22 March: Junta seizes power, accusing President Amadou Toumani Toure of not enough to tackle rebels

28 March: Mali suspended by regional bloc, Ecowas

1 April: Rebels seize whole of north, including historic city of Timbuktu

6 April: Tuareg rebels declare independence for the north – not recognised internationally

12 April: Speaker of parliament Dioncounda Traore sworn in as Mali's interim leader

17 April: Junta arrests several allies of former President Toure

19 April: Mr Toure and his family flee to Senegal

20 May: Ecowas deal for Traore to stay for a year

“They beat him seriously and tore his clothes,” military spokesman Bakary Mariko told Reuters news agency.

“There were three dead and some injured by gunshot amongst the demonstrators. Dioncounda's security shot at people,” Mr Mariko said.

A source in Mr Traore's office told the AFP news agency that the president's life was not in danger.

Martin Vogl says there is some genuine support for the coup in Bamako and people are unhappy that a representative of the ousted political class was allowed to stay in power for a year.

They want a national convention of Mali's political parties and civic society groups to decide on the interim leader.

The protesters shouted slogans including “Down with Ecowas” and “Down with Dioncounda.” Some carried a mock coffin with Mr Traore's name on it.

Earlier, mediators from West African regional bloc Ecowas left Bamako, saying “we have accomplished our mission”.

Martin Vogl says that the status of a former head of state gives Capt Sanogo considerable respect, as well as a salary.

Chief Ecowas mediator, Burkina Faso Foreign Minister Djibrill Bassole, also said the coup leader would be able to consult Mr Traore, 70, and his prime minister until new elections are held next year.

Last week, Ecowas threatened to reimpose sanctions against the coup leaders, accusing them of continuing to meddle in the country's politics.

Capt Sanogo seized power in March and led the country for less than three weeks, before handing power to Mr Traore, the former speaker of parliament, in the face of intense international pressure and the rapid advance of rebels, whose seized the whole of the north – an area the size of France.

As part of the deal, the government is supposed to focus on recovering the north from a mixture of Tuareg separatists and Islamist fighters.

Some of the groups have links to al-Qaeda's branch in the region, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

Ecowas has said it is preparing to send 3,000 troops to Mali to help the country reclaim its northern territory, but no date has been set for the force to arrive.

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Somalia – Failed State

How a mother survives Somalia

Meeting al-Shabab

Why is Uganda in Somalia?

Will the world help or hinder?

Somalia has been without an effective central government since President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991.

Years of fighting between rival warlords and an inability to deal with famine and disease have led to the deaths of up to one million people.

Comprised of a former British protectorate and an Italian colony, Somalia was created in 1960 when the two territories merged. Since then its development has been slow. Relations with neighbours have been soured by its territorial claims on Somali-inhabited areas of Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti.

In 1970 Mr Barre proclaimed a socialist state, paving the way for close relations with the USSR. In 1977, with the help of Soviet arms, Somalia attempted to seize the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, but was defeated thanks to Soviet and Cuban backing for Ethiopia, which had turned Marxist.

In 1991 President Barre was overthrown by opposing clans. But they failed to agree on a replacement and plunged the country into lawlessness and clan warfare.

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At a glance

Scene of Africa's worst humanitarian crisis: aid agencies warn that millions face starvation

No effective government since 1991

Islamist militia and UN-backed transitional government compete for control of country

The self-proclaimed state of Somaliland and the region of Puntland run their own affairs

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

In 2000 clan elders and other senior figures appointed Abdulkassim Salat Hassan president at a conference in Djibouti. A transitional government was set up, with the aim of reconciling warring militias.

But as its mandate drew to a close, the administration had made little progress in uniting the country.

In 2004, after protracted talks in Kenya, the main warlords and politicians signed a deal to set up a new parliament, which later appointed a president.

The fledgling administration, the 14th attempt to establish a government since 1991, has faced a formidable task in bringing reconciliation to a country divided into clan fiefdoms.

