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reuters

ABUJA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- A debate for presidential candidates in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, kicked off on Friday in Abuja, the country's capital city to steer this year's general elections issues on public policy and good governance.

20110318
reuters

GENEVA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- UNHCR staff had recorded an increase in the number of Libyans fleeing into Egypt in the past few days, as government forces continued to push eastwards, the UN Refugee Agency said here on Friday.

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reuters

NAIROBI, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Kenya has temporarily closed its embassy in Japan following high levels of nuclear radiation which is as a result of last week's earthquake and Tsunami.

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reuters

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's government said it was declaring a unilateral ceasefire in its offensive to crush Libya's revolt, as Western warplanes prepared to attack his forces.

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reuters

NAHIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Abboud al-Zumar went to jail 30 years ago for his role in killing Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. Now a free man, he believes democracy will prevent Islamists from ever again taking up the gun against the state.

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reuters

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Laurent Gbagbo has called on Ivory Coast's civilians to help his forces "neutralise" suspected rebels, raising fears of a return to all out civil war as fighting continued in Abidjan on Friday.

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reuters

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's electoral commission on Friday rejected opposition calls to alter the date for presidential elections because the timetable favours the ruling party, saying time was too short for any such change.

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reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - France, Britain and their allies will take a step into the unknown with any military intervention in Libya that could lead to an open-ended conflict.

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reuters

GENEVA (Reuters) - Aid agencies appealed for Libya's neighbours on Friday to keep borders open as they braced for a potential exodus of refugees from Libya following intensified fighting and the declaration of a no-fly zone.

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reuters

ACCRA (Reuters) - A cholera epidemic in Ghana has killed 60 people and infected almost 4,000 since the first cases emerged last September, with 482 new cases reported this week alone, health authorities said on Friday.

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reuters

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe is sliding into a police state and regional leaders should intervene to save the unity government, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said on Friday as police banned a weekend rally he was due to address.

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reuters

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - At least 59 soldiers and militiamen were killed and dozens wounded on Thursday in clashes between the South Sudan army and local militia groups in three

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reuters

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians vote on Saturday in a referendum on constitutional changes designed to allow free and fair elections but have splintered the reform movement that toppled Hosni Mubarak from the presidency.

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Xinhua
TRIPOLI, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Libya's anti-government movement is faced with a possible final defeat, as government forces recaptured the third largest city of Misrata on Thursday and was ready for actions against the rebels' headquarter Benghazi.

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Reuters
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Police opened fire and killed one student after a demonstration in Darfur's main university against government restrictions on political activity, witnesses said on Thursday.

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Reuters
ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's Alassane Ouattara broke three months of silence on the gunmen fighting to defend his claim to the presidency on Thursday, saying he officially recognised the former rebels as the legitimate army.

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Reuters
ABIDJAN (Reuters) - At least 25 people were killed in Ivory Coast on Thursday when forces loyal to incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo fired a series of shells into a neighbourhood that supports his rival, the U.N. mission said.

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Reuters
DAKAR (Reuters) - Government critics in Senegal are planning a protest on Saturday in the capital Dakar's main square, dubbing it "Tahrir" square for the day in homage to the epicentre of Egypt's uprising.

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Reuters
TRIPOLI/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations authorised military attacks on Muammar Gaddafi's forces, but his forces closed in on the Libyan rebels and he vowed to storm their stronghold with "no mercy, no pity".

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Reuters
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Libya has closed its air space to all traffic, according to European air traffic control organisation Eurocontrol, a move that may anticipate the U.N.'s imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya.