Nigeria President Declares Emergency

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in three states after a series of deadly attacks by Islamist militant groups.

The military will take "all necessary action" to "put an end to the impunity of insurgents and terrorists" in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, he said.

Mr Jonathan also ordered more troops to be sent to the north-eastern states.

Militants from Boko Haram have been blamed for most of the violence, which has left 2,000 people dead since 2010.

The Islamist group, whose name means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa language, is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state in the north.

Nigeria - a multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people - is also affected by a spate of conflicts over land, religion and oil.

In the latest violence, 53 people were killed and 13 villages burnt in central Nigeria's Benue state on Tuesday.

The conflict, which started last week, is said to have been caused by a dispute over land ownership between cattle herders and farmers.
'We will hunt them down'
In a pre-recorded address broadcast on Tuesday, President Jonathan said: "What we are facing is not just militancy or criminality, but a rebellion and insurgency by terrorist groups which pose a very serious threat to national unity and territorial integrity."

Referring to recent attacks on government buildings and killings of officials and other civilians, he said that "these actions amount to a declaration of war".

"We will hunt them down, we will fish them out, and we will bring them to justice," the president said.

"The chief of defence staff has been directed to immediately deploy more troops to these states for more effective internal security operations.

"The troops and other security agencies involved in these operations have orders to take all necessary action... to put an end to the impunity of insurgents and terrorists."

At the same time, he stressed that - despite the state of emergency - politicians in the three states would remain in their posts.

The president has the power to sack local politicians and install a caretaker government in emergency circumstances.

"Already, some northern parts of Borno state have been taken over by groups whose allegiance are to different flags than Nigeria's," he said.

Later, a spokesman for the president, Doyin Okupe, said the governors of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa had been "very well briefed" and were "in full support" of the decision to declare a state of emergency.

 "There's a need for the government to step in and do the necessary to once and for all find a way out of this quagmire," he said.

On Monday, the Nigeria Governors' Forum, which represents the leaders of the country's 36 states, warned Mr Jonathan against imposing emergency rule.

It is not the first time that the president has declared a state of emergency, but this is a clear admission that far from being weakened by the army offensive, the threat of the Islamist militants is growing.

And it is the first time that Mr Jonathan has admitted that parts of the country are no longer under central government control, says our correspondent.

Last week, Mr Jonathan had to cut short a trip to South Africa to deal with the growing violence.





Source: BBC News

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EU To Pledge 520m Euros For Mali

The European Union will pledge 520m euros (£442m; $673m) to help rebuild Mali, at a conference of international donors in Brussels.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the money would help the West African state become "stable, democratic and prosperous".

The conference is the first since France sent troops to oust Islamist rebels from northern Mali in January.

Mali's government has a 4.3bn-euro plan for "a total relaunch of the country".

It includes rebuilding government institutions and the military, repairing damaged infrastructure, organising presidential elections, holding dialogue with rebel groups in the north, and stimulating the economy.

After meeting the European Commission chief in Brussels on Tuesday, Mali's interim President Dioncounda Traore said he hoped about 2bn euros would be raised at the donors' conference.

I think that's a good start," he told a news conference. "Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, in a week or in a month, it is clear that the international community, the European Union, will inject a lot more than that."
Mr Barroso said the aid would benefit Europe as well as Africa.

"The support of the international community is essential to establish a Mali that is stable, democratic and prosperous," he added. "But the principal actors in this transition are the Malians themselves and their government."

He said the EU welcomed the Transition Roadmap, aimed at establishing a full return to democracy and stability in the country, and the Plan for the Sustainable Recovery of Mali, which Malian officials will present at the conference on Wednesday.

Officials say 103 international delegations, including 10 heads of state and government, will attend the meeting, which was organised by Mr Barroso, Mr Traore and French President Francois Hollande.

Since the French-led military intervention at the start of the year, the Islamist rebels have been pushed back from the main urban centres of northern Mali. However, some fighters have retreated to hideouts in the mountains and desert, from where they launch isolated attacks.

Tens of thousands of refugees also remain in neighbouring Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger.

France nevertheless began withdrawing the first of its 4,500 troops in the country last month. It hopes to have only 1,000 remaining by the end of the year.

