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ANGOLA is set to overtake Nigeria as Africa’s largest producer of crude oil within a matter of years, according to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA). In its Africa Energy Outlook special report, the IEA predicts that Nigeria will lose its top spot in 2016 and won’t recover it until at least the early 2020s. Nigeria is producing around 2.37m bbl/d, but this has fallen by around 6% in the space of a year according to data from the US Energy Information Agency. Angola, meanwhile, is currently the world’s 17th biggest energy producer with an output of around 1.9m bbl/d of oil. The group acknowledges that Nigeria is the richest resource centre of the oil sector,” but says that regulatory uncertainty, militant activity and rampant oil theft in the Niger Delta are deterring investment and production. It claims that the value of the estimated 150,000 bbl/d of oil lost to theft – amounting to more than US$5bn/y – would be sufficient to fund universal access to electricit...

A three-day curfew or lockdown to try to stop the spread of the Ebola virus has come into effect in Sierra Leone. The aim of the move is to keep people confined to their homes while health workers isolate new cases and prevent Ebola from spreading further. Critics say the lockdown will destroy trust between doctors and the public. Sierra Leona is one of the countries worst hit by West Africa's Ebola outbreak, which has killed more than 2,600 people. The UN Security Council on Thursday declared the outbreak a threat to international peace and security. The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution calling on states to provide more resources to combat it. Even the heavy downpour that deluged Freetown since dawn on Thursday did not stop thousands of people from rushing to supermarkets and vegetable markets to stock up on food ahead of the lockdown declared by the president. The government hopes this drastic action will prove to be the magic bullet in the bat...

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A year ago, Somalis dared to hope this troubled east African country had turned a corner, leaving behind the chaos and violence of a past marred by terrorism. Now, residents are bracing for fresh attacks as extremists seek revenge following the death of Ahmed Abdi Godane — leader of the militant group al-Shabaab , an al-Qaeda linked organization in Africa — earlier this week by a U.S. airstrike. On Saturday, government facilities in the capital of Mogadishu were placed on high alert after Somalia's national security minister, Gen. Khalif Ahmed Ereg, said the government had credible intelligence that militants are planning attacks. In a televised speech Friday night, Ereg said targets could include medical and educational institutions. Residents here wonder what went wrong: A year ago, it was rare to encounter roaming bands of gunmen in Mogadishu. However, that stability was always fragile at best, and gunmen began returning earlier this year as militants...

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A commander of Somalia's Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, confirms that the leader of the terror group was killed in a U.S. airstrike. Abu Mohammed said Saturday the militants were meeting at an undisclosed location to pick the successor to Ahmed Abdi Godane. Godane and other al-Shabab officials were killed when a U.S. airstrike hit two cars in southern Somalia on Monday. A senior Somali intelligence officer, who insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press, said Zakariya Ismael who has a $3 million bounty on his head, is one of the candidates to succeed Godane. Godane had publicly claimed al-Shabab was responsible for the deadly Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya. Al-Shabab is an Islamic extremist group aligned with al-Qaida.

he Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, has charged the media to be mindful of its reportage, especially in conflict and terrorism situations, stating that the activities of the terrorists have refused to take the exit door because the media offer them free space and coverage. The Minister gave the charge in Abuja, at the Responsibility to Report, R2R Executive Seminar, organized by the German embassy to address the issue on the Ppower of the media when reporting terror acts entitled: Managing the Media in a Crisis. Maku who cautioned against the consequences the  media actions, stated that anti-democrats exploit the media to manipulate them into reporting what they want them to report. “Terrorism is still very much around because the media was constantly granting free space for the extremists to sell their ideologies. This is why the media must know and begin to change that attitude and look towards the interest of the country. “I think the media should be mindful o...

NAIROBI, Kenya — The U.N. mission in South Sudan says one of its helicopters has crashed, and a U.N. official told The Associated Press that it appears the aircraft was shot down. The U.N. mission said on Twitter that an Mi-18 cargo helicopter crashed Tuesday near Bentiu, which is hotly contested between the government and rebels. The U.N. said it is deeply concerned about the fate of its crew. A search and rescue team has been sent to the crash site. The U.N. official, who insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said contact with the helicopter was lost at about 3:19 p.m. and that it was apparently shot down near Bentiu. South Sudan has seen widespread massive violence between rebels and the national army since December.

Washington - A scary problem lurks beyond the frenzied efforts to keep people from spreading Ebola: No one knows exactly where the virus comes from or how to stop it from seeding new outbreaks. Ebola has caused two dozen outbreaks in Africa since it first emerged in 1976. It is coming from somewhere - probably bats - but experts agree they need to pinpoint its origins in nature. That has had to wait until they can tame the current outbreak, which has claimed more than 1 100 lives in four countries - the worst toll from Ebola in history. "First and foremost get the outbreak under control. Once that piece is resolved, then go back and find what the source is," said Jonathan Towner, a scientist who helped find the bat source of another Ebola-like disease called Marburg. Towner works for the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Others say finding Ebola's origins is more than a down-the-road scientific curiosity. "Confirming the source would defin...

