Islamic Courts Union forces have taken control of police stations in Mogadishu as Ethiopian troops started withdrawing from Somalia, officials said on Saturday.

Abdirahim Issa Adow, a spokesman for the Islamic Courts Union said he was deploying troops to three police stations to ensure the capital, Mogadishu, does not erupt in violence.

THE State has launched an appeal at the Supreme Court against the High Court determination ordering the release of former ZBC newscaster Jestina Mukoko and 31 other co-suspects accused of recruiting people for military training in Botswana. The 32 are still in custody.

Angola's vast, confusing party landscape is about to undergo a major transformation: as of January, 22 parties and coalitions will simply vanish from the political map.

As Aunesi Omari and her children cowered in her room in Philippi, a low-income section of the South African city of Cape Town, in Western Cape Province, she heard the armed men outside shout: "We're going to kill you because you don't want to listen."

The United Nations Security Council has approved a resolution establishing a framework through which the international commmunity can crack down on Somali pirates and better enforce the UN arms embargo on the country.

THE case filed by former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu challenging his demotion from the rank of Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) has taken new twist as the Federal Government yesterday filed an application seeking the transfer of the case to Abuja.

Somalia: An African Union peacekeeper from Uganda has died in an attack in the Somali capital, Mogadishu - the second to be killed in as many days.

Two peacekeepers were injured in the attack, in which a roadside bomb hidden under a pile of rubbish hit a group of soldiers, an AU spokesman said.

Madrid: A spanish fishing boat belonging to a Basque firm escaped an attempted hijacking by pirates Thursday in international waters in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia, Basque media and officials said.

Somalia: An unindentified gunman killed an outspoken Somali lawmaker in the provincial town of Baidoa, the latest in a series of attacks in the lawless African nation on Tuesday, a witness and colleague said.

Philippines: The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that the M/T BBC Trinidad, the German-owned, Antigua-flagged container vessel, was freed Thursday around 6 p.m., Manila time, with its 13-man crew, by the ship’s hijackers.

Sudan: Sudanese government troops have launched attacks on two towns in Darfur, three rebel groups in the region have said.

The rebels said the troops, backed by militias, helicopters and planes, had attacked Disa and Birmaza in North Darfur state early on Saturday.

Nairobi: At least 10 people were killed and several others wounded in Kenya's northern district of Turkana by suspected cattle rustlers from Toposa, southern Sudan on Saturday.

According to local administrators, the raiders armed with AK-47 rifles have struck Mogila area in Lokichogio division and stole 732 animals.

Algeria: Five Algerian troops and two municipal guards have been killed as rebels opened fire on their vehicle east of the capital, Algiers.

The rebels ambushed the vehicle in a mountainous area of Batna province about 350 kilometers (220 miles) from Algiers, El Watan daily reported on Saturday.

Fourteen other soldiers also sustained injuries in the incident.

Bujumbura (Burundi): A man killed 11 people in Burundi when he hurled a grenade into his brother's wedding party in what police said on Sunday was a land dispute.

One person had been arrested after the incident, which happened late on Saturday in central Gitega province.