Africa News

UDINE, Italy (AFP) - South Africa coach Peter de Villiers and captain John Smit agreed that the world champions were back on track following their 32-10 win over Italy here. Full Story »

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - South Africa plans to create special courts dedicated to handling crimes committed during the World Cup, aiming to speed up the judicial process, especially for cases involving foreigners. Full Story »

MADRID (AFP) - Western Sahara activist Aminatou Haidar has declined an offer by Madrid to grant her refugee status following her expulsion from the territory by Morocco, a representative said Saturday. Full Story »

CAIRO (AFP) - President Hosni Mubarak vowed on Saturday that Egypt will be firm in dealing with attacks on its nationals, amid hot tempers and a diplomatic spat with Algeria over a World Cup football showdown. Full Story »

KIGALI (Reuters) - Survivor groups from Rwanda's 1994 genocide say they may stop sending witnesses to the U.N. tribunal in Tanzania, in protest at the court's recent acquittals of two genocide suspects. Full Story »

CAIRO (AFP) - Protesters injured dozens of police near the Algerian embassy in Egypt's capital on Friday, fanning the flames of a diplomatic spat that erupted after Algeria won a football World Cup qualifier. Full Story »

ABUJA (AFP) - The European Commission has signed a 677 million euro (one billion dollar) deal to help Nigeria tackle challenges in its restive oil-producing region, promoting peace, good governance and trade, the EU said Friday. Full Story »

LUANDA (AFP) - World Cup qualifiers Ghana and Ivory Coast will clash in the first round of the African Nations Cup after the draw here Friday placed them in Group B with Burkina Faso and Togo. Full Story »

KAMPALA, Uganda - Ugandan officials say the army has killed 34 tribesmen who were stealing cattle in Uganda's volatile northeastern region. Full Story »

GENEVA (AFP) - Swiss authorities said Friday that they had ordered some 350 million dollars of assets to be seized from the son of the late Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha for graft. Full Story »

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - Rain caused the abandonment of the first one-day international between South Africa and England at the Wanderers Stadium on Friday. Full Story »

GOMA, Congo - Conservationists say Congolese schoolchildren will soon be able to take a closer look at baby mountain gorillas. Full Story »

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - A senior United States official voiced concerns on Friday about the restrictions on opposition parties and human rights abuses in Ethiopia ahead of elections next year. Full Story »

CAIRO (AFP) - Egyptian police shot and killed a Bedouin in north Sinai on Friday after the arrest of fellow tribesmen prompted clashes, a security official told AFP. Full Story »

Johannesburg, South Africa - In South Africa, New Moon opening night doesn't hit until Nov. 27, a week after its appearance in the United States. But Dhalyn, an American 8th-grader attending a private school in Johannesburg, says she will simply re-read the book while she waits, and maybe watch some of the trailers available on the Internet. Full Story »

CAIRO (AFP) - Egypt, whose state-owned media staked so much on qualifying for the World Cup finals for the first time in two decades, vented its anguish in an escalating diplomatic row with its Algerian vanquishers. Full Story »

LUANDA (AFP) - African superstars Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto'o and Michael Essien will discover Friday who they face at the 2010 African Nations Cup in Angola. Full Story »

SHONGA, Nigeria (Reuters) - When white Zimbabwean farmer Irvin Reid arrived in Nigeria almost five years ago, he was given a set of grid references in the remote bush and told to find water and build a new farm. Full Story »