The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Thursday to deploy about 3,100 peacekeepers to a restive region in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the U.N. announced.
FULL STORYFrance will cut its troop levels in the west African nation of Mali from 4,000 service members to about 1,000 by the end of the year, French President Francois Hollande said Thursday evening during a live interview with CNN affiliate France 2.
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In just over a day, rebels seized the Central African Republic's capital, forced the president out of the country and declared the nation had "opened a new page in its history."
But no one knows what the next page will say.
Rebels say their takeover opens a bath for peace and democracy.
Yet questions abound over the future of impoverished, landlocked country - and what this uprising means for its 5.1 million residents.
FULL STORYThe brewing tensions between rebels and the government in the Central African Republic culminated Sunday with the sounds of gunfire the nation's capital.
"We can hear gunfire, and it has been going on for about four hours," U.N. Spokeswoman Uwolowulakana Ikavi said from the U.N. compound in Bangui. "The shooting is apparently fierce. I can't tell if it is the rebels shooting or the government troops."
The country has been on edge since rebel fighters pushed their way into the capital of Bangui and put the government to the brink.
FULL STORYA French hostage held in Mali has been executed by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Mauritania's ANI news agency reports.
The agency attributed the information to an AQIM spokesman.
Six other French hostages are still being held in Mali.
French and allied forces, including Malian and Chadian troops, have made significant inroads in recent weeks combating Islamist extremist fighters.
Islamist extremists carved out a large haven in northern Mali last year, taking advantage of a chaotic situation after a military coup by the separatist party MNLA. The militants banned music, smoking, drinking and watching sports on television. They also destroyed historic tombs and shrines.
French involvement in the conflict began on January 11, the day after militants said they had seized the city of Konna, east of Diabaly in central Mali, and were poised to advance south toward Bamako, the capital.
FULL STORYKenyan police fired teargas Saturday to disperse supporters of Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who lost the presidential election and is expected to file a petition to challenge the poll outcome.
The supporters gathered outside the supreme court in Nairobi, where he is expected to submit his challenge.
Zimbabweans voted Saturday for a key referendum on a new constitution that limits presidential terms for the first time in the African nation.
Robert Mugabe, 89, has been in power for decades, first serving as prime minister in 1980 and taking over as president seven years later.
"This is a Zimbabwean document to replace a British one. That is why I voted for it," said Babra Mheno, 34, a university student, referring to the nation's former colonial rulers.
If approved, which is highly likely, the constitution will give more powers to the parliament and limit the president's. It also introduces a two-term limit of five years each for a president.
FULL STORY(CNN) – French President Francois Hollande arrived in Mali on Saturday, where his nation's troops are battling Islamist militants alongside African forces.
France is leading an offensive against militants it its former colony. The three-week ground and air campaign has sent militants who had seized the northern region fleeing into the vast desert.
Hollande landed in Sevare accompanied by his defense and foreign ministers, CNN affiliate BFMTV reported.
From there, he joined Malian interim President Dioncounda Traore for a visit to the fabled city of Timbuktu. French-led forces liberated the historical city this week after a yearlong grip by Islamist militants.
FULL STORYWith violence continuing in pockets of Egypt, President Mohamed Morsy on Sunday night invoked emergency powers by declaring curfews from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez.
FULL STORYGermany will contribute two transport planes to the French-led military offensive against Islamist rebels in Mali, the German Defense Ministry announced Wednesday.
Italy also is ready for "a logistical support operation" in the West African nation, Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said, according to the state-run ANSA news agency.
[Updated at 1:29 p.m. ET] Islamist rebels would have taken Mali's capital had France's military not intervened in the African nation in the last few days, French President Francois Hollande said Tuesday.
"If we had not taken up our responsibility and if on Friday morning we had not acted with this intervention, where would Mali be today?" he asked.
The French defense minister told CNN that up to 800 troops are in Mali to help Malian forces in an offensive against Islamist militants, and that up to 1,700 total French forces – including the 800 in Mali – are involved in a variety of capacities, such as offering logistical support from various French military bases across Africa.
Hollande, speaking on a visit to the United Arab Emirates, said France intends to "make way as quickly as possible" for an African force.
Read more about France's military intervention, which began Friday.
Two rival communities armed with arrows and machetes clashed at dawn today, leaving 30 people dead in southeastern Kenya .
It's unclear what triggered the latest clashes, but the two groups have fought for years over grazing rights, land and water sources.
FULL STORYThe mother of Nigeria's finance minister has been released by her kidnappers, five days after she was seized from her home, Nigerian police said Friday.
Kamene Okonjo is well and in good health, police spokesman Frank Mba told CNN.
FULL STORYMali's prime minister abruptly resigned Tuesday, announcing on state television that his entire cabinet was also stepping down.