Islamist insurgency

Its authority was further compromised in 2006 by the rise of Islamists who gained control of much of the south, including the capital, after their militias kicked out the warlords who had ruled the roost for 15 years.

With the backing of Ethiopian troops, forces loyal to the interim administration seized control from the Islamists at the end of 2006.

Islamist insurgents – including the Al-Shabab group, which later declared allegiance to al-Qaeda and in 2012 announced its merger with the global Islamist terrorist group – fought back against the government and Ethiopian forces, regaining control of most of southern Somalia by late 2008.

Ethiopia pulled its troops out in January 2009. Soon after, Al-Shabab fighters took control of Baidoa, formerly a key stronghold of the transitional government.

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Foreign intervention in Somalia

1992 – UN troops arrive to monitor ceasefire after fighting which followed fall of Siad Barre. US-led task force delivers aid

1993 – UN mission is dealt a fatal blow when US rangers are killed in incident made famous by Hollywood film Black Hawk Down

1995 – UN troops withdraw, leaving warlords to fight on. UN casualties number 150

2006 – Ethiopia sends troops to defend interim government

2007 – African peacekeeping force AMISOM deploys

2011 – Kenya enters Somalia in pursuit of al-Shabab militia

Somalia's parliament met in neighbouring Djibouti in late January and swore in 149 new members from the main opposition movement, the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia.

The parliament also extended the mandate of the transitional federal government for another two years, and installed moderate Islamist Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad as the new president.

However, the government's military position weakened further, and in May 2009 Islamist insurgents launched an attack on Mogadishu, prompting President Ahmad to appeal for help from abroad.

Al-Shabab appears to have consolidated its position as the most powerful insurgent group by driving its main rival, Hizbul Islam, out of the southern port city of Kismayo in October 2009. They made what they called a tactical retreat from Mogadishu in August 2011.

Piracy

The long-standing absence of authority in the country has led to Somali pirates becoming a major threat to international shipping in the area, and has prompted Nato to take the lead in an anti-piracy operation.

In 2011, the plight of the Somali people was exacerbated by the worst drought in six decades, which left millions of people on the verge of starvation and caused tens of thousands to flee to Kenya and Ethiopia in search of food.

After the collapse of the Siad Barre regime in 1991, the north-west part of Somalia unilaterally declared itself the independent Republic of Somaliland. The territory, whose independence is not recognised by international bodies, has enjoyed relative stability.

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Mr Senussi was seen as late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's right-hand man

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Libya Crisis

Divisive bid

Dangers lurk

Should Sirte be rebuilt?

War victims' care scandal

Former Libyan intelligence chief Abdallah al-Senussi has been charged in Mauritania with illegally entering the country, officials say.

Mr Senussi, who fled Libya after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, was held at Nouakchott airport after flying in from Morocco in March.

Both Libya and the International Criminal Court want him extradited to face trial for crimes against humanity.

Mauritanian officials say he faces trial for using false travel documents.

A judicial source told AFP news agency he had been placed in a specially prepared prison cell ahead of his trial.

The interim Libyan government has said it wants him back on Libyan soil so he can stand trial for numerous allegations of murder and human rights abuses while he was Gaddafi's head of intelligence.

Nicknamed “the butcher”, Mr Senussi was Gaddafi's brother-in-law and has been described as one of his closest aides.

He has been implicated in the massacre in 1996 of more than 1,000 inmates at the Abu Salim prison in Tripoli.

In March, soon after Mr Senussi's arrest, Libya's Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abushagur said Mauritania had agreed to hand him over. Mauritanian officials have said no decision has been made on his extradition.

Interpol has issued an international “red notice” call for his arrest at Libya's request.

Mr Senussi is also wanted on a 2011 ICC arrest warrant in connection with the violent suppression of protests during last year's Libyan uprising that toppled the late Col Gaddafi.

In addition, he is sought by the authorities in France after a court there sentenced him to life in prison for his involvement in a 1989 attack on a French plane that killed 170 people.

