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TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi is sounding out the possibility of handing over power, a Russian newspaper reported on Tuesday, but the Libyan government denied it was in talks about the veteran leader stepping down.

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MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - A heavy explosion followed by bursts of sporadic gunfire hit the northeastern Nigerian town of Maiduguri on Wednesday, where a militant Islamist sect has been waging a campaign of violence.

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KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A boat packed with refugees bound for Saudi Arabia sunk off the Sudanese coast, killing 197 people, Sudanese media linked to the government said on Tuesday.

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NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) - Fighting erupted between Mauritania's army and suspected Islamists in the east of the country on Tuesday, with witnesses reporting heavy and automatic weapons fire and the aircraft flying overhead.

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NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Somali man was brought to a U.S. criminal court on Tuesday to face charges of assisting al Qaeda and a militant Somali group, although his questioning abroad for over two-months without being advised of his rights might raise problems at trial.

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GENEVA (Reuters) - Health care and food supplies are deteriorating in Libya, but the Gaddafi government has managed to keep paying wages and food subsidies in areas under its control, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday.

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ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has asked the Senate to approve World Bank managing director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as a member of his new cabinet, the president of the upper house of parliament said on Tuesday.

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AFRAN Kenya – A Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has asked the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development to act on the security threat posed by Eritrea in the region.

Speaking at an IGAD meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Monday, the President said the group’s Executive Council had drawn attention to the growing destabilisation activities in the region associated with Eritrea. The Executive Council has censured Eritrea for engaging in subversive activities against its neighbours.

“This is a matter of serious concern and it is my hope that this Summit will focus some attention on it in view of the need for collective security and sustainable peace,” President Kibaki said. He added: “It is in the interest of all our countries that these issues are adequately dealt with at this summit.”

Eritrea has been accused of sponsoring Al Shabaab, a Somali militant group associated with the Al Qaeda terror network.

Mr Kibaki’s sentiments underline concern about the threat posed to Kenya’s security by Al Shabaab. The concerns are shared by powers such as the US that are helping Kenyan security forces upgrade their capacity.

International terrorism

As part of the upgrade, Kenya is to train a new force to protect its borders and guard against international terrorism with US government aid. The US Government is to provide $14.1 million, allocated to Kenya in its budget proposals for next year, mainly for boosting border operations.

The documents on the State department’s website show the defence upgrade would shield Kenya in case of an “exploding Sudan and imploding Somalia”.

South Sudan, in particular, is seen as a fragile nation as it acquires its independence, while Somalia is considered the seat of the Al Qaeda terror network in the region. The report cites Kenya’s well-developed air travel that makes it “a major operational theatre or transit haven for terrorist groups or individuals” comparing it with such notorious ones as Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Thailand.

$2.2 million is to finance Kenya’s defence forces’ operations with additional $1 million being used to train local troops. Another $8.9 million is to be shared out between “anti-terrorism, non-proliferation and demining programs,” according to the proposals.

Once installed at the border, the new monitors would use biometric data to identify suspects with high accuracy.

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AFRAN Kenya - Another candidate has announced his presidential bid, joining the crowded list of those seeking to lead the Kenya in the 2012 general elections.

Ja’far Isaac threw his hat into the ring on Monday, barely three days after Gachoka MP Mutava Musyimi launched his presidential bid in Nakuru at the weekend.

Mr Ja’far, who will vie as an independent candidate, however refused to divulge any details on who he is, when probed by journalists only saying; “I am a tired Kenyan who has offered himself for the position.” His campaign spokesman Mr Mohammed Ibrahim assured Kenyans that they will soon get to know him. He did not also say why they withheld the information.

At a news conference in Nairobi, the presidential aspirant said his main mission is to lead a ‘major revolution’ that will unite Kenyans, who currently, have been divided along tribal lines. He promised a break from the past. More than any time in Kenyan history, we now have it in our hands, the powers to totally do away with recycled leaders who promise nothing but hope yet they have led the country for decades,” he added.
“The time has come for the baton of leadership to be passed to the generation born after independence and who understand the problems of the common Kenyan,” he went on.

Candidates who have expressed interest in the top job include Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Local Government minister Musalia Mudavadi, Eldoret North MP William Ruto his Gichugu counterpart Martha Karua, Education PS Prof James ole Kiyiapi amongst others.

Mr Jafar took a swipe at the current country’s leadership, accusing it of failing to respect human rights and the rule of law, democracy and freedom of religion. He said the country was now on the verge of hunger due to poor planning by the current crop of leaders.

He said with proper leadership, Kenya can be in the same league as the Asian Tigers such a Malaysia and Singapore

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Reuters
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's government is not negotiating about Muammar Gaddafi giving up power, a government spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday.

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LONDON (Reuters) - The search for a political solution to Libya's war has quietly moved up a gear despite tough-looking declarations by Muammar Gaddafi and his rebel foes suggesting they can fight on.

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MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian newspaper said on Tuesday that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was willing to give up power in exchange for security guarantees, citing a high-level Russian official.

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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The person regarded as the most credible alternative to replace South Africa's President Jacob Zuma as the head of the ruling ANC has denied claims he will seek the party's top job when it elects leaders next year.

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KHARTOUM (Reuters) - North Sudan said on Tuesday it wanted U.N. peacekeepers to leave when the south secedes on July 9, shrugging off international pressure to extend the mission to protect civilians caught up in fresh fighting.

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LONDON (Reuters) - Somali pirates have been using Yemen's remote Horn of Africa island of Socotra as a refueling hub enabling their attack craft to stay restocked for longer periods at sea and pose a greater hazard to shipping, maritime sources say.

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ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Leaders of north and south Sudan agreed on Monday to continue talks on a series of disputes after the south's impending secession, officials said -- a move that will disappoint Western countries hoping for a quick deal.

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LONDON (Reuters) - A single shipment of fenugreek seeds from Egypt is the most likely source of a highly toxic E. coli epidemic in Germany which has killed 49 people and of a smaller outbreak in France, European investigators said on Tuesday.

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CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court sentenced former Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid in absentia to five years in prison on Tuesday for squandering public funds, a judicial source said.

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MADRID/TRIPOLI, July 3 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stepped up Western calls on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to quit, brushing off his threat to attack Europeans in their homes and offices.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Efforts to pressure Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi out of power are succeeding, and there will not be stability in Libya until he steps down, U.S. national security adviser Tom Donilon said.