CAIRO (AP) The co-founder of U.S.-based anti-war group Code Pink says Egyptian police detained her at the airport when she tried to enter the country and assaulted her, fracturing her shoulder, as they handcuffed her before deporting her. An Egyptian airport official denied any assault, speaking anonymously because he wasn't authorized to brief reporters. Medea Benjamin says she was detained for hours at the airport upon arrival on route to the Gaza Strip as part of an international women's delegation. She says that when she refused to be deported without first meeting U.S. Embassy officials, they forced her into handcuffs, fracturing her shoulder. She was then put on a plane to Turkey. She spoke from Istanbul, where she said she was kept without her passport until the next flight to the U.S.

Macedonia's parliament will likely be dissolved by Wednesday ahead of the snap elections on April 27. Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski has agreed to early general elections next month after his ruling coalition failed to agree on a presidential candidate. "For the sake of state and national interest I accept early parliamentary elections to be held" on April 27, Gruevski told a meeting of his VMRO-DPMNE party, paving the way for a possible split with the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI). The smaller ethnic Albanian party had called for snap polls after rejecting an April 13 re-election bid by President Gjorge Ivanov, the candidate backed by Gruesvski's conservative VMRO-DPMNE. Local media said parliament will likely be dissolved by Wednesday ahead of the snap elections on April 27, when a presidential run-off would also be held if no winner emerges on April 13. A voter survey in December showed the ruling party would win 59 of the 123 seats i...

CAIRO (AP) - Egypt's new interim government was sworn in Saturday, a lightly reshuffled Cabinet with familiar faces that keeps powerful ministers in charge of the country's security and military services in place ahead of an anticipated presidential election. The new Cabinet, Egypt's sixth government since its 2011 revolt against autocrat Hosni Mubarak, retains Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi as defense minister. Many believe the wildly popular el-Sissi, who led the July 3 overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, will run for president. The change of government before the presidential vote appeared orchestrated to curb rising criticism of the outgoing military-backed Cabinet, which was accused of failing to stem widening labor strikes and continued protests. The new lineup by new interim Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehlib largely removed Cabinet members belonging to political parties formed after the 2011 revolt, replacing them with technocrats or businessmen. ...

As Egypt continues to grapple with the fallout of three years of political tumult that has seen six cabinets to date, a new caretaker government is now in place to face afresh the daunting task of returning stability and economic confidence. Formed in the wake of the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, the interim government led by liberal economist Hazem El-Beblawi stepped down Monday -- a move analysts view as an attempt to quell growing disillusionment against a backdrop of labour strikes, militant violence and a faltering economy. The departing cabinet bowed out following months of mounting pressure from what critics say was a relentless campaign waged by old regime protagonists to exclude democrats and revive the police state.  A new adminstration was sworn in on Saturday by new Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb, a former official in Mubarak's erstwhile ruling party and an MP under his tenure.   "The state hawks think the dust has settled and their battle with...

Cairo - Egypt's government resigned on Monday, paving the way for army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to declare his candidacy for president of a strategic US ally gripped by political strife. After the July overthrow of elected Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and subsequent crackdown on Islamists and liberals with hundreds killed and thousands jailed, critics say Cairo's military-backed authorities are turning the clock back to the era of autocrat Hosni Mubarak, when the political elite ruled with an iron fist in alliance with top businessmen. The outgoing government “made every effort to get Egypt out of the narrow tunnel in terms of security, economic pressures and political confusion”, Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi said in a live nationwide speech. Beblawi, who was tasked by interim President Adly Mansour with running the government's affairs until the election, did not give a clear reason for the decision. But the resignation effectively opened th...

TRIPOLI  The headquarters of Libya's General National Congress (interim parliament) was evacuated Sunday evening after a shell fell into the building. "The shell landed into the courtyard while lawmakers were discussing the dissolution of militias," Abdel-Rahman al-Sowehli, chairman of the Defense Committee, told Anadolu Agency. A parliamentary source said that the session was suspended following the attack. No casualties were reported. By Mohamed al-Nagem

Chief Goodnews Agbi is a leading chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Delta State. In this interview, he bares his mind on a number of issues relating to the party at national and state levels. Excerpts: By Festus Ahon You were a pioneer member of the NEC of the PDP; 15 years after, how would you assess the performance of the party generally?   So far, the major achievement of the party is that, under its watch, democracy has thrived in Nigeria uninterruptedly. Don’t forget ours is a growing democracy compared to the advanced democracies of Europe and the United States of America. For this singular reason, I will say PDP has not failed the nation. But like other democracies there is room for improvement. How would you score the Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan? The Governor started slowly, but he appears to be finishing strongly. Take for instance the area of insecurity, like kidnapping and armed robbery that was initially on the high side when he assu...