They are due to work alongside peacekeepers from the United Nations' Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (Minusma).

Mr Traore also told Tuesday's news conference that Mali's presidential elections would take place on 28 July, after months of speculation about the date. He said neither he nor any member of the transitional government would stand in the poll.

BBC international development correspondent Mark Doyle says the Islamists were only able to occupy large parts of Mali in the first place because of because of a weak and corrupt central government.

Rebuilding state institutions is therefore a priority, but it is also an enormous task, our correspondent says.

Source: BBC News

 

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Ghanaian Held After Italy Pickaxe Rampage

An illegal immigrant has gone on the rampage with a pickaxe in the Italian city of Milan, killing a passer-by and wounding four others, police say.

A suspect has been arrested and named as Mada Kabobo, a 21-year-old Ghanaian.

A 40-year-old man was killed in the attack in a northern suburb of the city. Two of the four people injured are said to be in a critical state.

Correspondents the incident has revived a long-running debate over illegal immigrants in Italy.

Milan is located in Lombardy, where the Northern League party is calling for tougher policies on immigration.

The motive for Saturday morning's attack remains unclear.

Police say Mr Kabobo was in the country illegally, and had previously been arrested over a variety of alleged offences including theft and robbery.

Source: BBC News

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Gunmen Lift Libyan Ministry Siege

Gunmen demanding the expulsion of Gaddafi-era officials from Libya's new government appear to have lifted their siege of two ministries in Tripoli.

Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani said the siege had ended at both his ministry and the foreign ministry.

The gunmen blocked the buildings two weeks ago, parking pick-up trucks with anti-aircraft guns outside.

Parliament passed a law last week barring Gaddafi-era officials from political office.

About 1,000 civilians came to demonstrate outside the foreign ministry on Friday night but some were attacked and beaten, their placards torn down by the gunmen, the BBC's Rana Jawad reports from Tripoli.

Mr Marghani said his ministry was back under the control of the judicial police and staff had been at work on Saturday "for a couple of hours".

"We hope this does not happen again and that lessons have been learnt that state institutions should not be touched," he added.

"The use of weapons should not be on the table. It causes all sorts of problems for this emerging democracy."

He said an agreement had been reached that the foreign ministry would be handed back to officials on Sunday.

The gunmen were calling for a political isolation law to be passed banning officials who served under the late Muammar Gaddafi from senior government posts.

Since Gaddafi's death, Tripoli and other Libyan cities have been plagued by violence and infighting.

The government has recently tried to dismantle militias that formed during and after the war that toppled the long-time leader.

The bill passed by parliament has been criticised for being too vague, but as it stands, would likely affect several currently serving officials.

Source: BBC News

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Africa Plundered By Secret Mining Deals

Tax avoidance, secret mining deals and financial transfers are depriving Africa of the benefits of its resources boom, ex-UN chief Kofi Annan has said.

Firms that shift profits to lower tax jurisdictions cost Africa $38bn (£25bn) a year, says a report produced by a panel he heads.

"Africa loses twice as much money through these loopholes as it gets from donors," Mr Annan said.

It was like taking food off the tables of the poor, he said.

The Africa Progress Report is released every May - produced by a panel of 10 prominent figures, including former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Graca Machel, the wife of South African ex-President Nelson Mandela.

African countries needed to improve governance and the world's richest nations should help introduce global rules on transparency and taxation, Mr Annan said.

The report gave the Democratic Republic of Congo as an example, where between 2010 and 2012 five under-priced mining concessions were sold in "highly opaque and secretive deals".

This cost the country, which the charity Save the Children said earlier this week was the world's worst place to be a mother, $1.3bn in revenues.

This figure was equivalent to double DR Congo's health and education budgets combined, the report said.

DR Congo's mining minister disputed the findings, saying the country had "lost nothing".

"These assets were ceded in total transparency," Martin Kabwelulu told Reuters news agency.

The report added that many mineral-rich countries needed "urgently to review the design of their tax regimes", which were designed to attract foreign investment when commodity prices were low.

It quotes a review in Zambia which found that between 2005 and 2009, 500,000 copper mine workers were paying a higher rate of tax than major multinational mining firms.

