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]]West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa (which coincides with common reckonings of the region) includes the following 16 countries:

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BBC News | Africa | World Edition

Mugabe 'gives Zanu-PF key posts'
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:06:53 -0000
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe gives key ministries to his own party - in defiance of a power-sharing deal, reports say.
New rebels attack DR Congo town
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:45:07 -0000
A new rebel group threatens the key town of Bunia in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Crowd trouble mars Ghana victory
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:49:17 -0000
At least 15 people are hurt in a stampede during Ghana's World Cup qualifier against Lesotho.
Pirates threaten to blow up ship
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:56:13 -0000
Somali pirates holding a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying military tanks threaten to blow it up if they are not paid a ransom.
Congo president's call to arms
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:41:27 -0000
DR Congo's leader makes a televised appeal for people in the east to take up arms against rebel general Laurant Nkunda.
Somalis 'feared dead' off Yemen
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:17:56 -0000
About 100 Somalis are feared drowned in the Gulf of Aden after being forced overboard by smugglers, the UN says.

NYT > Africa

With Spotlight on Pirates, Somalis on Land Waste Away in the Shadows
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:31:29 -0000
While the audacity of a band of Somali pirates who recently hijacked a ship has grabbed the world’s attention, the suffering of millions of Somalis seems to go unnoticed.
World Briefing | Africa: Zimbabwe: Inflation Rate Spirals Higher Still
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 05:04:43 -0000
Zimbabwe’s inflation rate, already one of the highest in world history, rose from an annual rate of 11 million percent in June to 231 million percent in July.
Rift Unsettles South Africa’s Top Party
Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:07:42 -0000
A well-known stalwart of the governing African National Congress took steps to break with the party and start another, arguing that the A.N.C. had turned its back on democracy.

L.A. Times - Africa

Key Zimbabwe Cabinet posts go to President Mugabe's party
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:45:00 -0700
The surprise move, in defiance of a power-sharing deal, ensures Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party will retain their iron grip on the troubled country. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has defied a fragile power-sharing deal with the opposition, giving all key Cabinet posts, including the crucial security ministries, to his own party.
Jacob Zuma of South Africa still a mystery
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:14:00 -0700
The head of the ruling ANC is in line to be the nation's president. Despite his recent efforts, the prospect unsettles those unsure of him. Jacob Zuma has a problem: He scares some people.
S. Africa deaths probed; hemorrhagic fever suspected
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
The U.N. health agency says it is investigating a mystery disease that killed three people in the South African city of Johannesburg.

UN News Centre - Africa

Ban calls on rebels, army to immediately cease fire in eastern DR Congo
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Voicing "increasing concern" at developments in the border areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on rebels and the Congolese Government to immediately observe an effective ceasefire and cooperate with United Nations peacekeepers to achieve a separation of forces.
Ban concerned over Zimbabwe ‘impasse,' urges parties to reach deal soon
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the parties in Zimbabwe to step up their efforts to reach a "workable agreement" following the power-sharing deal reached earlier this month that ended months of political upheaval and set the stage for the formation of a government of national unity.
Central African Republic: UN reports mounting human rights abuses
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Extrajudicial killings, torture and arbitrary arrests, mostly attributed to the defence and security forces and encouraged by a culture of impunity, have contributed to a considerable deterioration in human rights in the Central African Republic (CAR), according to a United Nations report released today.

The Economist: Middle East and Africa

Israel: Tell me the Talmud
Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:48:13 -0000
How the Jewish book is reaching a wider audienceTHE Talmud is the bedrock of traditional Judaism: a repository of law and lore, chaotically interwoven with biblical explanation and legend. Compiled in fifth-century Babylon (today’s Iraq), it has since enticed, intrigued and exhausted generations of Jews.For Orthodox Jews, lifelong study of the Talmud is the supreme religious precept. But for many earnest students through the ages, it has been a frustrating grind. Written in Aramaic (often described as the language of Jesus), it does not easily surrender its textual meaning or inner reasoning. In the 11th century, a French rabbi named Shlomo Yitzhaki, often known by the acronym Rashi, wrote a ground-breaking commentary to make the original text more accessible. But even he is often terse and replete with abbreviations and unelaborated allusions, as are the thousands of commentaries and books of scholarly correspondence that accrued over the ages. ...
Dubai: Not-so-hot property
Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:48:13 -0000
Is Dubai being hit by the turmoil?YOU may have thought that if anywhere would be insulated from the financial chaos, it would be Dubai, the ritzy commercial capital of the oil-rich Gulf. Not so. Events across the world are causing pain there too, even though much of the emirate’s cash has not made its way to the banks; it is held by ruling families and in their sovereign wealth funds. Dubai’s oil revenues are small. Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the energetic ruler of the second largest emirate of the seven that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has chosen to diversify, especially into real estate, as his way forward. Investors in Dubai property have done well in recent years, enjoying returns of roughly 80% since early last year. ...
Kenya and Sudan: The mystery tanks
Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:48:13 -0000
Who are the real owners of the tanks nabbed by Somali pirates?THE publication of the manifest of a Ukrainian ship recently captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia is embarrassing Kenya’s government. It apparently shows that MV Faina’s cargo of 33 T-72 Soviet-era tanks and other weapons was consigned to Kenya’s defence ministry on behalf of the government of south Sudan. Much will turn on the real meaning of the acronym GOSS, evident as the buyer on the manifest. Most people take this to mean the Government of South Sudan, meaning that the tanks were destined for that region. The Kenyans say it means the Kenyan army’s own General Ordinance Supplies and Security, proving that the tanks were going to Kenya. But that does not necessarily mean they were not going on to south Sudan. Kenya has no history of using Soviet equipment. A Russian source said that the only Russian arms Kenya has bought in recent years have been Kalashnikov rifles for game rangers. ...

Africa & Middle East - International Herald Tribune

In Somalia, a 'forgotten crisis'
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:01:32 -0000
The world pays attention to its pirates, not to the continuing famine and warfare.
Mugabe says he'll keep main cabinet posts
By CELIA W. DUGGER Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:01:32 -0000
In a step that seems likely to lead to the collapse of a painstakingly negotiated power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe, in office for 28 years, has unilaterally declared that his party will retain the most powerful ministries, including those that control the military, the police and economic policy, state media reported.
As fears ease, Baghdad sees walls tumble
By STEPHEN FARRELL, ALISSA J. RUBIN, SAM DAGHER AND ERICA GOODE Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:01:32 -0000
The slow dismantling of the walls is the most visible sign of a fundamental change in the Iraqi capital, as the American surge strategy draws to a close.
Roadside bomb in Baghdad kills Shiite legislator
By Sam Dagher Fri, 10 Oct 2008 03:26:04 -0000
The attack on an Iraqi member of Parliament from Moktada al-Sadr's political movement prompted supporters of Sadr to blame the U.S.
In lull of sectarian violence, an Iraqi town rebuilds
By Erica Goode and Mohammed Hussein Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:14:09 -0000
The sectarian violence that once raged throughout the city of Samarra has quieted in the last few months. Yet quiet is a relative term.
Christians fleeing Mosul after targeted killings
By ERICA GOODE AND SUADAD AL-SALHY Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:01:32 -0000
Since late September, as many as 14 Christians have been killed in Mosul, according to government officials and humanitarian groups.

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