Aleppo has seen some of the conflict’s fiercest fighting Syrian government troops and rebels have clashed around a prison in the flashpoint northern city of Aleppo. Reports suggest the rebel fighters may have tried to blow up the walls of the prison, which holds some 4,000 inmates. Activists said government forces had counter-attacked using tank […]

President Joseph Kabila of Congo KINSHASA – At least 31 people were killed when gunmen attacked an army base in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday, the military said, underlining the challenge facing a new U.N. intervention force in the territory. The attackers, from one of dozens of armed groups operating in the densely […]

The United Nations has voiced deep concern about the deteriorating situation in and around Pibor town in South Sudan’s Jonglei state. The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is particularly alarmed by reports about the involvement in some of the incidents of “allegedly defected and ill-disciplined members of security forces,” as well as by statements […]

The Government of Rwanda and the People’s Republic of China are leaving no stone unturned in consolidating their trade partnership worth millions of dollars On Monday, the two countries held the 7th session of Joint Committee on Economic, Technical and Trade cooperation in Kigali. The session was marked by discussions on the state of cooperation […]

The French economy has entered recession after shrinking by 0.2% in the first quarter of the year.France’s economy shrank by the same amount in the last quarter of 2012. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.France has record unemployment and low business and consumer confidence.German growth figures have also been released, […]

Four men have been given prison sentences in the US state of Minnesota in connection with the recruitment of fighters for a Somali militant group.Abdifatah Isse, Salah Ahmed and Ahmed Mahamud were jailed for three years by a federal judge after pleading guilty to providing material support to al-Shabab, a designated terrorist group.Omer Mohamed was […]

Protesters in Kenya have released a pig and about a dozen piglets outside parliament to show their anger at newly elected MPs demanding higher salaries.The animals licked blood spilled by a protester outside the parliamentary gates in the capital, Nairobi.The unusual demonstration, organised by civil society groups, was intended to portray the MPs as greedy.The […]

Workers at Lonmin’s platinum operations in South Africa have gone on a wildcat strike.The action follows the shooting of a union official at the weekend and has reignited fears of the violence that hit the industry last year.Last August, 34 miners were shot dead at Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mine near Rustenburg.Lonmin, whose shares are listed […]

A four-year-old boy has found himself having to worry about more than just what his mum has packed for his lunch after being voted in as his town’s mayor. Robert Tufts became an unlikely leader at the tender age after entering his name into a raffle in Dorset, Minnesota. For some reason the American town, […]

Jodie Holden, 22, with her two-year old son Chenlair Bent who was sent a letter from a housing association warning him about ‘noise nuisance. Housing officials sent a two-year-old boy a letter accusing him of anti-social behaviour – for what his mother said was ‘laughing too loudly at Thomas the Tank Engine’. Chenlair Bent, who […]