Africa loses more through what it calls "illicit outflows" than it gets in aid and foreign direct investment, it explains.

"We are not getting the revenues we deserve often because of either corrupt practices, transfer pricing, tax evasion and all sorts of activities that deprive us of our due," Mr Annan told the BBC's Newsday programme.

"Transparency is a powerful tool," he said, adding that the report was urging African leaders to put "accountability centre stage".

Mr Annan said African governments needed to insist that local companies became involved in mining deals and manage them in "such a way that it also creates employment".

"This Africa cannot do alone. The tax evasion, avoidance, secret bank accounts are problems for the world… so we all need to work together particularly the G8, as they meet next month, to work to ensure we have a multilateral solution to this crisis," he said.

For richer nations "if a company avoids tax or transfers the money to offshore account what they lose is revenues", Mr Annan said.

"Here on our continent, it affects the life of women and children - in effect in some situations it is like taking food off the table for the poor."

Source: BBC News

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Tunisian Held In New York Over Canada Train Bomb Plot

A Tunisian man who allegedly met one of the men suspected of plotting to bomb a Canadian train was charged with visa fraud in New York, prosecutors say.

Ahmed Abassi allegedly met Chiheb Esseghaier and attempted to radicalise him, New York prosecutors said.

He came to the US in March and kept contact with an undercover FBI agent before his 22 April arrest, they said.

Mr Esseghaier, 30, and Raed Jaser, 35, are charged with conspiracy to carry out an attack and kill people.

An indictment against Mr Abassi, unsealed on Thursday, alleged he came from Canada and was fraudulently seeking a US work visa in order to "facilitate an act of international terrorism".

US Attorney for Manhattan Preet Bharara said: "As alleged, Ahmed Abassi had an evil purpose for seeking to remain in the United States - to commit acts of terror and develop a network of terrorists here, and to use this country as a base to support the efforts of terrorists internationally."

In recorded conversations between the two men, Mr Abassi expressed his desire to "engage in terrorist acts against targets in the United States and other countries", the justice department said in a statement.

He was arrested at John F Kennedy International Airport, authorities said.

Mr Abassi was also recorded talking about his desire to aid militant groups, including the al-Nusra Front.

That group has been described by the US as a front for al-Qaeda in Iraq, and has gained support in rebel-held parts of Syria.

Canadian media have reported the investigation into Mr Esseghaier and Mr Jaser was launched after a tip-off by a concerned imam in the Toronto Muslim community.

Authorities had been tracking Mr Esseghaier for two years before beginning to investigate the alleged plot in August 2012.

Source: BBC News

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Nigeria Cult Ambush Kills Police

At least 30 police officers in Nigeria have been killed in an ambush by a local militia in the central Nasarawa state, officials have said.

They were on their way to arrest the leader of the outlawed Ombatse "cult" when gunmen opened fire, a state spokesman told the BBC.

Sani Musa Mairiga said they were forcing local villagers to swear an oath of allegiance to the group.

The state police chief said that 17 officers were still missing.

One source at the hospital where the bodies were taken told the BBC dozens more policemen were killed in the attack.

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has cut short his visit to South Africa and cancelled a state visit to Namibia to oversee the response to the latest violence.

Nasarawa police chief Abayomi Akeremale said about 60 police officers came under attack on Tuesday.

"We decided to send our men to the area to arrest members of Ombatse, including their priest," he told the AFP news agency.

"[They] have been going to churches and mosques initiating people into their cult by forcefully administering an allegiance oath to unwilling people."

The police were attacked near the shrine to the traditional deity of the Eggon people, in the village of Alakyo, near the state capital, Lafia.

The ambush came after 55 people were reportedly killed in the north-east of Nigeria in co-ordinated attacks by the Boko Haram Islamist militant group.

The Nigerian army said 105 prisoners were freed in Tuesday's pre-dawn raid in Bama, Borno state.

Bama's police station, military barracks and government buildings were burned to the ground, said the military and witnesses.

A statement from the president's office said Mr Jonathan was returning to Abuja "to personally oversee efforts by national security agencies to contain the fresh challenges to national security which have emerged this week in Borno, Plateau and Nasarawa States".

