A KENYAN who nearly brought down a passenger plane after storming the flight deck has apologised, but said he had only been trying to get away from people who wanted to kill him. Paul Mukonyi told BBC television that he was “very very sorry”, and that he had not meant to down the British Airways […]

DESPITE public unease at the prospect of Democratic Congo’s slain leader being succeeded by his son, Joseph Kabila is not likely to leave the stage quickly, say analysts. Diplomats say that any political manoeuvring among his father’s former aides is unlikely to affect his own position in the very near term. ”Even if there are […]

2001 is likely to be a watershed year for President Thabo Mbeki and his government to rebuild negative foreign perceptions of South Africa?s economy, with the ANC?s defensive political style contributing strongly to poor foreign direct investment (FDI) figures. This is the view of independent think-tank Business Map, which says bold measures are needed to […]

A RADIO operator for the UN refugee agency in the West African state of Guinea has been freed in neighbouring Liberia, 47 days after he was abducted by gunmen. Joseph Loua, a 51-year-old father of five, was seized December 6 as his home town of Guekedou was overrun by rebels in a border area packed […]

THE latest round of military talks on the Ethiopia-Eritrea border dispute has been postponed because of a disagreement on troop redeployment, say pro-Ethiopian sources. No new date has been set for a meeting of the Military Coordination Commission (MCC). – Reuters

THE government of Ivory Coast has resigned after a cabinet meeting in a move that will allow those ministers who recently won election to parliament to vote for a president when parliament meets on Monday for the first time since it was dissolved after a coup in December 1999. Prime Minister Affi N’Guessan offered his […]

UNITED Nations Security Council members have refused to delay an expert panel’s report on the exploitation of diamonds, gold and other resources in the Congo until June, insisting it be produced in March. Diplomats said Ba-N’Daw, the former Ivory Coast minister and senior World Bank official who chairs the five-member expert panel, was criticised at […]