Nairobi

Football stadium tragedies all too common in Africa

Football stadium tragedies all too common in AfricaNairobi - Sunday should have been a day of celebration for the tens of thousands of Ivorians who flocked to the Houphouet-Boigny stadium in Abidjan to see their hero, Chelsea's Didier Drogba, score twice in Ivory Coast's 5-0 route of Malawi in a World Cup qualifier.

Yet before the game had even begun, 22 football fans were dead and over 100 injured in a crush that came after a wall collapsed beneath a mass of bodies - a disaster all the more tragic for its commonality in the African game.

Sarkozy visits to Niger to back uranium deal

Sarkozy visits to Niger to back uranium deal Nairobi/Niamey - French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Niger Friday to back a deal by French firm Areva to exploit uranium deposits in the north of the West African country.

Anne Lauvergeon, chief executive officer of Areva, is travelling with Sarkozy on the whistle-stop tour that saw him also visit the Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo.

Lauvergeon on Thursday signed an agreement with the Congolese Minister of Mines, Martin Kabwelulu, on the prospecting and mining of DR Congo's sizeable uranium reserves.

Kenyan police arrest former Yugoslavia war crimes suspect

Kenyan police arrest former Yugoslavia war crimes suspect Nairobi  - A man suspected of being a fugitive wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia for war crimes has been arrested in the Kenyan port town of Mombasa, police said Friday.

"We arrested a man, from Eastern Europe, who is alleged to be a man wanted by the war crimes tribunal," police spokesman Eric Kiraithe told German Press Agency dpa.

Kiraithe refused to reveal the suspect's name, but said that his identity should be verified by around 1200 GMT.

Around 750 dead in cattle rustling clashes in Sudan

Around 750 dead in cattle rustling clashes in Sudan Nairobi - As many as 750 people have died this month in South Sudan during clashes over cattle rustling, worsening the security situation and preventing refugees from returning, according to the United Nations.

A statement available on the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR website on Thursday said that fighting between the Nuer and Murle ethnic groups in Jonglei state, sparked by cattle rustling raids, was still spreading.

Somali insurgents seize five Kenyans on border

Somali insurgents seize five Kenyans on border feNairobi - Kenyan police on Thursday said five Kenyans have been seized by Somali insurgents near the border between Somalia and Kenya.

The five, four education officers and their driver, were on a visit to the north-eastern Kenyan town of Mandera.

They crossed the border to Somali, supposedly to go shopping, and were taken by Somali insurgent group al-Shabaab on Wednesday.

Al-Shabaab, which continues to wage a bloody struggle against the Somali government, said it had arrested the Kenyans for crossing the border with no papers.

Nigerian oil workers call off planned strike

Nigerian oil workers call off planned strike Nairobi/Abuja  - Nigerian oil workers called off a strike planned for Wednesday after union leaders met government officials, union leaders said.

The unions were planning to strike in protest at worsening security in the oil-producing Niger Delta and also at plans to deregulate the downstream sector.

Both Nigerian and foreign oil workers have been the targets of kidnappings by criminal groups and militants who claim they are fighting for a share of oil wealth.

The attacks have cut oil production by up to a fifth.

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