Oh his arrival back in Nigeria, Mr Jonathan is set to head a meeting reviewing Nigeria's security situation with the country's military and police chiefs.

The Ombatse, which means "the time has come" in the Eggon language, say they are fighting against social vices such as alcohol and adultery.

The Eggon community are a microcosm of Nigeria - they are said to be evenly divided between Christians and Muslims but many people continue to follow traditional religions.

There are about 250 different ethnic groups in Nigeria, some with their own traditional belief systems.

Source: BBC News

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Many Dead in Nigeria Militant Raid

Fifty-five people have been killed in the north-east of Nigeria in co-ordinated attacks by the Boko Haram militant group, the Nigerian army says.

It said 105 prisoners were freed in the pre-dawn raid in Bama, Borno state.

Bama's police station, military barracks and government buildings were burned to the ground, said the military and witnesses.

Correspondents say extremist attacks are common in the region but the scale of bloodshed makes this raid stand out.

This strike - coming on the back of other deadly attacks - undermines the suggestion that the military operation against the militants has diminished the threat they pose, says the BBC's Will Ross in Lagos.

President Goodluck Jonathan has set up a committee to agree the terms of an amnesty for the rebels but Boko Haram's leader, Abubakar Shekau, has so far rejected the idea.

Tuesday's raid in the remote town began when some 200 heavily-armed suspected members of Boko Haram arrived in buses and pick-up trucks at about 05:00 (04:00 GMT), said Musa Sagir, a military spokesman based in Maiduguri, some 70km (44 miles) from Bama.

"Some of the gunmen attacked the military barracks but they were repelled. Ten of them were killed and two were arrested," he told AFP news agency.

"But the gunmen broke into the prison, freeing 105 inmates, and killed all prison warders they could see except those who hid in a store where cooking utensils were kept," he said.

Some of the attackers wore army uniforms for the assault, which continued for almost five hours, he added.

Twenty-two police officers, 14 prison wardens, two soldiers and four civilians are said to have died along with 13 members of Boko Haram.

Bama police commander Abubakar Sagir was quoted as saying the civilians comprised a woman and three children.

Police and public buildings - reportedly including a magistrate's court - were razed to the ground.

"The call to prayer was just being said at about 05:00 when the Boko Haram started shooting from all directions and we ran for our lives," a witness, Amina Usman, told Reuters.

"One woman who could not run burned to death," Ms Usman added.

Boko Haram, as it is popularly known, has its roots in this region of Nigeria. It is fighting to overthrow the government and set up an Islamic state.

Late last month the military launched a raid to hunt down militants in Baga, also in Borno state, after Boko Haram militants attacked a military patrol.

Nearly 200 people died in the raid, and thousands of buildings were destroyed, leading to claims by rights groups that the military had used excessive force. The army put the number killed at 37.

Source: BBC News

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Deadly Blast Hits Mogadishu Convoy

A car bomb has exploded near a government convoy in the Somali capital Mogadishu, killing at least seven people, officials say.

A police spokesman told AFP news agency a suicide attacker had driven a car laden with explosives at an armoured government vehicle.

Eyewitnesses said, a government vehicle carrying foreign aid workers had been targeted.

The attack comes days before a conference in London on Somalia.

No group said immediately it had carried out Sunday's attack.

The country's main Islamist group al-Shabab, which is part of al-Qaeda, has been forced out of the main cities in the south and centre but still controls smaller towns and many rural areas.

Ten people were also injured by the explosion, BBC reporter Mohamed Ibrahim reports from the city.

Government forces had only re-opened the main roads in Mogadishu on Saturday after a four-day ban on vehicle traffic, he adds.

The ban had been aimed at preventing attacks by al-Shabab.

A Reuters news agency photographer said he could see three people lying motionless near the wreckage of four burning cars.

The London conference will discuss how best the international community can support Somalia's progress.

More than 50 countries and organisations are due to take part when it opens on Tuesday, co-hosted by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

The UK recently re-opened its embassy in Mogadishu.

The security situation in city was thought to have been improving after two decades of conflict, despite occasional attacks.

