Oil-rich country Libya's Benghazi airport runways have been damaged in the carnage that has rapt that part of the North African country halting landing of air planes, Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said on Tuesday. Protests have swept through the country and it is likely to continue for days. - Speaking at a news conference, he said "Regarding east of Libya, the Benghazi airport runways have been destroyed. It is not possible for Egyptair flights or any other flights to land in that airport." Meanwhile, witnesses in the Libyan capital Tripoli had reported "massacres" in certain neighbourhoods after the state channel announced that security forces…

Police in South Africa's Hillbrow area have arrested a man suspected of committing over 10 rapes since August in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday morning, a Gauteng spokesperson has said. "I can confirm that a man was arrested this morning," said Captain Katlego Mogale. - "but I cannot comment further because only Colonel [Gerard] Labuschagne comments on the case." Eyewitness news reported he had been arrested in KwaMashu, outside Durban. Colonel Gerard Labuschagne earlier in the week said the man allegedly targeted young black women aged between 19 and 21 in and around the Johannesburg and Pretoria areas. "The suspect is targeting young black females between t…

Google has launched Google Voice Search in South Africa to enable internet users to use their natural voice to speak into their cell phones for Google searches. Google senior staff engineer Johan Schalkwyk has said "you speak into your phone and it sends your voice over the network where it's analyzed and you get your search results." - Adding, the internet search giant would continue to develop search based for computers connected to the web, but that mobile in Africa was the largest single access point for web users. He told News24. "We'd like to encompass both, but speech is natural - it's a more natural modality and I find it useful." The Voice Se…

SA mobile phone operator Vodacom has seen a rise of 38.4 percent in its first-half earnings on Monday, facilitating subtractions of one-time charges and hiked its dividend. The company said it increased its first-half dividend by 64 percent to 180 cents. It also said it had bought back 959 million rand of its own shares, as it looks to increase returns to shareholders. - Vodacom, majority owned by Britain's Vodafone has dominated mobile phone operations in Africa's biggest economy, said headline earnings per share for the six months to end-September rose to 303 cents, compared with 218.7 cents a year and at the top end of its own forecast range of 285 to 307 cents. Headline EPS …

Ivory Coast's military chief Philippe Mangou has warned against any acts of violence on the eve of presidential elections, saying the borders would be closed should troublemakers try to flee. Election is due this Sunday, October 31 in the West African nation. - The military chief of staff cautioned that "those who subscribe to trouble and violence" will not be able "to flee the country after having sparked fire... (as) the borders will be closed," denouncing acts by "certain militants of political parties". He urged Ivorians to "vote massively without fear of reprisal or threats", saying the country's military was determined to guarantee t…

The Algerian government has rubbished claims that its government is on the move to sell a stake in state-owned Algerie Telecom, pouring cold water on comments by a company executive that it was preparing the ground for a sale to a foreign operator. - Algerie Telecom which is the biggest fixed lines and second-largest mobile firm operator and Internet provider has been on the line for privatization years now, but processes has been repeatedly delayed. The North African country announced in 2008 a series of measures on investment requirements, including limiting foreign stakes to 49 percent. Cherif Yaici, Algerie Telecom's head of strategy has disclosed to Reuters at a telecoms confere…

Police force in the West African nation Ghana arrested four Nigerians for allegedly kidnapping an Australian, Dennis Ernest Fing. The suspects include Ose Zuwa Enabor, 27, Ejiron Ehis, 25, Ese Oviri, 42, and Godwin Ikoro, 24. The leader of the group, Enabor Age, 29, is on the run. - At a news conference in Accra on Tuesday, the Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Deputy Commissioner of police (DCOP) Prosper Agblor, said that on Saturday, the Police Anti-Armed Robbery squad had information that the Australian had been kidnapped and kept in a house at Baatsona on the Spintex road in Ghana’s capital Accra. Mr. Fing is believed to have been lured into the c…

Some one billion people across Africa and Asia went hungry this year, according to the Global Hunger Index annual report released on Monday. The report covered 122 countries across the world and many of the hungry are children in Africa and Asia with 25 having "alarming" levels of hunger. - Four countries in Africa have "extremely alarming" hunger, said the report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Concern Worldwide, and Welthungerhilfe. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) fared the worst in the hunger index, which is based on data from 2003-2008. Three-quarters of the population in the vast central African country were under-nourished, …

