United Nations: More than 14 million people in the Horn of Africa need food aid because of drought and rocketing food and fuel prices, the United Nations has warned.
Kenya: An international humanitarian agency, Medicins Sans Frtontieres (MSF), said Monday that its staff have been blocked from continuing assistance to civilians affected by conflict in Mount Elgon district, west Kenya.
Nairobi: At a time of drought, skyrocketing food prices, crippling inflation and intensifying street fighting, many of the aid workers upon whom millions of Somalis depend for survival are fleeing their posts - or in some cases the country.
London: The UN World Food Program (WFP) warned Friday that attacks on aid workers on the ground and threats to ships delivering food aid to Somalia are jeopardizing the lives of millions who now need urgent food assistance.
Johannesburg: South Africa celebrated the 90th birthday on Friday of Nelson Mandela, a symbol of reconciliation in a nation now torn by doubts and nostalgia for his leadership.
Lagos (Nigeria): The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Tuesday in Abuja said over 1 million infants die yearly in Nigeria while nearly a third of the children under five years of age are underweight, reported This Day newspaper on Wednesday.
South Africa: Economic inequalities remain in South Africa after the fall of apartheid although fewer people are still caught in grinding poverty, a government report said on Thursday.
Nairobi: About 1.2 million Kenyans are facing famine and require emergency food assistance, a U.S.- St funded famine early warning system has warned recently.
Somalia: Up to twenty children have died of measles over the last week in areas of lower Shabelle region elders in the region confirmed on Monday.
Malaysia: Pirate attacks worldwide surged 19 percent in the past three months compared to the January-March period, largely due to increased incidents in Somalia and Nigeria, an international maritime agency said Friday.
Lagos: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has observed that African countries affected by soaring food prices would need at least a total of 1.7 billion U.S. dollars to revive their agriculture system, neglected for several decades, reported the Ghana News Agency.
Japan: World leaders head into the second day of the annual G8 summit preoccupied by soaring food and oil prices and deeply divided over how to tackle climate change.
Somalia: Tension among the rival political groups vying for control of Somalia has severely hampered security efforts, including initiatives to enlist foreign and private forces to patrol the coast.
Nigeria: Chuka Odom, Nigerian Minister of State for Environment, Housing and Urban Development, on Tuesday in Abuja said about 70 percent of Nigerians were not properly housed, reported the News Agency of Nigeria.
Egypt: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Sunday called on African countries to implement a comprehensive agriculture development plan to increase agricultural production through expanding plantation and making efficient use of water resources.