Breaking news from AFRICA, Maghreb and Sub-Saharan Africa

MALI

French hostages complicate Mali mission

As French warplanes bombed Islamist bases in northern Mali on Monday, efforts to take back the country’s north have been complicated by the fact that militants still hold seven French nationals hostage.

GHANA - IVORY COAST

Ghana extradites former Gbagbo military commander

Major Jean-Noel Abehi, a key figure in former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo’s security forces, has been arrested in Ghana and extradited back to Ivory Coast, a security official said on Tuesday.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Rebels gain key posts in new Central African Republic government

Central African Republic Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye on Sunday awarded key portfolios, including defence and mining, to members of a rebel coalition as he unveiled a unity government formed under a peace deal brokered in January.

EGYPT

Cairo rape video highlights plight of women protesters

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SENEGAL

French national killed in Senegal's Casamance region

A French national was among four people killed in an attack in Senegal's Casamance region, south of the Gambia, the Senegalese army has said.

EGYPT

‘Black Bloc’ revolutionaries baffle Egyptians

Everyone in Egypt is talking about them but no one really knows who they are. Calling themselves “Black Bloc,” these new masked opponents of President Mohammed Morsi's regime are set to defend street protesters—by force if necessary.

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FRANCE - MALI

Can France sustain an enduring peace in Mali?

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EGYPT'S DIVISIVE CONSTITUTION

EGYPT - EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Egypt's ElBaradei slams 'illegitimate' constitution
EGYPT

Egypt's opposition rejects referendum, urges protests
EGYPT

Egypt’s opposition urges ‘No’ vote in referendum

EGYPT

Egypt's political rivals unite to denounce recent violence

Rival representatives from across Egypt’s political spectrum held a rare meeting on Thursday to denounce violence following a week of rioting that left up to 60 people dead nationwide. The meeting was called by Egypt’s leading Muslim scholar.

UK - LIBYA - ALGERIA

Cameron pledges UK support to Algeria, Libya

British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged UK support and cooperation in countering Islamist militancy in Libya during a surprise visit to Tripoli on Thursday, after striking a new security deal with neighbouring Algeria the previous day.

MALI

Timbuktu ancient manuscripts 'safe and sound', experts say

The bulk of Timbuktu’s ancient manuscripts are “safe and sound,” experts associated with their conservation said on Wednesday, following the Malian city’s 10-month occupation by Islamist rebels who had destroyed some of the historic texts.

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JUSTICE

Court rejects Nigerian suit against Royal Dutch Shell

The Hague Civil Court on Wednesday rejected a suit against Royal Dutch Shell brought by a group of Nigerian farmers over an oil leak, saying that only local subsidiary Shell Nigeria was responsible and ordering the latter to compensate one farmer.

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ANALYSIS