Masked gunmen shot dead the deputy chief prosecutor, Ahmad Shaykh Nur Maalin, last month in the city centre.

Source: BBC News

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Tanzania Church Hit By Deadly Blast

An explosion at a crowded church in the northern Tanzanian city of Arusha has killed at least three people, a local priest has told the BBC.

More than 50 others were injured in the blast. Police say they believe it was caused by a bomb.

The explosion occurred at the official opening of the new Roman Catholic church in the suburb of Olasiti.

The Vatican's ambassador to Tanzania and the archbishop of Arusha were attending, but were not hurt.

A man has been arrested in connection with the incident, police say.

An eyewitnesses told AFP news agency: "There was a stampede, people running in all directions, walking on each other, children were screaming and women crying."

Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe said in Twitter message he was "greatly shocked" by the attack.

Tanzania has seen a rise in sectarian violence between Christians and Muslims in recent times.

Last month, police in southern Tanzania used teargas to disperse about 200 Christian rioters attempting to torch a mosque over an animal slaughtering conflict.

In February, a Catholic priest was shot in the head on the largely Muslim island of Zanzibar.

Source: BBC News

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Libya Bans Gaddafi-era Officials

Libya's parliament has passed a law banning officials from the Gaddafi era from holding political office.

The vote in the General National Congress (GNC) came a week after militias backing the law began besieging the ministries of justice and foreign affairs.

They had said they would not leave until the bill was passed.

The law could affect senior members of the government, including Prime Minister Ali Zeidan.

Both Mr Zeidan and GNC speaker Mohamed Megaryef were diplomats before the revolution.

Human rights groups say the measure is too sweeping.

"This law is far too vague - potentially barring anyone who ever worked for the authorities during the four decades of Gaddafi's rule," Human Rights Watch's Sarah Leah Whitson said in a statement on Saturday.

In a vote broadcast live on state TV, 164 MPs supported the measure in the 200-member chamber and just four voted against.

It required a two-thirds plus one majority to pass.

Under the law, anyone who held a key official post between 1969 and 2011 is supposed to be excluded from government.

But it is not clear how long the exclusion will last.

While officials and the public at large generally see the law as necessary, many believe other interests are being pursued on all sides under the guise of demands for its adoption.

This includes militias afraid of losing power and political infighting within the congress itself, she adds.

A special commission will now be set up to implement the new law.

In March, protesters barricaded members of the GNC inside the building for hours to call for the new law to be adopted.

Militias blocked the foreign ministry last Sunday, moving in to surround the justice ministry on Tuesday.

But until now officials had been unable to agree the terms of the law.

Since Gaddafi's death, Tripoli and other Libyan cities have been plagued by violence and infighting.

The government has recently tried to dismantle militias that formed during and after the war that toppled the long-serving leader.

Source: BBC News

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Botswana President Ian Khama Wounded By Cheetah

Botswana President Ian Khama has had stitches in his face after being scratched by a cheetah, officials say.

The animal was reportedly being fed in its enclosure at an army barracks when it jumped up and scratched Mr Khama, who was standing nearby.

The incident was "a freak accident, but not an attack", government spokesman Jeff Ramsay told local media.

Mr Khama's injuries were minor and there were "no real security implications", the official added.

The incident is said to have happened very fast, catching the president and his bodyguard by surprise.

"He was scratched by a cheetah but not really attacked per se," said Mr Ramsay.

Mr Khama was seen sporting a plaster at a meeting following the attack.

Cheetahs, the world's fastest land mammals, are listed as an endangered species.

Around 12,400 are thought to remain in the wild in African countries, including Botswana.

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Ghanaians Ban Spirit Child Killing

Local leaders in northern Ghana have announced the abolition of the ritual killing of babies born with physical disabilities, who were believed to have been possessed by evil spirits.

"Spirit children" were thought to have been a sign of impending misfortune and given a poisonous drink to kill them.

One campaigner told the BBC that improved healthcare and education meant such beliefs were becoming less common.

Activist Raymond Ayine welcomed the ban, which covers seven towns.

But he said he could not guarantee that the practice had been eradicated from the whole country.

