SmallShop....Africa News

In this extended interview, Sirleaf discusses the position of women in Liberia, the countrys recovery and relations with the U.S.

Five Kenyans who were abducted by a Somali militia group earlier this week have been freed. Speaking after being released, education officer James Onchiri Onyancha said they were not tortured and were not given any conditions in return for their freedom.

A major children's charity is criticising Madonna's apparent decision to adopt a second child from Malawi. Malawian officials have indicated the singer will be in the country this weekend in an attempt to adopt a four-year old orphan called Mercy James. But Save the Children is urging her not to go through with the plans. Sky's Richard Suchet reports.

YouTube - Tropic of Capricorn (1 of 20) - Namibia & Botswana - BBC : "A BBC documentary that reveals the hidden treasures South of the Tropics (Part A1). Starting in Africas Namibia, continuing through Africa, along the 'Tropic of Capricorn', all the way through to Madagascar and continuing to Australia and along through South America, This Documentary begins in Namibia and ends in Brasil, Bridging more than Geographical Gaps. A Must See!!!"

The midwestern U.S. state of Minnesota is home to an estimated seventy thousand Somali immigrants. It is the largest Somali community outside of Africa, made up mostly of refugees who have fled decades of war in their home country. But in recent months, a number of young Somali men have disappeared and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation believes some of them went to Somalia to fight with the Islamist extremist group, al-Shabab. As VOA's Kane Farabaugh reports from Minneapolis, the disappearances are a troubling development for law enforcement agencies, and a shock to the community where many of the young men grew up.

Fresh tension has gripped the disputed Migingo Island after Ugandan authorities deployed its people's defense force soldiers to replace the marine police who had left the island after the two countries agreed on a pact to survey afresh the boundary. During a meeting by officials from Kenya and Uganda in Kampala two weeks ago, it was resolved that the island should remain a no-mans land until after the new survey determines to which country it belongs.

Well, questions have been asked on the quality of HIV testing services in the country, fuelling fears that thousands of Kenyans who have gone for HIV testing could have been diagnosed wrongly. The government through the ministry of public health and sanitation has been on a fire-fighting campaign, assuring Kenyans that the tests are error free

Refugees in Sudan's western Darfur region have refused to accept food and medicine from local authorities, instead asking for the return of expelled international aid agencies. Despite international calls for Sudan to reverse its decision, officials say only local agencies will carry out relief operations. Now, Sudan is blaming rebels for telling refugees not to accept aid from local agencies. Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra reports from South Darfur.

They are truly the poor millionaires of Kenya. It is emerging that despite earning nearly a million shillings a month, many of our members of parliament take home as little as 10,000 shillings. This revelation was made by juja mp and government chief whip George Thuo when he made his presentation before the Akiwumi tribunal that is tasked with reviewing the remuneration of the legislators.

Plenty of oil....no electricity

The Fifth World Water Forum is being held this week in Istanbul, Turkey. The forum highlights solutions to global water problems leading up to International World Water Day on March 22. Two African entrepreneurs say they are transforming the way communities are solving water sanitation problems. Trevor Mulaudzi and David Kuria, who recently spoke in Washington, DC, outlined projects they say help shift social behavior and promote personal hygiene in developing areas of South Africa and Kenya.

Ethiopia is gearing up for an epic battle with malaria, possibly later this year. The stakes are high, with international aid agencies betting millions of dollars that the Horn of Africa's largest country can wipe out a disease that kills at least a million Africans every year. VOA correspondent Peter Heinlein reports on Ethiopia's unique chance of eradicating a killer disease.

News24 interviews IFP President Mangosuthu Buthelezi about the party policies, retaining support in KZN, his opinion on coalitions and more......

Martial arts training is enabling young women aged 10 to 25 to empower themselves: to learn how to fight back in case they have to confront a sexual aggressor.

Last summer, more than a dozen young Somali-American men disappeared from the US only to turn up as fighters in Somalia. Why are young Somali-Americans getting radicalised and taking up arms? Is the chaos in Somalia posing a world wide security threat?

A refugee from Darfur in the Djabal refugee camp in Chad talks about reports from family members still in Darfur on new attacks by Janjaweed rebels just a few days after the International Criminal Court issued its arrest-warrant for Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir......

A report that thousands of people may have been wrongly diagnosed with HIV has caused anxiety among many......

In 2010 Lagos will be the third biggest city in the world.

Three police officers arrested on suspicion of shot dead a university of Nairobi student after the killing of the Oscar foundation officials have been released. Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said the officers were released after ballistic examinations showed that the bullets that killed the student were fired from a pistol whereas were armed with ak-47 rifles. Kiraithe says that investigations on the murder of the two Oscar foundation officials are still underway

The owner of a ferry which sank in the Red Sea in 2006 kiling more than a thousand people has been sentenced to seven years in jail. The ruling by Egypt's appeals court overturned an earlier acquittal of Mamdouh Ismail, which prompted outrage from the victims' families. Dozens of people who are believed to have been rescued never returned home. Al Jazeera's Amr Al-Khaky reports.

A peace agreement, signed last January, ended nearly two decades of civil war in southern Sudan and attracted billions of dollars of foreign investment. A major reconstruction project is fuelling the economy, but many Sudanese are unable to take advantage. Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow reports from Juba.

