20121221
IRIN

Mansa — The minimum legal age for marriage in Zambia is 18, and parental consent is required if a girl or boy is 16-17. Anyone under 16 is a minor, and defilement of a minor is a serious offence, punishable by imprisonment of up to 25 years.

20101221
IRIN

Nairobi — Holding a football tournament with teams from 15 regions of Somalia is an achievement in itself - but the organizers hope it will do more than only bring players together.

20101221
IPS

United Nations — The United Nations is taking an unrelenting stand on the spreading constitutional crisis in Cote d'Ivoire, where two contenders - one victorious and the other vanquished - are battling it out for the country's presidency.

20101221
New Times

The 8th National Dialogue (Umushyikirano), ended, yesterday, on a high note with President Paul Kagame calling for renewed efforts to achieve the targets set during the two-day meeting.

20101222
Leadership

Lagos — After about 12 years of incarceration and legal tussle, Justice Muftau Olokoba of Lagos High Court, Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), yesterday acquitted and discharged Major Hamza Al-M ustapha, Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late military ruler, General Sani Abacha, alongside others standing trial over alleged attempted murder of publisher of The Guardian newspapers, Chief Alex Ibru.

20101221
IPS

Blantyre — Hermes Chimombo, a welder in his 50's, is a revered man in the impoverished Naotcha Township. Armed with rudimentary tools and a passion to ease people's suffering, he has tapped a spring in the mountain above the slum to provide water for its 25,000 residents.

20101221
capital news

NAIROBI, Dec 20 - The death toll following an explosion on a Kampala-bound bus rose to three on Monday night after two more people succumbed to injuries in hospital, police said.

20101221
This Day

Abuja — A fresh legal challenge to the aspiration of President Goodluck Jonathan began yesterday in Abuja as some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains filed a suit seeking to stop the Independent National Electoral Commis-sion (INEC) from accepting the president as a candidate for the 2011 presidential poll.

Any national team to have excelled and performed exceptionally above all. Must have qualified for a major competition during the year under review and achieved the ultimate as well.

20101220
africanews

The moderate Islamists of Ahlu Sunnah Wal-Jama have condemned the union of Hizbul Islam and Al-Shabab fighters, according to Shabelle.net.

20101220
africanews

The European Union EU has agreed in principle to ban the incumbent President of Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo over last month's disputed elections, a diplomat told the BBC.

20101220
africanews

Disgruntled fans of Lubumbashi-based club of TP Mazembe took to the streets and attacked Chinese-run businesses after the Crows were humiliated in a 3-0 defeat to Italian side Inter Milan in the final of the Club World Cup.

20101220
africanews

Al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam - the two Islamist groups fighting government forces and AU troops in Somalia - are to merge. The two had been allies but have fallen out over the past year, with Hizbul Islam losing ground.

20101220
africanews

Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga said that withdrawing Kenya from the Rome Statute is not in line with the new constitution. His remarks came after parliament was sharply divided over the issue of forming a local tribunal to try the six suspects released by ICC chief prosecutor Louis Moreno-Ocampo.

20101219
This Day

Ilorin — Chairman, Board of Trustees of All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and presidential aspirant of the party in 2011 general elections, Chief Harry Akande, has called for overhauling of the two anti-graft agencies, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in order to address corruption in the country.

20101220
Leadership

Abuja — There is a fresh plot to disqualify former vice-president and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, from contesting the party's presidential primary.

20101219
Sudan Tribune

Addis Ababa — Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki suspects the United States has plans to assassinate him by bombing his residence, according to leaked secret American diplomatic cables.

20101219
Sudan Tribune

Nairobi — Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and the Libyan leader Muammar Al-Qaddafi will both arrive in Khartoum on Tuesday for talks with Sudan president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir as his country hurtles towards a vote in January 2011 on the independence of south Sudan region.

20101219
Sudan Tribune

Khartoum — The Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir was unapologetic over a YouTube video showing a woman being flogged by police that sparked outrage both domestically and abroad.