The BBC's Vera Kwakofi says the Kasena-Nankana region, where the ban has been announced, is the part of Ghana where such beliefs are most widespread.

Sometimes, babies born at the same time as a family misfortune were also accused of being "spirit children" and killed.

The "concoction men" who used to give the children the poisonous drink have been given new roles; they will now work with disabled children to promote their rights.

Investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that he took a plastic doll to a soothsayer, saying it was a child with eating problems and physical disabilities.

"He consulted the oracles, jumped up and down and after this said that the oracles confirmed that the child was an evil child and that the child needed to be killed immediately, and that the child had already killed two members of my family," he said.

Local chief Naba Henry Abawine Amenga-Etigo said that anyone caught trying to harm children from now on would be handed over to the police.

Mr Ayine, from the campaign group Afrikids, said he was "saddened that in today's era, a child could lose its life because of such a barbaric practice".

He noted that in rural areas where such beliefs are more common, women often give birth without ever seeing a midwife, let alone having a pre-natal scan. As a result, childbirth leads to complications more often than elsewhere, he said.

He also said that even before the official ban, there had been no recorded case of the killing of "spirit children" in the area for the past three years.

He put this down to awareness campaigns, as well as improved access to education that meant more people understood that physical disabilities had a medical explanation.

In other parts of northern Ghana, elderly women accused of being witches are sometimes forced to leave their homes and live in "witch camps".

Source: BBC News

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Boeing 787 Dreamliner Returns To Service In Ethiopia Flight

An Ethiopian Airlines 787 Dreamliner has flown from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, the first commercial flight by the Boeing aircraft since all 787s were grounded in January.

The 50 planes around the world were grounded due to battery malfunctions that saw one 787 catch fire in the US.

Over the past week teams of Boeing engineers have been fitting new batteries to the aircraft.

This was after aviation authorities approved the revamped battery design.

The Ethiopian Airlines plane took off at 09:45 local time (07:45 GMT) and landed in Nairobi, Kenya, some two hours later.

Each 787 has two of the lithium-ion batteries which caused problems.

In addition to new versions of the batteries which run at a much cooler temperature, the batteries are now enclosed in stainless steel boxes.

These boxes have a ventilation pipe that goes directly to the outside of the plane. Boeing says this means than in the unlikely event of any future fire or smoke, it would not affect the rest of the aircraft.

Boeing said it put 200,000 engineer hours into fixing the problem, with staff working round the clock.

On Thursday, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a formal "air worthiness" directive allowing revamped 787s to fly.

Japanese airlines, which have been the biggest customers for the new-generation aircraft, are expected to begin test flights on Sunday.

A total of 300 Boeing engineers, pooled into 10 teams, have in the past week been fitting the new batteries and their containment systems around the world.

Boeing is expected to complete repairs on all 50 of the grounded Dreamliners by the middle of May.

In addition to the Dreamliners in service with airlines, Boeing has upgraded the 787s it has continued to make at its factory in Seattle since January.

The Dreamliner entered service in 2011. Half of the plane is made from lightweight composite materials, making it more fuel efficient than other planes of the same size.

The two lithium-ion batteries are not used when the 787 is in flight.

They are operational when the plane is on the ground and its engines are not turned on, and are used to power the aircraft's brakes and lights.

Source: BBC News

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At Least 185 Killed in Nigeria Attack

Fighting between Nigeria's military and Islamic extremists killed at least 185 people in a fishing community in the nation's far northeast, officials said Sunday, an attack that saw insurgents fire rocket-propelled grenades and soldiers spray machine-gun fire into neighborhoods filled with civilians.

The fighting in Baga began Friday and lasted for hours, sending people fleeing into the arid scrublands surrounding the community on Lake Chad. By Sunday, when government officials finally felt safe enough to see the destruction, homes, businesses and vehicles were burned throughout the area.

The assault marks a significant escalation in the long-running insurgency Nigeria faces in its predominantly Muslim north, with Boko Haram extremists mounting a coordinated assault on soldiers using military-grade weaponry. The killings also mark one of the deadliest incidents ever involving Boko Haram.