KHARTOUM: An emergency regional summit planned for Thursday in the capital of war-torn South Sudan has been cancelled, official media in Khartoum said. The East African regional bloc IGAD has been mediating in talks in Ethiopia between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and rebels allied to his sacked deputy, Riek Machar. But those talks are deadlocked and IGAD, the seven-member Intergovernmental Authority on Development, had called the special summit for Thursday in South Sudan's capital Juba. "The government received an urgent memo today from the IGAD secretary informing them that the emergency summit... has been cancelled", Sudan's official SUNA news agency quoted Abdul Mahmud Abdul Halim, a senior official in Khartoum's foreign ministry, as saying Tuesday. The report gave no reason for the cancellation. South Sudan's foreign ministry spokesman Mayen Makol said earlier that he hoped all seven IGAD heads of state would attend. "The key ...

CENTRAL African Republic’s interim president, Michel Djotodia, has caved in to international pressure and resigned after failing to halt inter-religious violence, drawing thousands onto the streets in celebration. The resignations of Mr Djotodia and his prime minister Nicolas Tiangaye yesterday were announced in a statement issued at a two-day summit of the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC) in neighbouring Chad. Talks to decide on new leadership will take place in Central African Republic, it said. Thousands of people have been killed and one million displaced by cycles of violence since abuses by Mr Djotodia’s mainly Muslim rebels, known as Seleka, prompted the creation of Christian self-defence militia after he seized power in March. With memories of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide stirred by the unrest, France sent hundreds of troops to its former colony last month to support African peacekeepers. However, the killings have continued, and France has repeatedly...

Five people were killed and scores of others were injured across Egypt on Friday as demonstrators supporting the Muslim Brotherhood clashed with police, the semiofficial Ahram Online news outlet reported. The demonstrations are just the latest by the Islamist group, which has regularly protested Egypt's interim government since the Brotherhood-backed President Mohamed Morsy was ousted in a coup in July. The Muslim Brotherhood also has focused its ire on Egypt's January 14-15 referendum on a new constitution that would ban religious parties and put more power in the hands of the military. At least some of those who died Friday were protesters, Ahram Online reported. The outlet didn't say who caused the deaths. One protester was killed in Cairo's Nasr City district, where demonstrators threw rocks and fireworks at police, who responded by firing tear gas, according to Ahram Online. Two protesters were fatally shot in clashes in the northern Egyptian city of Ismaili...

The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan has called for an end to the fighting, and to give peace talks a chance to work. Hilde Johnson said South Sudan was at a crossroads, but could still be saved. At least 1,000 people have died since fighting broke out last month. Both the government and rebels have agreed to send delegations to peace talks in neighbouring Ethiopia, but so far the rebels have not agreed to a cessation of hostilities. There are reports that heavy fighting is continuing in the key town of Bor on Wednesday. Supporters of President Salva Kiir are fighting those of his sacked deputy Riek Machar. Much to discuss The talks in Ethiopia are due to begin on either Wednesday or Thursday.Observers say the discussions are likely to be complicated, as the two sides will have to agree on a mechanism to monitor a ceasefire. Mr Kiir has already ruled out any power-sharing arrangement with Mr Machar in the longer term. Mr Machar claimed his delegation would b...

Al-Azhar, one of the main centres of Sunni Muslim learning Supporters of Egypt's Islamist Muslim Brotherhood have set fire to university buildings in Cairo, state TV says. One protester was shot dead as students fought police at al-Azhar University, health ministry officials said. Students denied starting blazes in the business faculty, where exams had to be postponed, and the agriculture faculty. Authorities have cracked down on the Brotherhood since July, when Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, who belongs to the group, was deposed by the army. The campus fires had been brought under control by Saturday afternoon, and some 60 people had been arrested, reports said. The Brotherhood, which had been banned since September from all activity, was declared a terrorist group on Wednesday following a suicide bombing of a police headquarters in the Nile Delta. The government said the Brotherhood was behind the attack - a charge it strongly denied. It is the latest measure taken aga...

East African leaders on Friday gave South Sudan's warring factions four days to lay down their arms after nearly two weeks of widening violence. If they don't, the leaders of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) warned they'll "take action" to stop the conflict that the United Nations says has killed more than 1,000 and forced some 121,000 from their homes. The group didn't specify what sort of action it would take. But a communique issued Friday in Nairobi, Kenya, appears to throw the group's weight behind South Sudanese President Salva Kiir. The group said it would not accept a violent overthrow of the country's democratically elected government, and said any change must come through the democratic process. Kiir has accused rival politician Riek Machar, his former vice president, of trying to stage a coup. Machar has denied involvement in a coup. Fighting broke out between Kiir's government and supporters of Machar on Decem...