidelis Odunna said.

"The police are going to beef up security around all companies that have expatriates," he said.

Kidnappings are common in the Niger Delta, Africa's main oil region.

Bayelsa has one of the largest crude oil and natural gas deposits in Nigeria.

Mr Odunna did not specify the nationality of those kidnapped.

Nigeria's Okonjo-Iweala: Kidnappers 'demanded resignation'

In her first public comments since her 82-year-old mother's release, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala said the kidnappers mentioned her battle against a multi-billion dollar fuel scam.

Nigeria's Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says her mother's kidnappers demanded her resignation. 

Kamene Okonjo was freed on Friday after gunmen held her for five days.

Mrs Okonjo-Iweala pushed a government policy to end fuel subsidies in January, sparking a nationwide strike.

The government then agreed to partially restore the subsidy.

Kidnapping is common in southern Nigeria, where it is a lucrative criminal enterprise.
'No backing down'
She said her mother, a retired professor, was held without food or water.

DR Congo fighting 'sees refugee numbers rise'

Humanitarian workers have warned of a sharp rise in refugees in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo as a result of recent fighting.

The charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) told the BBC that there were now more than 800,000 displaced people in the province of North Kivu.

That marks a sharp rise from the 500,000 estimated in the province before the latest violence.

Nigeria air crash kills Kaduna governor Patrick Yakowa

The governor of Nigeria's Kaduna state has been killed in a helicopter crash in the southern delta region along with other senior officials, his party says.

Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa and former national security adviser Gen Owoye Azazi were on the helicopter which came down in Bayelsa state.

Nigeria gunmen attack Abuja Sars police HQ

Two police officers have been killed when a "large number of gunmen" attacked a Nigerian police base in the capital, Abuja, enabling five suspected robbers to escape, police say.

A police statement said the attack was repelled but that 30 detainees escaped, 25 of whom were recaptured.

Suspected robbers and militants from the Boko Haram Islamist group are often held at the police base.

No group has said it carried out the attack

Boko Haram wants to establish Islamic law in Nigeria and has killed hundreds of people this year, mostly in the mainly Muslim north.

DR Congo: M23 rebels set conditions for Goma pull-out

Rebel forces have set out conditions for their withdrawal from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Goma, which they captured last week.

Analysts say the demands, including the release of political prisoners, seem impossible for the government to meet.

Earlier Uganda's defence chief said the M23 rebels' commander had agreed to leave as ordered by regional leaders.

The Red Cross in DR Congo told the BBC 62 bodies had been found in Goma since the rebels seized the city.

UN officials said prisoners in Goma were at large and threatening people - and there were robberies and abductions at night.

Cops shoot dead 7 robbers in South Africa

An elite South African police unit shot dead seven men who tried to rob a cash depot in western Johannesburg on Saturday evening, a spokesman for the unit said.
Nine others were injured and under police guard in hospital, a spokesman of the unit known as Hawks told Reuters.

DR Congo crisis: M23 rebel leader 'flies to Uganda'

The military commander of the M23 rebels is reported to have joined negotiations to end the fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Sultani Makenga has flown to the Ugandan capital, Kampala, a rebel spokesman said.

The militia is refusing to end its occupation of the eastern city of Goma, hours before the expiry of a deadline for them to leave.

A regional summit at the weekend told the rebels to leave Goma by Monday.

About 500,000 people have been displaced by the rebellion since it began in April, with the formation of M23 after a mutiny in the army.

The presidents of Uganda, DR Congo, Tanzania and Kenya, together with the Rwandan foreign minister, issued a statement calling on M23 to "stop all war activities and withdraw from Goma" and "stop talk of overthrowing an elected government".

Nigeria gunmen attack Abuja Sars police HQ

Two police officers have been killed when a "large number of gunmen" attacked a Nigerian police base in the capital, Abuja, enabling five suspected robbers to escape, police say.

A police statement said the attack was repelled but that 30 detainees escaped, 25 of whom were recaptured.

Suspected robbers and militants from the Boko Haram Islamist group are often held at the police base.

No group has said it carried out the attack

Boko Haram wants to establish Islamic law in Nigeria and has killed hundreds of people this year, mostly in the mainly Muslim north.

How will oil affect Madagascar's environmental riches?

 

Amid the hills of western Madagascar, villagers have long been aware of a thick sticky substance naturally seeping out of the ground.

But it is only recently that these unconventional oil deposits in the region of Melaky have attracted the attention of investors.

The rising prices of oil on world markets, coupled with new technologies aim to turn the Indian Ocean island - famous for its unique habitat and wildlife - into a significant oil producer.

Tsimiroro is extremely remote - even by the vast island's standards - and most of Madagascar Oil's estimated 100 employees are flown by small plane from the capital, Antanarivo, 300km (about 185 miles) to the east of the oil field.

"Currently I work three weeks on the site and get one week off," says a 48 year old oil worker as he arrives at Tsimiroro airstrip after a week in Antananarivo with his wife in children.

Nigerian 'youths executed' in Boko Haram stronghold

Dozens of young men have been shot dead in Nigeria by the military in Maiduguri, residents in the north-eastern city have told the BBC.

An imam told the BBC about 11 youths from his street alone were killed, including four of his own sons.

The alleged extrajudicial executions happened as Amnesty International accused the security forces of abuses in its crackdown on Islamist militants.

A military spokesman in Maiduguri said he was not aware of the incident.

But Lt Col Sagir Musa told the BBC investigations would be made.

Maiduguri is the stronghold of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which is fighting to impose Islamic law across Nigeria.

Improved Business Environment in Africa – World Bank

A new joint report by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank was released today, measuring business regulations in 183 worldwide economies. Doing Business in a More Transparent World 2012 is a sage look at economic global developments, and revealed that a number of countries across the African continent are emerging business environments.