An army colonel has been arrested in New York following a deal to buy $4m in guns and ammunition for his West African country Ivory Coast from a suburban Washington DC broker. Colonel Nguessan Yao who travelled to the New York in August is being held by federal authorities in a Northern California prison. - Moreover, the broker is scheduled to appear in court next week to answer charges that the two conspired to illegally circumvent a worldwide arms embargo of violence-plagued Ivory Coast. According to SAPA, the Ivory Coast's ministers of defence and finance, some diplomats and other government officials of the world's largest cocoa producer have been implicated in an alleged sc…

More than 1,000 teachers have been sacked in Kenya for sexually abusing girls over the past two years, the authorities said. Senior government official Ahmed Hussein said most of the victims were aged between 12 and 15. He said a nationwide confidential helpline set up to help victims had revealed that the problem was much more widespread than previously thought. - Most of the cases have occurred in rural primary schools. "Initially we were not able to know what was happening in the country because of the poor communication, but now communication is everywhere - there's mobiles across the country," Mr Hussein, from the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development, to…

Vodafone has launched the first ever doctor directory to enhance transfer of medical knowledge, emergency response and discussion of difficult patient cases to improve health care delivery in the West African country, Ghana. - Almost 2,000 doctors information has been compiled in the two main sections of the directory- one lists their names, specialty, place of work and their Vodafone numbers whiles the other lists their names in alphabetical order. The Vodafone initiative makes it possible for doctors listed in the directory to make free calls to their colleagues only, meaning that calls made to people whose names are not included would be paid for. Addressing the media at the launch,…

Mozambique plans to register non-contract cell phone users, weeks after an anonymous viral text message campaign fuelled riots that killed 14. Communications Minister Paulo Zucula said the new law would improve security for internet banking and prevent crime. "The main idea is to educate citizens about the way to use, with responsibility, the services put in place by the state," he said. - The registration of non-contract clients was part of a communications strategy approved by the government in 2006, Americo Muchanga, director general of the Mozambican National Communications Institute, told the mediaFax newsheet. Text message services were temporarily shut down earlier this m…

Hundreds of Egyptians gathered in central Cairo on Tuesday, amid tight security, to protest against the rumours that the North African nation President, Hosni Mubarak's son Gamal will succeed him. The protesters gathered near the president's official residence shouting the names of Mubarak's two sons. - "We don't want a hereditary government" and "No, no to succession. No to Mubarak, no to Gamal, no to Alaa," the protesters shouted wielding placards. Several thousand police were deployed to contain the protest, which brought together supporters of Egypt's Kefaya opposition movement, leftists and members of other opposition parties beating a h…

The World Food Programme has received a $2 million donation from the Dangote Foundation to help the survivors of the devastating floods in Pakistan. It was meant to provide life-saving food relief to the estimated six million Pakistanis who lost their homes and livelihoods during heavy torrential rains. - The Foundation owned by a Nigerian billionaire businessman, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, of Dangote Industries Limited, West Africa's leading manufacturing conglomerate made the modest contribution. Dangote: “The hearts of all Africans go out to the people of Pakistan as they go through this ordeal. Africa is not only a recipient of humanitarian aid, but is also able to help her b…

President Goodluck Jonathan of the West African nation Nigeria disclosed his intentions to run in the 2011 presidential poll slated 22 January 2011 on Tuesday giving the oil-rich nation only four months to register voters and unravel its notoriously corrupt electoral system. - He said this when he met with 11 out of the 29 states governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at Aso Rock, Abuja. The 11 present included Governors Danbaba Suntai of Taraba, Isa Yuguda of Bauchi, Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, Sullivan Chime of Enugu, Liyel Imoke of Cross River, Gabriel Suswam of Benue, Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta and Ikedi Ohakim of Imo. Others were Timipre Sylva of …

A South Africa-based policy analyst Jonathan Mahlangu, has said that the plan by the African Union to commence a process that would lead to the establishment of a regional space agency in cooperation with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) aimed at focusing on the development of common space policy for the African continent was long overdue. - "Think of the contributions of NASA and ESA to the development of America and Europe," he said. "A well coordinated space agency for Africa will assist in solving most of the challenges before her." According to Mahlangu, the critical mass of experts to kick-start the agency already exists. "All African Union ne…

