TheRepublic.com - West Africa News

Armed robbers kill 48 in northwest Nigeria

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:00:19 -0400

KANO, Nigeria - Police say armed robbers have shot and killed 48 people in a revenge attack on villagers in northwest Nigeria who have formed vigilante groups to try to end a spree of violent thefts.

Mali and Tuareg rebels sign accord

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:43:52 -0400

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso - Mali, which lost half its territory last year to a rebel invasion, signed an accord Tuesday with Tuareg separatists who still control the country's northernmost province, paving the way for the Malian military to return to the areas that remain under rebel control.

Fighters in Nigeria attack school, kill 9 pupils

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:11:33 -0400

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - Suspected Islamic militants have opened fire on students taking exams at a school in the country's troubled northeast, killing at least nine pupils in the latest violence to wrack the volatile region, witnesses said Tuesday.

Report: Piracy in West Africa outstrips Somalia

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:43:34 -0400

DAKAR, Senegal - A new report says piracy affected more ships and sailors off West Africa than off Somalia's coast last year.

Ineligible players could cause qualifying chaos

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:30:32 -0400

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Ethiopia admitted Tuesday to fielding an ineligible player in World Cup qualifying after officials "forgot" he wasn't allowed to play, and it could pay for the mistake by losing its place in the final playoffs for Brazil 2014.

Missed chances against Tahiti trouble Nigeria

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:44:10 -0400

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil - Nigeria scoring six goals in its first Confederations Cup match suggested that the impact from chaotic preparations had been minimal.

Nigeria rolls to 6-1 win over Tahiti at Confed Cup

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:06:07 -0400

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil - Nigeria rolled to a 6-1 victory at Confederations Cup on Monday over Tahaiti, which was making its debut at a major FIFA tournament.

Al-Jazeera crew detained in Niger is released

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:04:29 -0400

DAKAR, Senegal - A team of Al-Jazeera journalists was released late Monday after being detained for three days in eastern Niger, where they were held in a prison cell, according to a statement from the Qatar-owned network.

Nigeria leads Tahiti 3-0 at halftime at Confed Cup

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:59:23 -0400

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil - Nigeria jumped out to a 3-0 lead over Tahiti at halftime on Monday in the Confederations Cup.

Hundreds protest ICC delay for I. Coast's Gbagbo

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:44:52 -0400

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - About 300 people have protested over a delay on whether former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo will be put on trial at the International Criminal Court.

FIFA investigating Ethiopia, Togo players

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:24:38 -0400

JOHANNESBURG - FIFA is investigating Ethiopia and Togo for allegedly fielding ineligible players in World Cup qualifying, potentially leading to the Ethiopians losing their place in the final playoffs for Brazil 2014.

Bonus row unresolved as Nigeria arrives in Brazil

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 20:42:07 -0400

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil - With a warning that their battle over bonuses is not over, Nigeria's mutinous footballers finally arrived at the Confederations Cup on Sunday with just a day to prepare for their opening match.

Tahiti debuts at major football tournament

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 17:04:27 -0400

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil - From a tiny island in the South Pacific to the enormous country of Brazil, a group of men from Tahiti is preparing to play some of the best football teams in the world.

Resurgent Egypt, Ethiopia into final WCup playoffs

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 16:27:19 -0400

JOHANNESBURG - Egypt and Ethiopia went through to the final World Cup playoffs on Sunday and Libya is almost there, creating a group of unlikely contenders for Africa's five places at the world showpiece.

Ethiopia, Egypt, Ivory Coast advance in Africa

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 14:12:17 -0400

JOHANNESBURG - Ethiopia, looking to qualify for its first World Cup, joined the Ivory Coast and Egypt in becoming the first teams to qualify for the final round of playoffs in African qualifying.

38 countries beat UN targets to reduce hunger

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 11:28:43 -0400

ROME - Thirty-eight countries have beaten a U.N.-imposed deadline of 2015 to cut in half the proportion of hungry people.

UN: World population to reach 8.1 billion in 2025

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:00:18 -0400

UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations forecast Thursday that the world's population will increase from 7.2 billion today to 8.1 billion in 2025, with most growth in developing countries and more than half in Africa. By 2050, it will reach 9.6 billion.

Syria, Mali groups on UN list of child recruiters

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:30:30 -0400

UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations has added three Malian militias and Syria's main rebel force for the first time to an annual "list of shame" of armed groups that recruit children.

Main Tuareg rebel group says ready to sign accord

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:17:35 -0400

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso - The Tuareg rebel group occupying a part of northern Mali says it is ready to accept a proposed agreement with the government, a positive sign that could remove the main obstacle to the planned presidential election this summer.

Official: Niger security forces repelled attackers

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:22:06 -0400

NIAMEY, Niger - Assailants on foot and in a 4x4 attempted to force their way into a school for paramilitary police in a northern suburb of the capital overnight, but were pushed back and fled overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, officials and residents said.

Togo footballers refuse to play qualifier in Libya

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 07:44:36 -0400

LOME, Togo - Togo players are refusing to play a World Cup qualifier in Libya after violence there led to dozens of deaths over the weekend and prompted FIFA to move Friday's game from Benghazi to the capital, Tripoli.

Mali manual suggests al-Qaida has feared weapon

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 17:58:41 -0400

TIMBUKTU, Mali - The photocopies of the manual lay in heaps on the floor, in stacks that scaled one wall, like Xeroxed, stapled handouts for a class.

UN official: 11 million in Sahel still face hunger

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 17:11:23 -0400

UNITED NATIONS - A top U.N. humanitarian official says more than 11 million people are facing hunger in Africa's Sahel region, and he is appealing for more international aid.

Chevron to auction rights to 2 Nigeria oil blocks

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:03:46 -0400

LAGOS, Nigeria - Chevron Corp. said Tuesday it wants to auction off the rights it has to two offshore oil fields near Nigeria's coast, the latest foreign oil company moving to divest from the country as regulatory uncertainty looms in the nation.

Court says case against Gbagbo can go ahead

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:43:35 -0400

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - International Criminal Court judges say the crimes against humanity case against former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo can go ahead because he does not face an ongoing prosecution in his home country.