20110315
reuters

NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) - A Mauritanian prosecutor on Monday requested the death penalty against three alleged members of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, suspected in the murder of American NGO worker Christopher Leggett in June 2009.

20110314
xinhua

ABIDJAN, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Cote d'Ivoire's incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and his supporters on Sunday voiced opposition to the endorsement by the African Union (AU) of Alassane Ouattara as the president-elect in the West African country.

20110314
xinhua

LAGOS, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's main militant group The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) warned in a statement on Monday that it will soon commence with simultaneous bomb blasts and attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta and other strategic locations in the capital city Abuja and the business hub Lagos.

20110314
xinhua

ABIDJAN, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Heavy fighting was heard on Monday around the residence of the army chief in Cote d'Ivoire, causing panic among residents in Yopougon district in the economic capital Abidjan, witnesses told Xinhua.

20110314
xinhua

ABIDJAN, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Heavy fighting erupted on Monday morning in Yopougon, the commercial district of Cote d'Ivoire's economic capital Abidjan, marking the first time a stronghold of incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo has ever been attacked since the Nov. 28 presidential run-off.

20110314
xinhua

NIAMEY, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Niger's opposition leader Mahamadou Issoufou won in the presidential run-off, the election commission (CENI) said on Monday.

20110314
xinhua

TRIPOLI, March 14 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan armed forces will offer an amnesty to defected soldiers if they give up their weapons, Libya's state TV said on Monday.

20110314
reuters

ALGIERS (Reuters) - The difficulty Libyan forces had stamping out small numbers of rebels in the west of the country points to a long, hard and nasty fight when Muammar Gaddafi's troops reach the main rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

20110314
reuters

AJDABIYAH, Libya (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's jets bombed Libyan rebels on Monday, aiding a counter-offensive that has pushed insurgents 100 miles (160 km) eastwards in a week, as France pressed for a no-fly zone "as fast as possible".

20110314
reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Dmitry Medvedev has barred Muammar Gaddafi and his family from Russia, the Kremlin said on Monday, in a move that brings Moscow closer in line with Western policy on the Libyan leader.

20110314
reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has no intention of getting involved in a war in Libya, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday.

20110314
reuters

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Nationalisation of South Africa's mines and other economic assets is not government policy, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Monday in the latest government comment aimed at reassuring investors.

20110314
reuters

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A divided U.N. Security Council discussed on Monday the possibility of authorizing a no-fly zone over Libya after the Arab League called during the weekend for the 15-nation body to act.

20110314
reuters

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Gunfire and explosions broke out in an Abidjan stronghold of Laurent Gbagbo, just outside the private house of his army chief, witnesses and a security source said, but state TV denied his residence had been attacked.

20110314
reuters

NIAMEY (Reuters) - Niger's opposition leader Mahamadou Issoufou will head the West African country's return to civilian rule after provisional results showed on Monday he won a presidential election with a score of 57.95 percent.

20110314
reuters

JOS, Nigeria (Reuters) - Attackers armed with guns and machetes killed six people in two separate raids on central Nigerian villages late on Sunday, in the latest act of sectarian violence that has troubled Plateau state for months.

20110314
xinhua

TRIPOLI, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of foreign laborers were still stranded at the airport in Tripoli on Saturday, as troops loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi stormed into the eastern town of Ras Lanuf.

20110314
xinhua

TRIPOLI, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Citing a military source, Libya's official TV said on Sunday the eastern town of Brega has been cleared of rebels.

20110314
xinhua

TUNIS, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian authorities have imposed a dawn to dusk curfew, from 7 p.m. (1800 GMT) to 5 a.m. (0400 GMT) in the southern mining town of Metlaoui, nearly 380 km from the capital, the official press agency TAP reported Sunday.

20110314
xinhua

KHARTOUM, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) on Sunday refuted the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) accusations that the party supported armed militias to topple south Sudan government before July 9, 2011.