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President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos has been in power since 1979

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Related Stories

Angola beats most of Europe to 4G

Angola: Ten years of peace but at what price?

Living in the world's most expensive city

Angola's Supreme Court has blocked the appointment of the election commission head, seen as a close ally of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

Opposition parties, including former rebel group Unita, had challenged Susana Ingles's position.

She is a lawyer, whereas the head of the election body should be a judge.

Angola, Africa's second biggest oil producer, is due to hold elections later this year – the third national polls since independence in 1975.

Ms Ingles is a leading member of the Oma women's group, which is seen as close to Mr dos Santos' MPLA, so opposition groups said she would not be impartial.

The MPLA says it will “scrupulously respect the decision”.

Unita had planned to organise a mass demonstration on Saturday to protest against her appointment.

In the only previous election since the end of Angola's 27-year civil war in 2012, the MPLA gained 82% of the vote.

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“Through It All” worship and praise song from Hillsong. This song is featured on the “Blessed” DVD/CD 2002 release. Hillsong Church (formerly Hills Christian Life Centre) is a Pentecostal Christian church affiliated with Australian Christian Churches, the Australian branch of the Assemblies of God denomination. The church is located in Sydney, Australia, headquartered at its “Hills” campus in Baulkham Hills’ Norwest Business Park in the Hills District. It also has a congregation designated the “City” campus which is located in Waterloo, near Sydney’s central business district. The church’s senior pastors are Brian and Bobbie Houston, who started the church in Baulkham Hills in 1983, later to merge with a church in the city to form Hillsong Church. Apart from the two main campuses, Hillsong Church currently has 14 extension services across Sydney. These extension services are based on either location or culture and rely on Hillsong Church for support and leadership. Hillsong Church’s international offshoots include Hillsong Church London, in the United Kingdom, Hillsong Church Kiev in Ukraine, Hillsong Church Cape Town in South Africa. These churches also have services in Paris, Berlin and Moscow. Hillsong Music has topped Australian charts, with albums achieving gold and platinum sales status. Hillsong has made its mark internationally with many travelling to Sydney for the annual Hillsong Conference, which attracts over 26000 people, as well as the sales of albums and …
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Justice Minister Patrick Chimamasa (l) told Navi Pillay (r) there was no torture in Zimbabwe

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Zimbabwe – New Era?

Wikileaks woe for Mugabe

Return to Harare

Torture camp discovered

Glasnost – African style

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay has started a week-long visit to Zimbabwe – the first such trip since a violent and disputed election in 2008.

Ms Pillay is expected to meet President Robert Mugabe and his rival, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Mr Mugabe was accused of using soldiers to attack his rival's supporters after losing the first round vote.

After meeting Ms Pillay, the justice minister denied allegations of human rights abuses.

The visit comes two weeks after a landmark decision by a South African court which ordered prosecutors to investigate Zimbabwean officials for torturing political activists.

The ruling invokes South Africa's obligations to the International Criminal Court but has been dismissed by Zimbabwean officials.

In 2009 the UN's then leading torture investigator was denied access to Zimbabwe when officials claimed he was not officially cleared for entry into the country.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, a close ally of Mr Mugabe, also insisted that “state-sponsored violence” does not exist in the country.

“These are all lies. We told [Ms Pillay] that there are no torture chambers in Zimbabwe,” Mr Chinamasa is quoted as saying by the AFP news agency, after leaving a meeting with Ms Pillay.

He added that his meeting with Ms Pillay was cordial but emphasised that Zimbabwe's policy of outlawing gay relationships and criminalising gay sex would not change.

President Mugabe is expected to meet Ms Pillay later this week. The South African is also scheduled to meet defence officials, judges and members of parliament as well as human rights advocates.

Last year the BBC's Panorama programme found that security forces were operating a torture camp in Zimbabwe's profitable Marange diamond fields.

Victims told of severe beatings, as the European Union was pushing to lift a trade ban on some Zimbabwean diamonds.

According to rights groups at least 200 people were killed in violence related to the 2008 presidential poll.

