SmallShop....Africa News

The body of Pamela Mboya, wife of the late Tom Mboya was flown into the country. Pamela died of ovarian cancer while undergoing chemotherapy treatment in South Africa. The body was taken to lee funeral home awaiting burial. A funeral service will be held on Thursday next week.

34 people are said to be missing following the fierce fire that burnt down Nakumatt downtown .It is not yet clear how many people died in the inferno but one person who was among the victims has died at the Kenyatta national hospital.

Last week rebel leader Laurent Nkunda from the Democratic Republic of Congo was arrested in the Rubavu district in western Rwanda. This video by AfricaNews reporter Emmanuel Pweto shows the scepsis, disbelief and relief about the arrest by the people on the street in DRC's capital Kinshasa

Uganda: The gift of education As the violence in northern Uganda abates, UNHCR helps children go back to school.

.....18 years of conflict on the horn of Africa as year in, year out the Somalia insurgents continued to tear down the country. Now Somalia is facing an even bigger crisis since the resignation of president Abdullah Yusuf. Elections scheduled for the end of this month appear to have hit a snag.

While Thomas Lubanga, a DR Congo rebel, faces criminal charges in the Hague, the hunt for another man wanted war lord continues in central Africa. Joseph Kony leads Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army and, as Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege reports, he and his movement have sent thousands of civilians on the run.

The man who shot dead a son of a former Gatundu North MP will be charged with murder on Monday, police spokesman Eric Kiraithe has said.The police inspector, who joined the Force recently, had an argument with 29-year-old James Ng’ang’a as the two were drinking beer in Westlands on Saturday morning. Mr Ng’ang’s was the son of Mr Patrick Muiruri.

Thomas Lubanga, a Congolese warlord has pleaded not guilty to recruiting child soldiers and sending them to fight and die in ethnic battles as the International Criminal Court began its historic first trial.

UNHCR faces a major challenge in finding solutions for newly arrived Somalia refugees in Kenya.

Zimbabwe, mired in disease and hunger, inflation beyond calculation and political crisis, keeps on spiraling downward. Al Jazeera's Haru Mutasa reports from Harare, where money problems are hampering the fight against Zimbabwe's other major worry, cholera.

At least 14 people have been killed from a suicide car bombing in Mogadishu, the Somali capital. It's believed the attack was aimed at peacekeepers although civilians were the casualties. Al Jazeera's Clayton Swisher has more.

Rwanda and Congo have announced the arrest in Rwandan territory of Laurent Nkunda, the Congolese Tutsi rebel leader, during a joint military operation on the Great Lakes border. Nkunda has led a Tutsi rebellion in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since 2004 and is wanted for war crimes. He now faces possible extradition back to the DRC to face those charges. Yvonne Ndege reports.

IN THE FIELD: Congolese Tutsi rebel leader Laurent Nkunda has been arrested in Rwandan territory by the Rwandan army. The former army general, who has headed up a rebellion against the DRC since 2004, is wanted by Congolese authorities.

At least 50 people are feared dead after attacks on farming communities in southern Sudan. The Lord's Resistance Army, led by accused war criminal Joseph Kony, is being blamed for the violence. As Al Jazeera's Paul Allen reports, thousands have fled their farms, fearing that the attackers armed with machetes will return.

allAfrica.com: "Khartoum — The issuing of an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur - accusations the government rejects - would be an unprecedented event in the history of international justice."

CNN.com : "HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Zimbabwe's opposition leader called the cholera outbreak in his country a 'man-made crisis,' as new figures released Thursday showed the death toll had soared to more than 2,700."

Guardian Newspapers : "IT is a task that has taken more than two centuries to accomplish but today in its capital city, Washington DC, the United States will deal a damaging blow to racism with the inauguration of the country's 44th but first African-American President, Barack Obama. Already, the Washington DC atmosphere has become carnival-like despite falling snow and a temperature of 23 degree Celsius. The city is hosting an all-time high two million visitors for the inauguration."

BBC NEWS "Kogelo, the hometown of the father of US President-elect Barack Obama, is normally a sleepy village of 5,000, but has become a riot of colour and sound. The festivities have already begun, as they count down the hours before 'their son' becomes the 44th president of the most powerful country in the world."

BBC NEWS "Ghanaians have criticised plans to give former President John Kufuor a massive retirement package, including six chauffeur-driven cars and two houses. The benefits, which also include a lump-sum thought to be worth $400,000, were approved on Mr Kufuor's last day in office earlier this month."

The government will conduct a head count of all primary teachers in school tomorrow to identify and isolate those involved in the strike. A spot check by citizen TV in Nairobi, Naivasha and Nakuru found out that majority of pupils reported to their schools but when the teachers failed to turn up by mid morning the pupils simply left for home.

Hours before Barack Obama's inauguration as the U.S. 44th President, people are celebrating in the Kenyan village of Kogelo. Obamamania has gripped Africa as Obamas father was born in western Kenya.

Mail & Guardian Online: "A regional bid to resolve Zimbabwe's unity government deadlock was under way on Monday as Zanu-PF leader Robert Mugabe and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai entered crunch talks with Southern African mediators. Dubbed 'D-Day' for the country's stalled unity government, the meeting is seen as make-or-break for Zimbabwe's protracted political impasse and unchecked humanitarian crises."

THISDAY ONLINE / "Does the President-elect of America, Barack Obama, have roots in Nigeria? The Obama community in Rivers State says yes, claiming that the great-great-great grandfather of the next US President, who assumes office tomorrow, is their kith and kin."

News24 : "Cape Town - Congress of the People leader Terror Lekota on Monday suggested that the Black Lawyers Association (BLA) which recently attacked his party over 'reckless' statements on affirmative action, is racist. Briefing the media in Cape Town, Lekota said the BLA had never subscribed to the idea of non-racialism."