Ministers in charge of Communications and Information Technologies in Africa have commenced a process that would lead to the establishment of a regional space agency in cooperation with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The project which would be known as the African Space Agency is aimed at focusing on the development of common space policy for the African continent. - In a statement, AU Ministers agreed to work jointly with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa to finalise action on the draft convention on cyber legislation and support its implementation in member-states. In furtherance to the statement, the AU would coordinate with the International Telecommu…

Algeria's Telecommunications Minister Moussa Benhamadi has disclosed government plans to view the use of BlackBerry telephones and ban the devices if it findings threaten national security. "We are looking at the issue. If we find out that it is a danger for our economy and our security, we will stop it." - The North African country Algeria with population of 35 million joins a growing list of countries raising concerns about the BlackBerry phones that could hit users and curb revenues for the devices' Canadian maker, Research in Motion Ltd. According to a source close to the country’s Telecommunications Ministry, the source told Reuters, the use of the BlackBerr…

An Ariane rocket launched its 37th and 38th consecutive successful satellites into orbit to provide telecommunications for Africa and the Middle East. The two, NILESAT 201 and RASCOM-QAF1R were built by Thales Alenia Space a joint venture company owned by France's Thales SA and Italy's Finmeccanica. - The NILESAT 201 has been designed to help Egyptian operator Nilesat to provide telecommunications throughout the Middle East and North Africa whiles the RASCOM-QAF1R satellite for pan-African operator RascomStar-QAF will provide telecommunications in rural Africa and urban African centres. According to Reuters report, the Central African Republic's post and telecommunications …

West African nation Ivory Coast hopes to triple gold output by 2015 to about 20 tonnes per year as three new mines start up including Randgold Resources' Tongon development, according to a government official. - "From here to 2015, production of gold in Ivory Coast will be at least 20 tonnes per year because of the new mines," Mbe Adou, general director of mines and geology told Reuters. The world's top cocoa grower and a modest producer of oil, is eager to diversify its economy in part by developing its mining sector which now makes up just 1 percent of gross domestic product. Current annual gold output from Ivory Coast is about 7 tonnes from mines operated by Soci…

Chad's Public Security Minister, Ahmat Mahamat Bashir, has banned the use of Land Cruiser pick-ups and reserved them "exclusively for military use," in a press statement on Tuesday following their frequent use by rebel forces to oppose the government of President Idriss Deby. - "Any ownership of an all-terrain Land Cruiser pick-up is banned across the territory except those owned by the administration, by NGOs, by diplomats and by traditional chiefs," he said. "This decision stems from a choice made by the government to consider this type of truck as a vehicle reserved exclusively for military use and related purposes.” According to SAPA, owners of s…

Globacom Group's Chief Operating Officer, Mohammed Jameel has finally slated October 2010 to launch its operations in the West African country Ghana, refuting media reports that his outfit was considering pulling out of Ghana due to alleged sabotage and deliberate attempts to delay its network launch. - According to Joy Fm’s report, Jameel disclosed the new move during a news conference in Lagos, adding that the launching would be after the commercial launch of its GLO-1 submarine cable in August. Jameel has been reported earlier to have emphasized that, Globacom was not worried, and could even spend three months rolling out in Ghana despite her numerous challenges encountered.…

Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu to bow out of public life later this year to lessen his commitments. Emeritus Tutu disclosed during a media briefing in Cape Town, saying instead of growing old gracefully at home with his family; too much of his time had been spent at airports and in hotels. - "The time has now come to slow down, to sip rooibos tea with my beloved wife in the afternoons, to watch cricket and rugby and soccer and tennis, to travel to visit my children and grandchildren, rather than to conferences and conventions and university campuses," he said. The good-natured Tutu, who became a global figure and used his church pulpit to help bring down apartheid will turn 7…

Four suspects have been arrested in connection with the kidnapping of four local journalists, two days after their release in Abia State of Nigeria. Force Public Relations Officer Emmanuel Ojukwu said they are currently in police custody and are being questioned about their activities. - "Four suspects have been arrested in connection with the kidnap of the four journalists. They are in our custody and undergoing interrogation," AFP quoted Ojukwu as saying. The suspects include the traditional ruler of Amaube-Ime Boro Autonomous Community in Ikwuano LGA Eze Vincent Okezie Uche who has been dethroned by the Abia State government and charged for allegedly sponsoring kidnapping an…