Source

This was the first time a local council election has been held in Benghazi since the 1960s

Continue reading the main story

Libya Crisis

Divisive bid

Dangers lurk

Should Sirte be rebuilt?

War victims' care scandal

Residents in Benghazi, the city where the Libyan uprising began, have voted in historic local elections.

More than 400 people contested seats on the 44-member local council, even though the remit of local authorities has yet to be set.

This was the first time such elections have been held in the city since the 1960s and turnout was high.

National elections are expected to be held in June. Until then, the mandate of local councils will remain unclear.

The BBC's Rana Jawad in Libya says people in Benghazi were excited and motivated to be taking part in a political process.

Social networking sites were awash with pictures of people showing their inked fingers to prove they voted and some polling stations had to stay open for an extra hour to meet demand.

Results of the election are due on Monday.

‘We feel valued’

One voter, 22 year-old law student Bilal Bettamer, said there were more women than men voting in his area.

“I personally voted for a woman but there are only two female candidates,” he added.

Teaching assistant Ahmed al-Meina, 26, said: “This is the first democratic experience for us in Benghazi… it feels like we are now valued, all my friends voted.”

He noted however that the council's mandate is unclear, even to the candidates themselves. Until the national assembly sets a budget, no one will know how much money or influence local authorities will wield.

Al-Ameen Belhaj, an official in the National Transitional Council (NTC), said councils will be running things like transport and communications, “but we have not yet differentiated between the mandate of these councils and the national assembly that is due to be elected in June”.

“We might see new elections for local councils after the constituent assembly is formed,” he added.

Security concerns

Tensions between regional powers in the east of Libya, where the revolution began, and the NTC in Tripoli in the west have been bubbling since the fall of Col Gaddafi last year.

Eastern cities like Benghazi felt marginalised under the old regime and are wary of the same thing happening again, so many residents are reluctant to cede too much power to the government in the capital.

In March, tribal leaders and militia commanders in eastern Libya tried to set up a semi-autonomous region called Barqa. They have called on their supporters to boycott the national elections next month.

Bilal Bettamer, an ex-fighter and law student who voted in Benghazi, said the most important thing for him was to disarm the militias and strengthen the official police and army.

“A lot of the ex-fighters want to give up their weapons but they don't see any real authority to hand them to,” he said.

Source

Candidates have recently woken up to the need to target the female vote

But the Baseera Centre has no special reason to pander to the military. Its research is funded by the independent, liberal-leaning, al-Masry al-Yowm newspaper.

It is run by Magued Osman, who was minister of communications in the months following the downfall of President Hosni Mubarak, someone with no strong reason to favour Ahmed Shafiq.

Magued Osman believes the dramatic differences in poll numbers may be the result of different sampling methods. His polls take a sample of 2,200 voters, polled by telephone – both landlines and mobile phones.

He explains how they are still learning about polling in Egypt. For example, calls at different times of day produce different results. Housewives tend to answer the phone more in the daytime. Landlines are more prevalent in the cities, and there is a higher proportion of mobile phones in rural areas.

Fluid politics

Public opinion appears to be very fluid as well. “Political life is very dynamic. There are lots of changes,” explained Magued Osman. He believes it is important that his polls are conducted in the space of just one day. The other organisations take several days to complete their polls.

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Election candidates

Seen as front-runners:

Ahmed Shafiq: former commander of the air force and briefly PM during February 2011 protests.

Amr Moussa: Former foreign minister and ex-head of Arab League.

Mohammed Mursi: heads Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party.

Abdul Moneim Aboul Fotouh: Leading Brotherhood figure forced to leave after announcing candidacy last year.

Other candidates include Islamic thinker Muhammad al-Awwa; leading judge Hisham al-Bastawisi; socialist MP Abu-al-Izz al-Hariri; left-wing rights activist Khalid Ali; co-founder of Nasserist Karama party Hamdin Sabbahi

Election: The 13 candidates

Many observers believe that the the two participants in the first presidential debate, Amr Moussa and Abdul Moneim Aboul Fotouh, both suffered because of lacklustre television performances.