Doctors are now demanding that the government moves with speed to improve their salaries. Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of an office complex for the Kenya Medical Association, Chairman Andrew Sule accused the government of discriminating against doctors whenever pay rise for civil servants is implemented.

In part of Al Jazeera's series on Soweto's Bara hospital we visit Medical Admission Ward 20 which deals with all of Sowetos non-surgical medical emergencies. Doctors are constantly overwhelmed by the numbers of patients seeking help and in this ward, sixty to eighty per cent of deaths are due to HIV and AIDS.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga arrived back home from India and immediately defended himself against graft accusations linking him to a second grain handling facility at the port of Mombasa. But even as he spoke, pressure mounted on those mentioned adversely on the recent chain of corruption allegations to step down.

Ethiopia has withdrawn its last troops from the Somalian capital of Mogadishu. One day after the withdrawal, there are underscoring fears the country could fall into further chaos because of fresh clashes between rebel fighters and the departing Ethiopian forces. Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege reports.

Thought Leader » Alex Matthews "There are no limits to the brutality that Zimbabwe’s Zanu-PF government is prepared to employ in ensuring its continued grip on power. Recently, human rights activists and opposition supporters were abducted and thrown into the notorious Chikurubi Prison."

allAfrica.com: : "The Bauchi State police command has arrested the parents of a 13 year-old girl, Sakina, in Dass local government area of the state for allegedly burning their daughter's hands after suspecting her of stealing N15 from a neighbor's house where she went to hawk some items. The Dass Divisional Police Officer, Mr. Francis Useni, told newsmen at the force headquarters in Bauchi that both the father of the victim, Malam Dan'asabe Maibulawus and her mother, Zaitu, were arrested after the police were informed of the incident.

Bloomberg.com: Africa : "- Meningitis killed nine people in Uganda’s northwestern Arua district, New Vision reported, citing Kenya Mugisha, clinical director at the Ministry of Health. The outbreak, which has infected 42 people, follows a similar one in the western district of Hoima last week, which killed nine people and hospitalized 27 others, the Kampala-based newspaper said."

The Kenyan government has instructed Interpol to search for fugitive Triton chief executive Yagnesh Devani and bring him back to the country to face charges of fraud.

Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula has confirmed that the government will not be sending an official delegation to the inauguration ceremony of US president elect Barrack Obama.

Zuma's trial to resume

They came from far and wide to witness the inauguration of Ghana's new President. And the country put on a show to welcome them. Leaders from across Africa were invited to the ceremony, including the former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan - who's from Ghana. The country is one of Africa's success stories. It's earned international praise for a democratic process that saw John Atta Mills win the presidency by less than half a percent. The opposition leader succeeded John Kufour who served two four-year terms. [John Atta Mills, President of Ghana]: "The least that I can do is to work hard in order to help all of us achieve a better Ghana." Ghana is the world's second largest cocoa grower and Africa's second biggest gold miner. Oil production will also be a reality in 2010. Much of its success is down to Kufuor but he's also had many problems. There have been reports of overspending and allegations of corruption, including the implication of senior o...

THISDAY ONLINE "Mr. Ayo Opadokun, former General Secretary of Afenifere, the Yoruba socio-cultural organization, is a public commentator and political activist. In this interview with Omololu Ogunmade, he counsels against relying on the judiciary to determine election winners. He also endorsed the report of the Electoral Reform Committee, acknowledging that the committee did a good job"

News24 : "Johannesburg - The ruling ANC will keep Jacob Zuma as its presidential candidate in this year's election, even if a court ruling dismissing corruption charges against him is overturned, President Kgalema Motlanthe has said. Judgment will be handed down on Monday on an appeal by prosecutors against a decision to throw out bribery, fraud and other charges against Zuma in September, which suggested there was high-level political meddling in the case."

News24 : "Durban - The ANC Women's League has described as 'racist' an incident in Vryheid where a Pick n Pay employee's traditional Zulu wristband allegedly was taken off by the manager. The organisation's secretary Nonhlanhla Khoza was responding on Thursday to a newspaper report about the employee's wristband being cut off by her manager. She said even though the report cited 'unhygienic' reasons for the act, the league believed the 'actions were motivated by racism and intolerance of black people's culture'."

BBC NEWS "The jailing in Senegal of nine gay men for eight years over 'indecent conduct and unnatural acts' has been condemned by an international gay rights group. Homosexual acts are illegal in Senegal but the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) told the BBC it was 'shocked by the ruling'."

Atta Mills is the new president of Ghana. What do people in Accra expect him to do first?

Nelson Mandela describes how he kept his spirits up during his 27 years in prison. (1990)

Media owners have demanded the suspension of the Communications Amendment Act 2008 before entering into talks with the government.

12 people were killed yesterday after two matatus they were travelling in were involved in an accident along the Machakos-Makueni highway. Eye-witnesses said the two vehicles, a minibus and a Nissan matatu, collided head on near Itumbule Primary School. Survivors who have been admitted at the Makueni District Hospital are said to be out of danger.

Helen Suzman, one of South Africa's most celebrated anti-apartheid campaigners, has died at the age of 91. The white champion of non-white rights was the longest serving member of the country's white parliament and had been an unrelenting campaigner for the enfranchisement of the black majority. She regularly visited the improvised township of Soweto when other whites rarely did and confronted authorities for enacting "emergency laws." In 1990, on the 40th anniversary for the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, she said it would still take "decades to overcome the bitter legacy of apartheid" and its effects.

The year 2009 is finally here with us. Celebration stretched from the last hours of 2008, peaked at the turn of the year, and continued throughout the day. This bringing a stark difference from what Kenyans experienced at the beginning of 2008. Religious leaders were quick to call for peace, unity and acceptance of one another.