· Zambia: Genital cocaine trafficker jailed
A woman who concealed over 300 grammes of cocaine in her private parts with intent of offloading it on the country's illicit drug market has been jailed. The Lusaka Magistrates Court slapped a five-year jail term on Alice Mulonda Sandi on Thursday. She was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) at the Lusaka International Airport on…

· Uganda: LRA rebels kill 19 in DRC
Nineteen people - 11 civilians and eight troops - were killed by the notorious Lord's Resistance Army rebels of Uganda when they attacked Bangadi, Duru and Dungu in Orientale province about 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the border with the Central African Republic. The attacks took place between March 11 and 14. The rebel group who have…

· Cameroon, Turkey to diversify cooperation
The Turkish President, Abdullah Gül, has visited Cameroon to strengthen cooperation ties between the two countries. The visit also saw the signing of two significant agreements which were all marked the beginning of a new era of mutual cooperation between the two countries.

· CICC calls on none state parties to join
The New York based International Criminal Court (ICC) coalition has called on governments that have not yet ratified the Rome Statue which the ICC was founded on to do so before 1st April of this year. According to the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) a global network of more than 2,500 civil society organizations by ratifying…

· WC 2010: Star-studded artists lined up
FIFA and Control Room, a leading producer of global music events, have announced the first performing artists for the inaugural FIFA World Cup Kick-Off Celebration Concert in South Africa. The star-studded artists include superstar Alicia Keys, Amadou & Mariam and Angélique Kidjo Others are Black Eyed Peas, BLK JKS, John Legend, Juanes, Shakira,…

· About 600 Rwanda rebels captured in DRC
More than 600 Rwandan Hutu rebels have been killed or captured since January in an operation backed by the UN mission to the country, the DRC army has said. A total of 609 members of the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) had been "neutralised since the start of operation Amani Leo, on January 1, and a large quantity of…

· Sudan: Two hanged for murder
Two Sudanese men were executed for killing four oil workers, two of them were Chinese, State media said on Wednesday. The two people were convicted for killing the workers and looting their vehicle in 2004 at Heglig in Kordofan state in south Sudan, the official news agency SUNA reported. The dead workers are working with a Chinese petroleum company…

· Donors caution Malawi on gays
About three months after the arrest of first open gay couple engagement in the commercial city of Blantyre; seven of the country's donor bodies have come out to voice their concern. The African Development Bank (AfDB) resident representative to Malawi, Frank Kufakwandi, said donors were concerned with the way Malawi is handling gays. Kufakwandi…

· AU sanctions Rajoelina, 108 others
The African Union has officially imposed sanctions on Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina's headed administration for failing to implement a power sharing government by March 17, 2010. The AU Peace and Security Council slapped harsh penalties on 108 other senior government officials. The sanctions include a call for Madagascar's diplomatic…

· Nigeria: Acting president dissolves cabinet
Nigeria's acting president Goodluck Jonathan has with immediate effect dissolved the West African country's cabinet, a move analysts say is an attempt to consolidate power in the absence of ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua. He became acting president in February amid the continuing illness of Yar'Adua. Yar’Adua has been seeking…

· Uganda: Gutted heritage tombs spark riots
Ugandan soldiers and police have clashed with rioters in the capital after fire gutted the site of the burial grounds of the former kings of the country's largest historic kingdom. Security forces used tear gas to disperse members of the Baganda ethnic group angry at the destruction of the tombs at Kasubi on the outskirts of Kampala. "Last…

· Uganda: Gov’t to restore vandalized mausoleum
The Ugandan government has announced that it will assist in the restoration of the vandalized royal mausoleum at Kasubi in Kampala. The structure that houses some tombs of Buganda's Kings was set ablaze Tuesday night by yet unknown people. The announcement was made by President Yoweri Museveni Wednesday during an impromptu visit to the site where…

· Kenya: UK to re-fund free education
The United Kingdom is to re--fund free primary education programme in Kenya via non-governmental organisations and will release $20 million, officials said. The payment of free primary education, which was stopped after officials were accused of stealing £880,000, is now expected to start in next month. The British government rejected to pay the…

· Museveni urges sustainability of clean water
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has called on experts to not only discuss clean water and sanitation but also to include its sustainability and availability on the continent. "Don't confine yourselves to safe water and sanitation. The bigger problem is: do you have sustainably enough water to clean?" he asked. The President was…

· S. Leone: Cabinet ministers fired
Sierra Leone's Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources and her permanent Secretary are being relieved off their duty following allegation by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) accusing the two government officials of engaging in corrupt acts. Afsatu Kabba who was serving as Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources until Monday March 15th…

· Banana raises hope for African HIV patients
There are slight hopes for millions of Africans infected with HIV or affected by AIDS as latest research has shown that bananas may hold the key to powerful new treatments that protect against the AIDS virus. Africa has the highest number of AIDS patients in the world and it is estimated that close to a half of the continent's population is either…

· SA: Oprah Winfrey problems compound
Media mogul Oprah Winfrey must defend a defamation case filed against her by Lerato Nomvuyo Mzamane the former headmistress of her girls' school in South Africa, a US judge ruled. Mzamane, who once served as an administrator at Germantown Friends School, contends that Winfrey defamed her in 2007 in the wake of a sex-abuse scandal that erupted…

· Gaddafi: Split Nigeria into two
The only solution to Nigeria's serial violence in Jos, where thousands of people have been killed is to split the West African country into two regions. This, according to the Libyan President, Muammar Gaddafi will put an end to the repeated bloodshed in the northern Nigerian city and elsewhere in the country. Gaddafi gave the suggestion while…

· Togolese goalie Obilale to sue CAF
Togo goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale is planning to seek compensation from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), amid fears he will never play football again. Obilale returned to France last Saturday, two months after the fatal machine-gun attack on the Hawks as they travelled to the African Nations Cup in Angola early this year. The 25-year-old…

· Dr. Aning: Violent wars in W/Africa are over
Violent wars in the West African sub region will not happen again, according to Dr. Kwesi Aning, a security expert and the head of research at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre in Accra, Ghana. But Dr. Aning admits that there all new threats and new frontiers of violent in drugs and this could be very challenging in the coming years. …