Ironically they were chosen to take part, ahead of the other candidates, because they were the top two candidates in the polls – hence a late swing to Ahmed Shafiq, and to a lesser extent Mohammed Mursi and Hamdeen Sabbahi.

Another crucial factor is the very high proportion of undecided voters. In the latest poll for the Baseera Centre, 37.4% of voters were undecided.

Magued Osman says the highest number of undecideds are in rural areas, primarily women. Some of the candidates have recently picked up on the need to win the female vote.

Ahmed Shafiq was the first to promise to appoint a woman vice-president. Abdoul Moneim Aboul Fotouh held a special women's rally in Cairo earlier in the week, and a liberal-minded woman is one of his top political advisers.

Mustafa Kamel al-Sayyid, politics professor at Cairo University, who is also connected with the Baseera Centre, also says the fluctuations in the polls reflect an evolving situation.

“The situation changes from one week to the next,” he says. “Ahmed Shafiq came up in the last week. It really reflects the state of opinion from one week to another. So I don't think there is any political bias (in the polls).”

Urban vs rural

Ahmed Naguib Kamha, of the al-Ahram Centre, says they get different results because they do face-to-face interviews, not phone polls.

“I prefer to use the methodology of face-to-face polls. It is more reliable for the cultural base of Egyptian society,” he argues.

Many Egyptians believe the country's military rulers are trying to manipulate the election result

For example, while many people have mobile phones, richer people often have multiple phones, he says.

He also believes conducting face-to-face interviews is the reason his sample has far fewer undecided voters: 18-25% of those questioned, compared to 37.4% in the latest Baseera poll.

By spending time with people, he explains, they are much more willing to give their opinion.

Perhaps the most sobering lesson from the parliamentary elections last year is how little most “opinion formers” in Cairo know about public opinion across this vast country.

The strong showing of the hardline Islamists known as Salafists in the rural areas came as a particular surprise to many people.

Perhaps that should be expected in a system which has never before known full democracy, or indeed any means of reliably sounding out public opinion. Egypt has been run from the top down since the time of the pharaohs.

Another first: Egyptians are no longer afraid to give their opinions to strangers, and to express independent ideas. And despite the legacy of years of cynicism, many are genuinely excited about the election.

The best guess is that this election will be decided outside Cairo, in the rural areas, especially those of Upper Egypt.

And a very large number of the voters have not made up their minds, or may yet switch their choice.

Source

South Sudan's army took control of the disputed Heglig oilfield in April

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Sudan: Coping with divorce

Is war inevitable?

Rebels seek advantage

Southerners in legal limbo

Horror of deadly cattle vendetta

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki has arrived in Khartoum to attempt to restart negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan.

The African Union's mediator is due to meet Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to try to set out an agenda and timetable for talks.

Heavy fighting between Sudan and the new nation of South Sudan brought them to the verge of war last month.

The UN has threatened sanctions if the situation is not resolved swiftly.

According to a United Nations Security Council resolution, talks aimed at resolving the dispute should have started this week.

South Sudan – which only seceded from its northern neighbour last year – said it is prepared to talk without preconditions, while Sudan has said it wants negotiations to focus on security.

Territorial dispute

The latest crisis began in April when South Sudanese troops took over the Heglig oilfield, which is one of Sudan's biggest sources of revenue.

South Sudan claims the oilfield falls within its territory, but the exact location of the border still had not been decided when the South became an independent nation last July, taking most of the united country's oil with it.

Under international pressure, South Sudan later withdrew from Heglig.

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Main disputes between the two Sudans

The amount the South should pay Sudan to use its oil pipelines

Demarcating the border

Both sides claim Abyei

The rights of each other's citizens now in a foreign country – there are estimated to be 500,000 southerners in Sudan and 80,000 Sudanese in the South

Each accuses the other of supporting rebel groups on its territory

South Sudan refugees flown home

At a meeting of the Security Council on Thursday, members adopted a resolution demanding the finalisation of a jointly-run administration and police force for the disputed border region of Abyei near Heglig.