Cheick Modibo Diarra did not offer a reason for his decision, except for a vague statement that he solemnly delivered.
"Our country Mali is going through the most difficult period in its history," he said. "During this time of crisis, the men and women of this country - uncertain of what is going to happen to their country - find themselves in an unfortunate situation.
"That's why I, Sheikh Modibo Diarra, have resigned with all my government, on this day, Tuesday, 11 of December of 2012. I apologize to all of the Malian people who are suffering from this crisis in every way and at all levels. I thank all the members of the government as well as their contributors for their efforts on the economic front. I wish the next government best of luck."
The development is another blow to the stability of a country once hailed as a model of democracy in Africa, but one derailed by a coup and an uprising of Islamist militants.
Read more: What's behind the instability in Mali?
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Police in Rustenberg, South Africa, clashed Tuesday with more than 1,000 striking miners who were barricading public roads near the Anglo American Platinum mine.
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters, and sporadic scuffles continue, Capt. Dennis Adrio with the North West police told CNN.
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Police knocked on the door in the middle of the night, giving whoever was inside a chance to open it. But the anti-terrorism squad had come prepared for a raid.
When the militant suspect inside refused to let them in, the officers broke down the door - and were met by a grenade flying straight at them.
The blast injured three officers and killed a suspected criminal who had led them to the home in Mombasa, Kenya's second-largest city and a popular tourist destination. Police had arrested the suspect earlier, and got him to take them to what he said was a home containing an illegal weapons cache, according to regional police chief Aggrey Adoli.
As the grenade exploded, police began shooting into the doorway, killing the suspected militant who had hurled the explosive at them.
As he fell, he dropped a second grenade he'd been holding. That blast injured five policemen - one of whom who later died due to his injuries.
Inside the house, police recovered two more grenades, a pistol, and 15 rounds of ammunition, Adoli said.
The suspects - both the one who took police to the home and the one who pitched the grenade at them - had no identity cards, Adoli said. "We cannot rule out that they are enemies from Al-Shabaab who were planning an attack following the fall of Kismayo” in neighboring Somalia, he added.
The al Qaeda-linked militant group Al-Shabaab is trying to overthrow the Somali government, and has also been blamed for violence in Kenya.
Flooding in Cameroon's Far North Region has killed nearly 30 people and affected more than 26,000 others, officials said Monday.
More than 4,000 people in the Logone and Shari division were displaced, and more than 22,000 people in the region of Maga, Mayo-Danay division, also have been affected.
Communication Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary described the flooding as "a calamity," and he called for urgent action to save lives, livestock and property. Dana FM, a local radio station, said the death toll will grow as bodies are collected and identified. For the past few weeks, there has been no sign of the flood easing.
The floodwaters have submerged areas like Benoue, Faro, Louti and Mayo. Homes, crops and barns have been destroyed and herds of livestock killed. Heavy rainfall that has lasted nearly a month has fractured the Lagdo Dam, causing the Benoe River to flood nearby villages.
FULL STORYA radical Islamic cleric who faced charges relating to terrorism was killed in a daylight ambush Monday morning in Kenya's main coastal city, Mombasa, Kenya Police said.
Aboud Rogo Mohammed was accused supporting Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia and was blacklisted by the United States and U.N. Security Council. He also faced charges before a Kenyan court for planning terror attacks in Mombasa.
"We have received reports that Aboud Rogo Mohammed has died," said Eric Kiraithe, the Kenya Police spokesman. "We are taking this matter very seriously. It is disappointing to us, because we had a case in court and we had evidence to go to its logical conclusion."
But Rogo's wife, Hania Said, claimed the shooters were Kenyan police.
FULL STORYA militia group has seized control of the international airport in Tripoli, Libya, a security source said Monday.
Two platoons of the Tarhouna militia moved in overnight because of an ongoing dispute with the national government, sparked by the disappearance of a militia leader on the airport road Sunday, the source said.
The Libyan government sent emissaries to meet with the militia group Sunday night, Deputy Foreign Minister Abdul Karim Ahmed Bazama said. The talks were continuing Monday.
FULL STORYThe African National Congress wanted to go to court to force a South African gallery to remove a painting depicting President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed.
The ANC got its wish, but it was two vandals, not a judge, who granted it.
Local station eNews Channel was at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg with cameras rolling when one man calmly approached the portrait, called "The Spear," and painted red crosses over the face and genitals.
Next came another man who smeared black paint over most of the image.
Watch the video above to see the vandals attack, see the violent arrest and hear the stunned reaction of the reporter as it all unfolds.
Opinions on "The Spear" are divided. CNN's "Open Mic" gave some South Africans a chance to vent. Watch below to hear what they're saying. Which side do you support?
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