A government is a body that has the authority to make and the power to enforce laws within a civil, corporate, religious, academic, or other organization or group. In its broadest sense, "to govern" means to administer or supervise, whether over a state, a set group of people, or a collection of assets.

The word government is derived from the Greek Κυβερνήτης (kyvernites), which means "steersman", "governor", "pilot" or "rudder".

Typically, "the government" refers to the executive function. In many countries (particularly those having parliamentary systems), the Government refers to the executive branch of government or a specifically named executive, i.e. the Blair Government (compare to the administration as in the Clinton administration in U.S. usage). The Welsh Assembly Government is the name of the executive branch of Wales, and Scottish Government is the unofficial term to describe the Scottish Executive. In countries using the Westminster system, the party in government will also usually control the legislature.

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BBC News | Africa | World Edition

Ethiopia hints at leaving Somalia
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:59:19 -0000
Ethiopia is prepared to withdraw troops from Somalia even if the government is not stable, Ethiopia's PM says.
Hijacked Sudanese welcomed home
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:15:45 -0000
Crowds of people welcome home to Sudan the passengers and crew who were hijacked on a plane diverted to Libya.
Gaddafi charged for cleric kidnap
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:33:26 -0000
Lebanon indicts Libya's leader over the disappearance of a revered Shia cleric during a visit to the country 30 years ago.
Ethiopia welcomes Olympics stars
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:47:37 -0000
Thousands of cheering Ethiopians line the streets of Addis Ababa to welcome home Olympic gold-medallists.
Sudan plane hijackers surrender
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:34:55 -0000
Two hijackers of a Sudanese plane surrender after flying it to Libya and releasing the passengers, officials say.
Rottweiler fights dog to save boy
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:00:41 -0000
A South African Rottweiler rescues a two-year-old boy being savaged by a pit bull terrier despite efforts to free him.

NYT > Africa

2 Hijackers of Jet in Darfur Surrender and Free Hostages in Libya
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:47:07 -0000
The two hijackers who had commandeered a jetliner from the Darfur region of Sudan on Tuesday had asked for asylum in Libya, but it was not clear whether their request had been granted.
Ex-Rebel Leader Deflects Questions About Atrocities in Liberia
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:56:12 -0000
Nigeria’s former rebel leader Sekou Conneh refused to accept blame for any wrongdoing during an appearance before a public commission.
A Threat Renewed: Ragtag Insurgency Gains a Lifeline From Al Qaeda
Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:57:32 -0000
A group of Algerian militants has been transformed from a nationalist insurgency to a potent ally of Al Qaeda.

L.A. Times - Africa

Hijackers of Darfur plane surrender in Libya
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:30:00 -0700
Two hijackers who commandeered a jetliner from Sudan's Darfur region and diverted it to a remote desert airstrip in southern Libya surrendered and freed all hostages today after a daylong standoff, officials said.
World Briefing
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Mexico: 129 Baja law agents dismissed / Libya: Hijacking of Sudan plane ends peacefully / Pakistan: Police van bombing kills 9 129 Baja law personnel dismissed
World briefing
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Hijackers force jet to land in Libya / Mugabe jeered in parliament / Computer with bank data sold / Guard, 50 horses die in storm / Ex-leader of Malaysia wins Parliament seat / Canada to map Arctic resources SUDAN Hijackers force jet to land in Libya

UN News Centre - Africa

Head of UN refugee agency in Somalia released after two months in captivity
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The United Nations refugee agency has welcomed the news that the head of its office in Somalia has been released today unharmed after two months in captivity in the war-torn Horn of Africa country.
South Africa: UN helps foreigners uprooted by xenophobic violence go home
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The United Nations is assisting foreigners displaced by xenophobic violence which swept South Africa earlier this year to return to their home countries.
Accra talks bode well for future climate change negotiations - UN official
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Important progress has been made during the latest round of United Nations-led climate change talks in Accra, Ghana, on key issues relating to a new international agreement to tackle global warming, the world body's top official dealing with the issue said today.

