News & Information on Africa
The African continent is home to 54 countries and more than 800 million
people. Sub-Saharan Africa comprises 48 countries, and North Africa comprises
6 countries. All but the disputed territory of Western Sahara (which is
occupied by Morocco) are members of the United Nations.
On this page, you will find links to basic information and current news
for every country in Africa. For a map of the African continent, see the
Maps page.
Headlines from Africa
BBC News | Africa | World Edition African Union in rift with court The African Union halts co-operation with the International Criminal Court over its war-crimes charges against Sudan's leader. Kenya sets new tribunal deadline Kenya and the ICC agree a new deadline to set up a special tribunal to try the ringleaders of post-election violence.
Rai star jailed for abortion bid Algerian Rai music star Cheb Mami is jailed for five years in France for trying to force his former partner to have an abortion. Month mourning for Comoros crash The Comoros will mourn the victims of this week's plane crash for 30 days, the president of Indian Ocean nation announces. Sahara gas pipeline gets go-ahead Nigeria, Niger and Algeria agree to build a giant multi-billion-dollar gas pipeline across the Sahara desert.
Africa leaders edge towards unity The African Union reaches a compromise plan to give it greater powers in "common-interest" policies. Italy adopts law to curb migrants Italy's parliament passes a law criminalising illegal migrants and allowing citizens' patrols to help the police. 'Fighter influx' for Somali group An Islamist commander in Somalia tells the BBC there has been a recent influx of fighters from overseas joining their battle. Ghanaian body found in aircraft A man's body is found in the undercarriage of a plane which had flown into Gatwick from Ghana. South African fans moonwalk for Michael Jackson Crowds of Michael Jackson fans from South Africa perform his famous dance moves in tribute to the pop icon. Nigaz name sparks racism debate A new joint-venture energy firm between Nigeria and Russia has got online communities twittering, after the governments choose the name Nigaz. Mourinho arrives in Nigeria Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho is in Nigeria for a three-day trip during which he will help local coaches. S Africa target transport concerns South African authorities say they will work to resolve transport problems ahead of next year's World Cup Finals. Kader Keita on the move Ivory Coast international Abdel Kader Keita moves from Lyon to Galatasaray on a three-year contract. Danger zone BBC visits Somalia's radical guerrillas al-Shabab Kick the habit Zanzibar heroin addicts team up to go clean 'Forced to rebel' Ethiopian explains why he decided to take up arms In pictures East African slaves among collection of archive images Hometown glory Libya's Gadaffi hosts the AU at Sirte summit Bamboo bikes Zambian company hopes to profit from growth market Niger anger at court appointment Opposition groups in Niger condemn the president's appointment of new top judges, as he tries to run for a third term. Zimbabwe court clears UK tycoon UK businessman Nicholas van Hoogstraten is cleared of illegal currency dealing and possession of pornography by a Zimbabwe court. Air crash survivor back in France The 12-year-old survivor of the Yemenia air crash near the Comoros returns to Paris as the search for debris goes on. IMF refuses aid for Zimbabwe The International Monetary Fund tells Zimbabwe it will not provide more funds until it has settled its existing $1bn debts. SA MPs propose new media chiefs South Africa MPs propose five names to head the country's public broadcaster, a day after its entire board was sacked. Developing world faces age crisis Researchers predict a "population time bomb" in developing world nations because of their rapidly ageing populations. S Africa passes World Cup test Did South Africa pass its World Cup test? Horror of Kenya's 'witch' lynchings BBC reporter sees mob burn women alive in Kenya Hoping for change in Bissau Can Bissau poll end drugs trade and army violence? SAB reaches black ownership deal SABMiller is to allocate 10% of shares in its South African unit to black investors, employees and community groups. China's 'huge Zimbabwe loan' China agrees to give Zimbabwe a loan of $950m (£573m) to help revive its wrecked economy, says Prime Minister Tsvangirai. Should drug addicts be punished? If your family member was a drug addict, would you try to help them quit or scorn them and turn them in to the police? Nigaz: Lost in translation? Russia joint gas venture with Nigeria has courted controversy .Will this incident have any lasting impact on Russia-African relations? View: Tsvangirai's ambiguous trip Why Tsvangirai went from prophet to pariah 
Data Sites (sites with country-specific
data files)
UN CyberSchoolBus
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/infonation/e_glance.htm
The UN CyberSchoolBus includes country-specific information about
population, economy and mission addresses.
CIA Factbook
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook
Geography, government, economy, and other reference data.
Mbendi
http://www.mbendi.co.za/cyaf.htm
Brief background summaries from a business-oriented site.
U.S. Department of Energy
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/contents.html
Energy production and trade data by country.
Electronic Embassy
http://www.embassy.org/embassies/index.html
A listing of all the foreign embassies in Washington.
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com
The world's largest on-line bookshop.
Meta Sites (sites with large collections
of country-specific links)
African Governments on the Web
http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/africa.html
African Governments on the Web provides direct links by country
to more than 290 web sites produced by African political parties and official
government institutions, including overseas embassies.
University of Texas
http://menic.utexas.edu/menic/menic.html
This Middle East Network contains country specific information for North
Africa.
Stanford University Africa South of the Sahara
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/guide.html
This guide to selected internet resources contains sections on African
regions and many individual African countries. Each entry is annotated,
and a wide range of information is included.
University of Pennsylvania African Studies
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/AS.html
Penn's site is one of the most comprehensive academic sites for Africa
information, fully searchable, with a wide range of accumulated material
and many links to other sites.
The Norwegian Council Index on Africa
http://www.afrika.no/index/
A comprehensive guide, with an extensive list of country specific sites
for all 54 African countries, as well as various topical and news-related
links.
Woyaa!
http://www.woyaa.com
A comprehensive site with both country-specific and subject links, in
English and French.
Columbia University
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/africa/cuvl/
This is a resource guide that links to regional sources for news, politics,
economics and culture.
News Sites with Country-Specific Information
AllAfrica.com: Africa News Online
http://allafrica.com/
This is a gateway site with the greatest volume of up-to-date news coverage
from the entire continent.
BBC Africa Page
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/default.stm
Current country-specific news from the leading international radio news
outlet.
CNN Africa Page
http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/africa/archive/
Current Africa news from the leading international television news outlet.
Daily Reports from IRIN
http://www.irinnews.org/
The Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN), a branch of the United
Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, provides
regional and country-specific humanitarian news updates.
Online Newspapers
http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/index.htm
Online Newspapers provides access to daily and weekly on-line newspapers
from around the continent.
Books by Countries
Amazon has African history sections for browsing on the countries listed
below. For countries not listed, and for more links on each region, click
on the regions.

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