The funeral has been held for the wife of Zimbabwe's prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai. Susan Tsvangirai was killed in a car accident outside Harare, the capital, last week. Her husband narrowly escaped death when the vehicle they were travelling in collided with a truck. Al Jazeera's Haru Mutasa reports from Zimbabwe.

FBI detectives are yet to embark on the probe of last week's murders of the two Oscar foundation officials because the government is yet to give them a formal green light. Although prime minister Raila Odinga indicated that the FBI team will be involved in the probe, us ambassador Michael Ranneberger said detectives were ready to get cracking but were yet to be given clear directions from the government.

The government now says, investigations into last week's murder of the two Oscar foundation officials will be carried out by FBI detectives from the US alongside the Kenyan police. Prime Minister Raila Odinga who met leaders of various human rights organizations and civil societies, said a majority of Kenyans have lost faith in the local police

More than four years after a peace deal ended the 21 year conflict between northern and southern Sudan, residents in the south say they're still suffering. The oil rich town of Abyei remains the subject of dispute, and soldiers from both north and south still guard it. Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow reports from Abyei

Army deserter tells how he was ordered by Omar al-Bashir's government to kill and destroy villages

The worsening economic crisis has led to a fall in global demand for commodities. The price of copper, tin and even diamonds is plunging, meaning regions rich in minerals, such as Africa, are earning far less than they used to. Some goods have lost 70 per cent of their value, and it is costing hundreds of thousands jobs in some of the poorest countries of the world. Nicole Johnston reports.

REPORT: Of the French people who decide to move abroad, few choose to devote their lives to others. Frenchwoman Marie-Claude Lovisa, crowned "Queen Mawulolo the 1st" by villagers, has been looking after children in the Togolese bush for five years.

Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai left the hospital bandaged and mourning his wife Saturday after a car crash that his supporters blamed partly on insufficient security provided by President Robert Mugabe.

Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has left hospital following treatment for a crash in which his wife died. There are demands for an independent investigation into the accident. The vehicle which they were travelling in collided with a truck. Sky's Jane Dougall reports.

The Police Commissioner Major General Hussein Ali has announced the arrest of three police officers for shooting a Nairobi university student. The students were staging demonstrations following the killings of Kamau Kingara and Paul Oulu, both officials at the Oscar foundation which is at the center of controversy with its dealings with mungiki.

Zimbabwe's prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai has been taken to hospital after a car crash in which his wife Susan died. The couple was travelling in a convoy when their car was hit by a lorry. Al Jazeera's Haru Mutasa reports.

Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the emergence of parasites, along the Thai-Cambodia border, that are resistant to the medicine artemisinin could seriously undermine global malaria control. The recent shift from drugs that were failing to the highly effective artemisinin-based combination therapies allowed great progress in fighting malaria, one of the world's major killers.

Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's president, confirmed that 10 foreign aid agencies had been expelled, accusing them of violating the law.

In New York, hundreds of refugees from Darfur welcomed the move by the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president. Al Jazeera met one such refugee who was among those who clashed with supporters of al-Bashir outside the Sudanese mission to the United Nations on Wednesday. He has settled in Brooklyn's Kensington neighborhood, a haven for refugees who've fled Darfur. Here is his story in his own words.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Over 1000 candidates in the 2008 KCSE examinations will not receive their results for engaging in cheating. Releasing the results, Education Minister, Prof Sam Ongeri said over 82,000 candidates attained university entry grade C and above, indicating a marked improvement in the 2008 examinations but a substantial number of those who qualify will miss places in public universities.

More than a year ago, Libyans were given the enticing prospect of earning a bigger share of oil revenues. Power and wealth should be in the hands of the people, Muammar Gaddafi, the president, said. But during a highly anticipated event in which Gaddafi was expected to reveal the details of such a scheme, they heard nothing of the idea. Libyans feel sliding oil prices during global economic crisis has led to the president's silence. From Tripoli, Mohamed Vall has more.

According to the United Nations 53,000 women in Nigeria die annually of pregnancy-related illnesses. That is one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Many are teenaged mothers in a country with one of the world's highest adolescent fertility rates. A large percentage of these deaths are teenage mothers. Nigeria also has one of the highest adolescent fertility rates in the world. VOA's Brian Padden talked to doctors and youth counselors in Nigeria who say teenage mothers are more at risk because of poverty, lack of access to health care and a culture that does not like to talk about sex.

REPORT: In Tanzania, the belief that albinos have magical powers is widely spread. As a result, children are tracked down and killed for their organs and body parts, which are worth hundreds of dollars.

Soldiers assassinated the president of Guinea-Bissau in his palace Monday hours after a bomb blast killed the army chief who had been his political rival for decades.

Many people from the north of Ghana travel to the wealthier south, seeking a brighter future. But as Al Jazeera's Dan Nolan reports, their dreams are rarely fufillied. Some girls earn their living by carrying goods on their heads in markets, but pay is low and living conditions harsh.

A parasite, ingested as larvae through polluted drinking water, has afflicted hundreds of people in Ghana. Al Jazeera's Dan Nolan visited a village in northern Ghana where health officials are working to help people affected by the guinea worm, which can grow up to one-metre long inside the bodies of its victims.