France has planned to keep a military presence in Mali beyond 2014, the country’s defense minister has announced. “Today, there are 3,700 French soldiers in Mali. We said, and the French president repeated it yesterday (Friday) that we will maintain our soldiers in Mali even after the end of this year,” Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Saturday. “It will be a limited number (of... 

French President Francois Hollande French President Francois Hollande has demanded that nationwide elections be held in July in the former colony of Mali, where a French-led war is raging. “These elections must take place throughout the Malian territory, I insist throughout the Malian territory. No fraction of Mali must be deprived of the possibility of organizing the election,” Hollande said on... 

There are countries in the world where local people and even more so tourists feel uncomfortable. These are mostly countries with high level of crime such as murder, robbery in the streets, corruption, hostage-taking, terrorism, and so on. But tourists enamored by local beauty sometimes do not even think about it. The influential magazine Forbes has compiled a rating of the most dangerous countries.... 

At least 74 people have been killed and more than 99,000 others displaced as flash floods triggered by heavy downpours struck a number of areas in the East African state of Kenya. The Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) said on Friday that 40 people have been killed so far in Rift Valley, 21 in Eastern Kenya, and seven in coastal regions. The agency said the floods have also claimed four lives in Western... 

French soldiers take up position on a street in Gao, Mali on April 13, 2013. France’s defense minister has reaffirmed that the country will keep 1,000 troops in Mali to fight armed groups even after the arrival of more than 12,000 UN peacekeepers later this year. A day after the UN Security Council authorized the deployment of the peacekeeping force, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian... 

At least 185 people have been killed in fighting between Nigerian forces and Islamic extremists in a north-eastern town, according to officials. A local government official in Baga has visited Borno state officials on Sunday with information that the massacre started on Friday and lasted for hours, AP reports. He added that 185 bodies had been buried, but the death toll is thought to be greater, as... 

France has withdrawn its first batch of 100 troops out of the 4,000 deployed in Mali as it prepares to hand over operations to a UN peacekeeping force, with 1,000 French troops to remain on the ground by the end of the year. However, fears are mounting that Mali will become a drawn-out war, spilling into other regions and fueling terrorism. France justified its January intervention into Mali as a... 

France has sent some 350 troops to the Central African Republic to counter the Seleka fighters, who have allegedly taken control of the capital city of Bangui. According to a senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity on Sunday, some 150 French military personnel were dispatched from Libreville, the capital of Gabon, a day after 200 French troops arrived in Bangui. This comes after fighters... 

94.5% said YES to Zimbabwe’s new constitution Zimbabwe’s official election body says 94.5 percent of Zimbabweans have supported a new constitution, which strengthens human rights and limits presidential powers. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission made the announcement in the capital Harare on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported. Judge Rita Makarau, the chairwoman of the commission, stated... 

France’s intervention in northern Mali against Islamist extremists has disrupted the supply of cocaine to Europe, reported Middle East Online. In January, France sent in troops to combat al-Qaeda linked extremists who controlled the northern swathe of the country for nine months and were threatening to extend their reach southwards towards the capital Bamako. Extremist groups have long engaged in... 

The fact that China’s incoming president, Xi Jinping, is set to visit Africa on his first foreign trip is a strong indication of where Sino-African relations are headed. But as Beijing focuses on building African industry, Washington has other plans. At a recently held meeting of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, China’s leaders unveiled a dramatic long-term plan to integrate some... 

A senior commander for al-Qaeda’s north African wing has been killed by Chadian soldiers in Mali. Mokhtar Belmokhtar allegedly masterminded the raid on the gas plant in southern Algeria that left 37 hostages dead. Mokhtar Belmokhtar was killed during an assault on an Islamist rebel base on Saturday, Chad’s military have reported. “The Chadian forces in Mali completely destroyed the main... 

A column of Congolese Army soldiers walk towards the frontline between two tanks, near the village of Kibumba, some 13 kilometers from Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on July 29, 2012. A spokesman for the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) says at least 36 people have lost their lives following clashes between the Congolese army and a rebel group, called... 

The US military has deployed about 100 troops in Niger to help coordinate intelligence sharing with the French, whose forces are currently fighting to seize Islamist-controlled territory in Mali, President Obama announced Friday. The US forces are armed with “weapons for the purpose of providing their own force protection and security,” Obama said in a letter to Congress, adding that Niger officials... 

An Albino boy is pictured with black pupils in a school. The seven-year-old Tanzanian boy was attacked as he walked home with four school friends and his arm was hacked off. Attackers collecting body parts of albinos for witchcraft hacked off the hand of a seven-year-old boy, officials said today. The boy was walking home with his friends in Tanzania when he was seized by the men. It is the latest...