15 February 2012 Last updated at 06:59 ET
Syria plans vote on constitution
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has decreed that a referendum on the new draft constitution will be held on 26 February, state media report.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17040392
Is tyrant Assad buying time?

15 February 2012 Last updated at 21:28 ET
Libya militias threatening stability, says Amnesty
Carsten Jugersen, Amnesty International: "We have seen horrific images of people who have been tortured.
Armed militias are threatening the security and stability of Libya, Amnesty International has warned.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17053836

17 February 2012
AFRICA
Libyans are marking the anniversary of the uprising that led to the overthrow of Col Muammar Gaddafi after his rule of more than 40 years.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17070821

18 February 2012 Last updated at 05:46 ET
China urges all sides to end Syria violence
The opposition says the government's bombardment of Homs is continuing
A Chinese envoy visiting Syria has called on all sides in the country to end violence, amid talks with President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17083656
Way to go China

Africa
Clashes in Senegal ahead of presidential poll
Police clash with demonstrators for a fourth day of protest against the candidacy of incumbent President Wade.
Last Modified: 19 Feb 2012 06:08

Opposition leaders and civil society group M-23 have vowed to make the country ungovernable if Wade does not step down and withdraw his bid to seek a third term, arguing that his bid breaches rules setting a two-term presidential limit.

"I'm counting on President Obasanjo to come and look at President Wade eye-to-eye and tell him that at nearly 90 years old, it is time to retire," said Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, a former foreign minister in Wade's government who is one of the 13 candidates in the presidential poll.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/20 ... 72748.html
Brave people

20 February 2012 Last updated at 05:50 ET
Senegal apology amid protests against Abdoulaye Wade
Senegal's government has apologized for a "police blunder" after tear gas was thrown into a mosque amid protests against President Abdoulaye Wade's re-election bid.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17094619

protests broke out in January after the country's highest court ruled that Mr Wade could seek a third term and banned singer Youssou Ndour from standing.
The constitution limits heads of state to two terms in office but the judges ruled that Mr Wade's first term did not count as this was before the limit was introduced.
Once a veteran opposition leader himself, Mr Wade, 85, was first elected in 2000 - ending 40 years of rule by the Socialist Party.

21 February 2012 Last updated at 05:39 ET
Zimbabwe's Mugabe jokes: I have beaten Jesus Christ
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has denied reports he has cancer, joking that he has died and been resurrected more times than Jesus Christ.
On his 88th birthday, he told state radio: "I am fit as a fiddle".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17110754
Another greedy dictator who doesn't know how to take the exit.

22 February 2012 Last updated at 05:16 ET
Senegal: Former Nigerian leader Obasanjo in peace bid

Former Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo is to meet Senegal's opposition to try to defuse rising tensions ahead of Sunday's elections.
Mr Obasanjo is in Dakar as head of a joint African Union-Economic Community of West African States observer mission.
At least six people have been killed in weeks of violent protests against President Abdoulaye Wade's candidacy.
His rivals say his third term bid is illegal.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17124850

The constitution limits heads of state to two terms in office but the judges ruled that Mr Wade's first term did not count as this was before the limit was introduced.

23 February 2012 Last updated at 07:30 ET
Somalia conference told of chance for change in war-torn nation
World leaders have urged Somalis to seize an "unprecedented opportunity" to rebuild their nation, at a gathering in London on the war-torn nation's future.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17131208

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: "The people of Somalia have... heard many promises, and seen many deadlines come and go."

24 February 2012 Last updated at 07:55 ET
Somalia air strike 'kills foreign al-Shabab militants'
Members of Somalia's al-Shabab militant group parade during a demonstration to announce their integration with al-Qaeda south of the capital, Mogadishu, on 13 February 2012 Al-Shabab militants
An air strike in al-Shabab-held southern Somalia has killed four people, including three foreigners, eyewitnesses have told the BBC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17152158

We heard a very loud explosion, and people are saying the target was a vehicle of al-Shabab”
Ahmed Moalim Lower Shabelle villager