ELECTIONS

Desperate to return to work after weeks of protests brought Tunis to a standstill, shopkeepers armed with sticks and knives guarded the entrance to the covered market on Saturday and pushed back a small gang of protesters.

Rivals to Central African Republic leader Francois Bozize pulled their representatives off the election body on Saturday, alleging fraud after early partial results from last weekend's poll put Bozize in the lead.

Thousands of angry Egyptians defied a curfew on Saturday for the second day in a row and stayed on the streets to push their demand that President Hosni Mubarak resign.

The embattled president of Egypt Hosni Mubarak has promoted his chief of intelligence, Omar Suleiman, to the vice presidency as anti-government protests continue to defy a curfew and demonstrate on the streets.

The U.S. government secretly supported leading opposition figures in Egypt who have been preparing to topple President Hosni Mubarak for the past three years, according to cables released by Wikileaks.

The situation in Egypt is, as they say, fluid, with rioting in Cairo, protestors clashing with police, vehicles set afire and a prominent Egyptian who returned home to foster democracy placed under house arrest. The president, Hosni Mubarak, has not been seen nor heard from in days. His wife has, by some reports, fled the country. The world is watching and no one can predict what may happen next.

Egypt appears to have blocked all access to internet in the midst of anti-government demonstrations. US-based Web site Renesys said it has observed virtually simultaneous withdrawal of all routes to Egyptian networks in the Internet's global routing table, just after mid night, local time.

Tunisia’s Foreign Minister Kamel Morjane has resigned from the embattled country's new interim government, according to state TV, in the wake of street demonstrations who demand the removal of any ally of former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali from the new regime.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi faced more pressure to resign on Thursday after magistrates issued new documents with fresh details of erotic parties, some with under-age girls, and of his gifts to participants.

Nigeria's combined crude oil and condensate production is currently 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd) but output from Africa's largest crude exporter still remains within its OPEC quota, the state oil company says.

Democratic congressman Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) is suing a congressional cafeteria for significant dental injuries caused by biting olive pitin a swandwich wrap he ate in 2008.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai inaugurated parliament Wednesday, ending weeks of political infighting, but took a dig at the West saying foreign interference had been a serious problem.

Tunisia has asked Interpol to help arrest ousted president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his family so they can be tried for theft and currency offences, the justice minister said on Wednesday.

He did not use the name, but in his State of the Union address last night President Obama made clear that he is keeping the DREAM Act alive.

Thousands of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters massed on a bridge to the disputed Kashmir region on Tuesday as officials sought to stop a flag-raising ceremony that could spark violence.

Egyptian stocks plunged nearly five percent on Wednesday, the most since May, a day after thousands took to the streets of Cairo and other cities in a protest against President Hosni Mubarak’s government.

Corporations in China and India have been riding on strong domestic economies, much to the envy of the West, but they now worry that runaway inflation could hit growth.

A ministerial reshuffle has signalled India may give sorely-needed focus to the development of its burgeoning cities, whose erratic expansion is seen as a major brake on economic growth.

Thousands of Egyptians across the nation staged protests on the streets against Hosni Mubarak’s regime demanding political concessions including ending emergency laws, freedom for political activity and a limit on the president’s tenure in office.

Embattled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's son, who has been widely seen as his successor, has fled the country, according to US-based Arabic website Akhbar al-Arab.

Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's son who is considered as his successor has fled to Britain along with his family, US-based Arabic website Akhbar al-Arab reported.