Authorities had found and buried at least 185 bodies as of Sunday afternoon, said Lawan Kole, a local government official in Baga. He spoke haltingly to Borno state Gov. Kashim Shettima in the Kanuri language of Nigeria's northeast, surrounded by still-frightened villagers.

Officials could not offer a breakdown of civilian casualties versus those of soldiers and extremist fighters. Many of the bodies had been burned beyond recognition in fires that razed whole sections of the town, residents said. Those killed were buried as soon as possible, following local Muslim tradition.

Brig. Gen. Austin Edokpaye, also on the visit, did not dispute the casualty figures. Edokpaye said Boko Haram extremists used heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades in the assault, which began after soldiers surrounded a mosque they believed housed members of the radical Islamic extremist network Boko Haram. Extremists earlier had killed a military officer, the general said.

Edokpaye said extremists used civilians as human shields during the fighting — implying that soldiers opened fire in neighborhoods where they knew civilians lived.

"When we reinforced and returned to the scene the terrorists came out with heavy firepower, including (rocket-propelled grenades), which usually has a conflagration effect," the general said.

However, local residents who spoke to an Associated Press journalist who accompanied the state officials said soldiers purposefully set the fires during the attack. Violence by security forces in the northeast targeting civilians has been widely documented by journalists and human rights activists. A similar raid in Maiduguri, Borno state's capital, in October after extremists killed a military officer saw soldiers kill at least 30 civilians and set fires across a neighborhood.

Sunday afternoon, the burned bodies of cattle and goats still filled the streets in Baga. Bullet holes marred burned buildings. Fearful residents of the town had begun packing to leave with their remaining family members before nightfall, despite Shettima trying to convince some to stay.
"Everyone has been in the bush since Friday night; we started returning back to town because the governor came to town today," grocer Bashir Isa said. "To get food to eat in the town now is a problem because even the markets are burnt. We are still picking corpses of women and children in the bush and creeks."

Source: ABC News

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Ghana Impounds Faulty Condoms

More than 110 million Chinese-made condoms have been seized in Ghana after laboratory tests revealed they were faulty, Ghanaian officials have said.

"There are holes in them and... the condoms burst easily," a Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) spokesman told the BBC.

The condoms were being distributed free as part of an HIV/Aids prevention campaign by the Ghana Health Service.

About 200 million of the faulty condoms are believed to have been imported into the country.

The condom packaging is silvery white with a red Aids ribbon incorporated into the design and the words "Be Safe" also in red.

Thomas Amedzro, head of drug enforcement at the FDA, said the condoms had been imported via Kenya from a Chinese manufacturer.

All imported condoms are supposed to be tested by the FDA before distribution, he said.

"Somehow there was a lapse; the batches of the condoms were not submitted as duly required for the appropriate testing to be conducted," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.

Anybody using them could be "exposed to sexually transmitted infections or be saddled with unwanted pregnancies", Mr Amedzro said.

"You may not be able to see the holes with your naked eye but when you look at it under the microscope you can see holes," he said.

They were also not adequately lubricated, the FDA said.

Our reporter says the health service took delivery of the condoms in February this year, but they arrived in the country in the last quarter of 2012.

"Since the alert went out, a number of individuals and organisations have already reported to us that they have stocks, which we are already retrieving," Mr Amedzro said.

A publicity campaign was underway to ensure that all the other unsafe condoms were found, he added.

According to UN figures, an estimated 230,000 people in Ghana, which has a population of 25 million, are living with HIV.

Source: BBC News

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South Sudan Army Killed Nurses

Five health workers have been killed when South Sudan soldiers attacked a hospital in revenge for the deaths of eight members of the security forces, the local MP has told the BBC.

David Mayo said the fighting was still going on and urged the army to be withdrawn.

Local community leaders confirm that the hospital in the village of Lorema, Eastern Equatoria state, was attacked.

But the state governor denied the reports.

Louis Obong told the BBC that no hospital had been attacked and the security situation was "normal".

An army spokesman said he was investigating the reports and any soldier who had committed abuses would face justice.

The soldiers were deployed after eight of the governor's bodyguards were killed when they were sent to track down cattle rustlers.