Thirteen African Heads of State have written to government leaders in donor countries, appealing for financial support to make Education for All (EFA) a lasting legacy of the World Cup 2010 for all children in Africa. The leaders include the Presidents of Benin, Burkina Faso and Central African Republic. - The rest are The Gambia; Ghana; Mauritania; Mozambique; Niger; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Togo and Rwanda and the Prime Minister of Lesotho. In a letter to their counterparts in donor countries, the leaders emphasized the need for education which serves as a tool in reducing poverty and creating an overall healthier and skilled population. A statement from the Accra Office of the World B…

Ten players have been nominated by the FIFA Technical Study Group including Ghana Black Stars striker, Asamoah Gyan for the 2010 World Cup Adidas Golden Ball award and midfielder, Andre Dede Ayew in line to win the Hyundai Best Young player award at the 2010 FIFA world cup. - The Adidas Golden Ball is the official FIFA trophy for the “Best Player of the Tournament” and the winners will be announced after the final on 11 July. Gyan will be competing for the award against Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Mesut Oezil, Arjen Robben, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Wesley Sneijder, David Villa and Xavi Aside, Ayew who has been shortlisted for the Hyundai Best Young player award which offic…

FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, has lavished praise on South Africa's World Cup stadiums and confessed they were better than in Europe. "These stadiums are jewels from the architectural point of view, they are really, really good stadiums," he told reporters on Thursday. - "Wherever the spectators are in the stadium, they have a complete view of the pitch. "There is not one single European country which has so many good and high level stadiums as the ones which are here in South Africa." Blatter praised the behaviour of the players, despite some play-acting and occasional refereeing controversies that has evolve during the tournament. "The fair play …

The Former South African President Nelson Mandela, has extended a special invitation to the Black Stars of Ghana at his home for an interaction. Mandela is said to be impressed with the team's performance so far at the tournament, and has therefore invited the team to call on him on Saturday July 3 in Cape Town. - According to Citi FM, Ghana’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Akua Sena Dansua, has confirmed the news saying the Black Stars would be transported to Cape Town in a chartered flight organized by authorities of Port Elizabeth. She said: “I am informed that the municipality of Port Elizabeth has offered to bring the Black Stars to Cape Town on Saturday where they wo…

Vodafone Ghana has appointed Kyle Whitehill as its new CEO to replace David Venn, who is expected to leave the company at the end of June, 2010. A statement issued by Vodafone Ghana in Accra, said Whitehill, who would assume office with effect from 1 July, 2010, was born and educated in Scotland and has a Degree in Marketing and Economics. - He has worked in the UK, Central Europe and India for both telecom and consumer goods companies. Mr. Whitehill's early career was spent in dealing with fast moving consumer goods with L'Oreal, Jeyes and Guinness before he entered general management with the soft drinks division of PepsiCo. He joined Vodafone in 2001 as Head of the Enterpr…

A ban on all commercial motorcycle operations, popularly known as Okada in Nigeria has finally been issued by Lagos state government. The ban is especially on dual-carriage roads and highways in the state in line with the road traffic laws and regulations effective July 1 this year. - Special Adviser to Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) on Transportation, Comrade Kayode Opeifa, said the decision was to reduce the rate of accidents on the road and also to address chaotic traffic situations that now plague all parts of Lagos metropolis, according to allafrica.com. He reiterated that motorcycle operators must not overload and should possess riders' card during operation. Adding that…

The US embassy in Sudan's Khartoum has called for an investigation into how four murderers of a US aid official and his driver managed to stage a prison break in the country. The men escaped through the sewerage system of Kober Prison and shot dead a police officer while fleeing via a checkpoint Saturday. - "The U.S. Embassy requests the Government of Sudan to initiate a thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding this escape from one of Sudan's most secure prisons," said the embassy in a statement. The four men, sentenced to death for the murder of John Granville and Abdelrahman Abbas Rahama, are believed to be hiding in Sudan, according to the police in a…