The Economist: Middle East and Africa

Iraq:
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:47:15 -0000
Private contractors in Iraq operate in a legal limbo. That may changeTHE American federal agency that monitors progress in rebuilding Iraq recently gave warning to Congress that proposed changes in Iraqi law could provoke an exodus of private contractors, who remain a crucial part of the American presence in the country. In particular, proposals by Iraq’s government to end the contractors’ immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts is a contentious aspect of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that will, among other things, define the Americans’ legal status in Iraq after the UN mandate ceases, at the Iraqis’ request, at the end of this year. This week American and Iraqi negotiators sounded close to an agreement. But it was still unclear whether contractors’ immunity, let alone a date for America’s troop withdrawal, has been nailed down.If all the privateers in Iraq ran scared of the new law, the American coalition’s manpower would be drastically squeezed. The Congressional Budget Office says that 190,000 people work for contractors in Iraq. Some 38,000 are American, 82,000 hail from elsewhere and 70,000-plus are Iraqi. But the law under which the foreigners operate has been murky. “We should have figured out the laws first and then hired the guys,” says Peter Singer of the Brookings Institution, a Washington think-tank. “We did the opposite.” ...
Algeria:
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:47:15 -0000
Islamists linked to al-Qaeda may be reviving their campaign in the Maghreb“THIS looks like Iraq, not Algeria,” declared a distraught witness to the carnage of a bombing that killed 43 police recruits in a town to the east of Algeria’s capital, Algiers, on August 19th. His words were apt. There has been a dramatic rise in attacks by Islamist extremists in the country during the past fortnight, with at least 79 people killed in various incidents across eastern Algeria, most of them in a spate of suicide bombings similar to those that have ravaged Iraq. The targets have been similar too, including police stations, a coast-guard outpost, and a bus transporting Algerian workers for a big Canadian company. The attacks appear to be the work of Algeria’s main remaining Islamist guerrilla group, which in 2006, after contacts with al-Qaeda’s mother organisation, renamed itself al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Earlier this month it issued a chilling warning to Algeria’s pro-Western rulers: “We tell the sons of France, the slaves of America and their masters, too, that our finger is on the trigger, and the convoys of martyrs are longing to rampage your bastions in defence of our Islamic nation.” ...
Liberia:
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:47:15 -0000
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, halfway through her first term as president, is doing well IN HER inaugural speech in January 2006, Africa’s first female head of state set out the daunting tasks facing Liberia, citing her determination to heal the awful wounds inflicted during the civil wars of 1989 to 2003 by her various appalling predecessors, including Charles Taylor, now on trial for war crimes at The Hague. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a former World Banker, also promised to reduce Liberia’s dire poverty and to consolidate democracy. On the whole, she has made progress—albeit with a lot of help from friends abroad. Liberia is more stable these days, thanks in part to a large force of UN peacekeepers, whose numbers are due to fall from 13,000 to just under 10,000 by the end of 2010. Security is gradually to be taken over by a revamped national police force and a new army, both being recruited and trained by an American firm, DynCorp, which is being paid by the United States. ...

Africa & Middle East - International Herald Tribune

U.S. to hand over security in Anbar to the Iraqis
By ERICA GOODE Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:11:13 -0000
The U.S. military will hand over responsibility for the security of Anbar Province, one of the most violent regions in Iraq, as early as next Monday, officials said.
Hijackers of Sudanese plane free hostages
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:11:13 -0000
The two hijackers who had commandeered a jetliner from the Darfur region of Sudan on Tuesday had asked for asylum in Libya, but it was not clear whether their request had been granted.
Slaying of a child rivets Israel
By ETHAN BRONNER Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:11:13 -0000
Israel is in the grip of a nightmarish tale of cross-generational infidelity, child abuse and murder, and an anguished nation is asking how it could happen there.
Zimbabwe opposition accuses Mugabe of abandoning talks
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:11:13 -0000
President Robert Mugabe will fail if he tries to rule alone, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change warned Wednesday.
Mugabe heckled in Zimbabwean Parliament
By Celia W. Dugger and Alan Cowell Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:20:09 -0000
President Robert Mugabe opened Parliament to jeers from opposition lawmakers hours after the police arrested three more of them, bringing the total in custody to five.
Somali gunmen release UN staff member
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:11:13 -0000
The head of the local refugee agency had been held captive for more than two months.

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