The BBC's Nyambura Wambugu in South Sudan says many residents of the mountainous area around Lorema are heavily armed, including with rocket-propelled grenades, left over from the two-decade civil war against the north.

Mr Mayo said that 13 soldiers were currently being treated in hospital, in the state capital, Torit.

But he blames the soldiers for the violence, saying they opened fire indiscriminately when they arrived in Lorema, before going on to attack the hospital and set fire to local homes.

One doctor, one patient and four nurses died, he said.

Human rights groups have accused South Sudan's army, made up of former rebels, of committing numerous abuses against civilians since independence in 2011 - charges the army has strongly denied.

Our reporter says there is a long history of cattle raiding in Eastern Equatoria, as in many other parts of the country.

Cattle lie at the heart of life for many communities in the country which has hardly any banks - they represent wealth, a dowry, property and a source of food in the lean season.

A single cow can be worth hundreds of dollars depending on its colouring.

Source: BBC News

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Rare Blue Diamond Found in South Africa

A rare blue diamond has been unearthed at a mine in South Africa.

The 25.5-carat stone was recovered by Petra Diamonds at its Cullinan mine and is expected to bring large profits.

Experts say it could be worth more than $10m (£6m), and the find gave a boost to Petra's share price.

Similar finds in recent years from the Cullinan mine have commanded high prices and Petra, with operations in Botswana and Tanzania, is expecting a high level of interest from buyers.

"It's very unusual for a diamond of this quality and size to come to market," said company spokeswoman Cathy Malins.

A rare blue diamond has been unearthed at a mine in South Africa.

The 25.5-carat stone was recovered by Petra Diamonds at its Cullinan mine and is expected to bring large profits.

Experts say it could be worth more than $10m (£6m), and the find gave a boost to Petra's share price.

Similar finds in recent years from the Cullinan mine have commanded high prices and Petra, with operations in Botswana and Tanzania, is expecting a high level of interest from buyers.

"It's very unusual for a diamond of this quality and size to come to market," said company spokeswoman Cathy Malins.

Source: BBC News

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Eight killed in gun attack in Kenya

At least eight people have been killed in an attack by a group of armed men in the eastern Kenyan town of Garissa.

Witnesses said the attackers targeted a hotel in the town before escaping the scene.

Five wounded people were taken to hospital, according to the Kenyan Red Cross.

Kenya has suffered a series of attacks since its troops moved into southern Somalia to combat Islamist al-Shabab militants in 2011.

Police confirmed that an operation was under way to identify the assailants.

The town has seen several such attacks in recent months. In January, another shooting in Garissa killed five people and wounded another four.

In October, gunmen shot dead a police officer and wounded another in Garissa. In November, three Kenyan soldiers and two police were shot dead there.

Attacks blamed on al-Shabab have previously sparked retaliatory violence against the country's Somali population.

In November, riots broke out in the capital Nairobi as angry youths blamed ethnic Somalis for a deadly explosion.

Source: BBC News

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French Cameroon Hostages Freed

Seven members of a French family kidnapped by gunmen in northern Cameroon in February have been freed.

Cameroon's Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary told the BBC the Moulin-Fournier family, including four children, were in good condition.

In a video published on YouTube, militants from the Nigerian group Boko Haram had claimed to be holding them.

The French president said France had not paid a ransom to free the family who are now in the capital, Yaounde.

The family arrived at the French embassy with a heavy security escort, the AFP news agency reports.

President Francois Hollande said secret talks had been taking place for the past few weeks to help secure their release, but the country had not paid a ransom, Reuters news agency reports.

"France has not changed its position, which is not to pay ransoms," the agency quotes him as saying at a news conference in Paris.

"I spoke to the father this morning... He told me how happy and relieved he was."

The release of the hostages was announced on national radio in Cameroon on Friday morning.

The statement from the presidency said they had been handed over to Cameroon authorities late on Thursday.

Both the Nigerian and French governments were thanked in the statement, but no further explanation was given about how they were freed.

The French president's office said that Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius had immediately left for Cameroon to greet the family, AFP reported.

Mr Fabius told AFP the French hostages were freed overnight "in an area between Nigeria and Cameroon" and would be flown to France on Saturday.

Source: BBC News

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