The United Nations has said that unless the border question and other issues are resolved within the next three months, it will consider imposing sanctions.

For that, the two countries need to sit round the negotiating table, but the latest round of fighting has derailed talks.

The two countries are also still to agree on what rights their citizens should have in the other – some 500,000 Southerners are now foreigners in Sudan, along with some 80,000 northerners in the South.

A deadline for a group of some 15,000 Southerners to leave Sudan expires on Sunday – the first group has already started flying to the South, a country some of them had never visited before.

In addition to meeting President Bashir and other senior officials in Khartoum, Mr Mbeki is expected to travel to the South's capital Juba to try to get the two sides to agree to new talks.

Sudan: A country divided

Oil fields

Geography

Ethnic groups

Infant mortality

Water & sanitation

Education

Food insecurity

Show regions

Both Sudan and the South are reliant on their oil revenues, which account for 98% of South Sudan’s budget. But the two countries cannot agree how to divide the oil wealth of the former united state. Some 75% of the oil lies in the South but all the pipelines run north. It is feared that disputes over oil could lead the two neighbours to return to war.

Although they were united for many years, the two Sudans were always very different. The great divide is visible even from space, as this Nasa satellite image shows. The northern states are a blanket of desert, broken only by the fertile Nile corridor. South Sudan is covered by green swathes of grassland, swamps and tropical forest.

Sudan’s arid north is mainly home to Arabic-speaking Muslims. But in South Sudan there is no dominant culture. The Dinkas and the Nuers are the largest of more than 200 ethnic groups, each with its own languages and traditional beliefs, alongside Christianity and Islam.

The health inequalities in Sudan are illustrated by infant mortality rates. In South Sudan, one in 10 children die before their first birthday. Whereas in the more developed northern states, such as Gezira and White Nile, half of those children would be expected to survive.

The gulf in water resources between north and south is stark. In Khartoum, River Nile, and Gezira states, two-thirds of people have access to piped drinking water and pit latrines. In the south, boreholes and unprotected wells are the main drinking sources. More than 80% of southerners have no toilet facilities whatsoever.

Throughout the two Sudans, access to primary school education is strongly linked to household earnings. In the poorest parts of the south, less than 1% of children finish primary school. Whereas in the wealthier north, up to 50% of children complete primary level education.

Conflict and poverty are the main causes of food insecurity in both countries. The residents of war-affected Darfur and South Sudan are still greatly dependent on food aid. Far more than in northern states, which tend to be wealthier, more urbanised and less reliant on agriculture.

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Worship and praise song called “Hosanna” featuring Brooke Fraser, worship leader and songwriter from Hillsong Church. Darlene Zschech is worship pastor. Hillsong Church (formerly Hills Christian Life Centre) is a Pentecostal Christian church affiliated with Australian Christian Churches, the Australian branch of the Assemblies of God denomination. The church is located in Sydney, Australia, headquartered at its “Hills” campus in Baulkham Hills’ Norwest Business Park in the Hills District. It also has a congregation designated the “City” campus which is located in Waterloo, near Sydney’s central business district. The church’s senior pastors are Brian and Bobbie Houston, who started the church in Baulkham Hills in 1983, later to merge with a church in the city to form Hillsong Church. Apart from the two main campuses, Hillsong Church currently has 14 extension services across Sydney. These extension services are based on either location or culture and rely on Hillsong Church for support and leadership. Hillsong Church’s international offshoots include Hillsong Church London, in the United Kingdom, Hillsong Church Kiev in Ukraine, Hillsong Church Cape Town in South Africa. These churches also have services in Paris, Berlin and Moscow. Hillsong Music has topped Australian charts, with albums achieving gold and platinum sales status. Hillsong has made its mark internationally with many travelling to Sydney for the annual Hillsong Conference, which attracts over 26000 people …