Algerian paramilitary police barracks has been hit by an explosion killing at least four people, including two police officers, a security source said on Friday. "We have at least four people killed and among them two gendarmes (paramilitary police)," said the security source, who did not want to be identified. - Algeria has been waging a campaign to stamp out Islamist insurgents affiliated to al Qaeda. They therefore mount periodic ambushes and bomb attacks against government targets, although the violence has been declining. Two local people disclosed to Reuters that, at about 3 a.m. (3 a.m. BST) on Friday they heard an explosion from the barracks, which is next to a major hig…

South Africa's public sector unions on Thursday threaten to hold a national strike during the soccer World Cup in a dispute over pay and working conditions with the government. The union has turned down a 6.2 percent wage rise, demanding an above inflation 8.5 percent salary increase. - The union represents some 1.2 million workers including nurses, police officers, teachers and other government officials such as immigration staff. "If the conciliation efforts fail next (week on) Friday, we will have no choice but to strike in the middle of the World Cup," Manie de Clerq, secretary-general of the Public Servants Association disclosed to Reuters. Adding that a potential s…

India's Bharti Airtel is on the verge of becoming the world's no. 5 wireless carrier by subscribers after completing its $9 billion acquisition of African operations from Kuwait's Zain. The deal means that the firm is taking over operations in 15 African countries. - The countries include Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The Indian telecom market leader is facing ferocious competition at home and betting on opportunities in Africa are worth the risks of operating there even as some regard the total deal value of $10.7 billion -- inc…

BA cabin crew began a new strike Saturday amid a deadlock between unions and the airline in a dispute over pay, working conditions and cost-cutting measures. The Union said the strike would last till Wednesday and could affect passenger movement to South Africa for the World Cup. - The row between the airline and workers over pay and working conditions amid cost-cutting measures, has been underway for several months, culminating in March and May in strike action lasting several days. Unite has however threatened to call further strikes if the dispute is not settled. BA has lost millions as a result of the unprecedented scale of the walkouts over a 23-day period of strike particularly i…

The Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ghana, David Venn, has resigned and is set to leave the company in the next few weeks. He was appointed CEO of Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited (Vodafone Ghana) on November 10, 2008 and has over 30 years experience in the telecommunications industry. - Prior to joining Vodafone, David spent five years in Zambia where he acquired firsthand knowledge and insights into the African telecommunications market. He has worked in a number of telecommunications enterprises in the USA, UK and other parts of Europe. Speaking to Citi News in Ghana, the Corporate Affairs Manager of Vodafone Ghana, Isaac Cudjoe, confirmed Venn’s resignation saying h…

Cabin crew at British Airways have announced plans to strike for a total of 20 days in May and June, ending two days before World Cup starts in South Africa. The strike dates are May 18-22, May 24-28, May 30-June 3 and June 5-9. It would add to mounting costs for the struggling British flagship carrier. - British Airways has warned that the unprecedented scale of the walkouts over a 23-day period would cause "extensive disruption for potentially hundreds of thousands of customers over a busy period" and may affect travelers to South Africa for the month-long football World Cup, which kicks off on June 11. Unite, which represents around 90% of BA's 12,000 cabin crew, said it…

Regional codes of telephone numbers in Ghana will change from 1 May, the main fixed line provider, Vodafone Ghana, has announced. Isaac Cudjoe, Head of Corporate Communications of Vodafone Ghana, said the new number code for all the 10 regions of that country is 'in line with global telecommunication standards'. - 'The switch over to the new numbering structure will bring uniformity as both fixed and mobile phone numbers will all have 10 digits,' it added. Currently, the number of digits for fixed lines across the country differs from region to region. Another downside of the current fixed line numbering structure is that each region has a multiplicity of codes whi…

Ghana international Michael Essien is unsure of his return to the field any time soon. The 27-year-old has stated that he would not rush his return from injury to help Chelsea win the Premier League if it risks him not being fit for Ghana when they play in the World Cup this summer. - Essien has not played in a match for the Blues in 2010 after he hurt his knee at the African Cup of Nations tournament in January. Essien is uncertain of his return for the World Cup either. He told chelseafc.com: "I'm not too sure about the World Cup yet. "I will just have to wait and see what happens and take it day by day. There are a couple of other players in my position - Fernand…