Ethiopia burns 6.1 tonnes of ivory confiscated over decades

By REUTERS

PUBLISHED: 08:12 EST, 20 March 2015 | UPDATED: 08:12 EST, 20 March 2015

By Aaron Maasho

ADDIS ABABA, March 20 (Reuters) - Ethiopia burnt 6.1 tonnes of ivory on Friday, tusks and trinkets seized from poachers and traders over twenty years in a country that has lost 90 percent of its elephants in just three decades.

Police and park officers poured petrol on the stockpile at a ceremony on a hill in the middle of the capital's Gulele Botanic Garden. It was lit by Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen.

Yields of key cassava crop not keeping pace with Africa population growth: TRFN

Tue Mar 3, 2015 2:21pm GMT

By Chris Arsenault

ROME (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Yields of cassava, a key crop feeding millions of people across Africa, are not keeping pace with population growth despite its tolerance for climate change, a leading scientist said.

More than half the world's cassava, a high-energy root crop, is grown in sub-Saharan Africa, where it is often the cheapest source of calories for poor people, said Clair Hershey, programme leader at the Colombia-based International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).

Child Brides Take Zimbabwe Govt to Court over Marriage Laws: TRFN

Thomson Reuters Foundation
LONDON - Two former child brides have taken Zimbabwe's government to court in a ground-breaking bid to get child marriages declared illegal and unconstitutional.

36 Towns Now Retaken From Boko Haram, Says Nigeria

ABUJA:  Nigeria said today that 36 towns had been retaken from Boko Haram since the start of a four-nation military offensive, voicing hope that the operation could lead to the group's "total defeat".

IMF sees Zimbabwe economy weakening further in 2015

Mon Mar 9, 2015 5:50pm GMT

HARARE, March 9 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's economy is expected to weaken further this year after growing by 3.1 percent in 2014, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday, while the Zimbabwean finance minister said Harare expects to clear its arrears to the fund in the next year.

South Sudan unhappy with US support for sanctions

March 8, 2015 (JUBA)- South Sudanese presidency described as "extremely disappointing" the decision of the United States for the imposition of the United Nations sanctions against individual perceived to blocking attempts to bring peaceful settlement to the conflict.

Security Council votes unanimously, creating a system to impose sanctions on those blocking peace in South Sudan (Photo UN/Devra Berkowitz)

The Minister in the Office of the President Awan Guol Riak told a social gathering on Sunday that government was surprised and unhappy to realise that the United States, which supported the birth of the new nation, has turned her back by leading efforts to impose sanctions against the young nation and its leadership.

U.S. to support Cameroon military in Boko Haram fight

Wed, Feb 18 2015

YAOUNDE (Reuters) - The United States will help Cameroon's army secure equipment to fight Boko Haram, its embassy in Cameroon said on Wednesday, as it deepens its commitment to countering the jihadist group.

Suicide bombings at Somalia hotel kill at least 10 people

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Government officials were meeting at the Central Hotel in Somalia's capital when an Islamic extremist rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the hotel gate, and another went in and blew himself up, killing at least 10 people on Friday, officials said.

Nigerian troops retake major border town as Boko Haram attacks villages, kills scores

By HARUNA UMAR, Associated Press

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian troops retook a major border town and killed scores of Boko Haram fighters Saturday, Nigeria's military said, although witnesses also reported the Islamic extremists killed scores in attacks on other villages.

Angola's economy set to slow as oil prices collapse

Thu, Jan 29 2015

* Cabinet proposes $14 billion in budget cuts

* Growth to slow, deficit widen, currency weaken

* Construction, electricity projects to be shelved

* President dos Santos faces public anger

By Joe Brock

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Angola's oil-dependent economy is set to slow this year, key infrastructure projects will be shelved and swathes of social spending are facing the chop as a global crude price slump takes its toll on Africa's second-biggest producer.

U.N. chief warns South Sudan's warring leaders to put people first

Tue, Feb 3 2015

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned South Sudan's leaders on Tuesday that they must put the interests of their people above their own if lasting peace is to be achieved in the world's newest country.

U.S. strikes against senior Shabaab leader in Somalia

Tue, Feb 3 2015

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States carried out a drone strike in Somalia against a senior leader of militant group al Shabaab, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, adding his death would represent a major blow to a group already losing ground in the country.