More than 100 are injured in the assault on a Shiite procession in Quetta, which comes two days after similar attacks on Shiites in Lahore.

A suicide bombing Friday targeting a Shiite Muslim procession in the southern city of Quetta killed 58 people and injured more than 100, police said. The explosion came two days after bomb attacks killed 35 people during a Shiite march in another Pakistani city.

The 7.1-magnitude temblor causes widespread damage in Christchurch, but no deaths and only two serious injuries are reported.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck New Zealand's South Island early Saturday and caused widespread damage, but no deaths and only two serious injuries were reported. Looters broke into some damaged shops in Christchurch, police said.

Palestinian security forces, reformed and retrained, have made a strong show of force, arresting hundreds of suspects. But human rights groups accuse them of detaining people without proper cause.

Recent Palestinian attacks on West Bank settlers, which are likely to increase in response to relaunched peace talks, pose one of the biggest challenges yet to U.S.-trained Palestinian security forces and their uneasy alliance with the Israeli military.

The recent killing of 72 people, from El Salvador, Honduras and other nations, as they tried to cross through Mexico into the U.S., has sent shockwaves across the continent. But many may still attempt the perilous trek.

Cayetano Flores wishes he had just said no.

The premier has banked on discord among his competitors allowing him to win a second term. But the Iraqi National Alliance coalition names a current vice president, Adel Abdul Mehdi, as its choice.

After months of bickering, a main political rival of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki named a candidate to head the next Iraqi government, a move that poses a new obstacle to the incumbent and is likely to further complicate formation of the government.

The ancient and storied relic, now a gray lump that's all but ignored, might have been an altar to the goddess Diana or part of a monument erected by the Romans.

It isn't much to look at: a gray lump of rock behind an ugly metal grill, attached to an even uglier building. You have to crouch down to see it, and its admittedly modest (or maybe nonexistent) charm can seem trifling compared with the glories of St. Paul's Cathedral or Westminster Abbey.

The fisheries and aquaculture sectors are central to the survival of millions in Africa, but the resource is under threat, yet the region should exploit market possibilities.

The recent fire damage to Ultima Studios' in Nigeria (see Broadcast News below) and the 2008 fire in Universal Studios' video vault underline the importance of holding a back-up and making a proper archive of work. Balancing Act's Sylvain Beletre looks at what the practice in Africa has been so far and suggests some easy ways to overcome the problem.

PETROLEUM retailer Engen is on the verge of buying Chevron's downstream assets in seven sub-Saharan Africa and Indian Ocean Island countries, the company said yesterday.

New varieties of drought-tolerant maize could deliver a US$1.5 billion gain in food and income in Sub-Saharan Africa as well as helping smallholders cope with the effects of climate change, according to a study carried out in 13 countries in the region.

As rising food prices, growing populations and natural disasters increasingly put pressure on food production, governments and scientists are focusing on preserving the world's agricultural biodiversity through seed and gene banks.

Angola will host an African chess summit on Saturday in Luanda, with the participation of 13 countries, to adopt a unified programme for the development of the sport in the continent.

More than 100 are injured in the assault on a Shiite procession in Quetta, which comes two days after similar attacks on Shiites in Lahore.

A suicide bombing Friday targeting a Shiite Muslim procession in the southern city of Quetta killed 58 people and injured more than 100, police said. The explosion came two days after bomb attacks killed 35 people during a Shiite march in another Pakistani city.

The 7.1-magnitude temblor causes widespread damage in Christchurch, but no deaths and only two serious injuries are reported.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck New Zealand's South Island early Saturday and caused widespread damage, but no deaths and only two serious injuries were reported. Looters broke into some damaged shops in Christchurch, police said.

Palestinian security forces, reformed and retrained, have made a strong show of force, arresting hundreds of suspects. But human rights groups accuse them of detaining people without proper cause.

Recent Palestinian attacks on West Bank settlers, which are likely to increase in response to relaunched peace talks, pose one of the biggest challenges yet to U.S.-trained Palestinian security forces and their uneasy alliance with the Israeli military.

The recent killing of 72 people, from El Salvador, Honduras and other nations, as they tried to cross through Mexico into the U.S., has sent shockwaves across the continent. But many may still attempt the perilous trek.

Cayetano Flores wishes he had just said no.

The premier has banked on discord among his competitors allowing him to win a second term. But the Iraqi National Alliance coalition names a current vice president, Adel Abdul Mehdi, as its choice.

After months of bickering, a main political rival of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki named a candidate to head the next Iraqi government, a move that poses a new obstacle to the incumbent and is likely to further complicate formation of the government.

The ancient and storied relic, now a gray lump that's all but ignored, might have been an altar to the goddess Diana or part of a monument erected by the Romans.

It isn't much to look at: a gray lump of rock behind an ugly metal grill, attached to an even uglier building. You have to crouch down to see it, and its admittedly modest (or maybe nonexistent) charm can seem trifling compared with the glories of St. Paul's Cathedral or Westminster Abbey.

AP - Health officials in Chad say an outbreak of cholera in the Central African nation has killed at least 41 people.

Groups of looters attacked stalls in the main markets of the central Mozambican city of Beira on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, according to a report in Friday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias".

The death toll from the rioting in Maputo and the neighbouring city of Matola on Wednesday and Thursday has now risen to ten, according to Health Minister Ivo Garrido.

After two days of rioting over price rises, Maputo was mostly calm on Friday, but a few minor disturbances occurred in some outlying neighbourhoods.

Mozambique?s government refused yesterday to reverse this week?s price hikes that have hit the poorest, sparking the country?s worst riots in two years.

In Mali, malnutrition threatens the health of children like Adama. But thanks to a 12-day nutritional training program organized by World Vision, mothers can learn how to feed their children balanced and healthy meals.

World Vision has sent an assessment team to the area affected by a catastrophic landslide in China's Gansu province. Our team is determining needs there while continuing our response to deadly floods that hit the country in June.

As the nation marks the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, forecasters are predicting this year’s record warm seas could trigger another devastating hurricane season. World Vision is prepared to respond to severe storms this year, just as we did in 2005.

After a harrowing escape from deadly floods in Pakistan, Nasreen and her family are thankful for an emergency distribution of food and water they received from World Vision.

From a very young age, Christorey worked for pennies and struggled to face his parents' alcoholism and their impoverished situation. But thanks to World Vision, he was able to beat the odds and go back to school.

Once subject to ridicule because her parents died of AIDS, 15-year-old Chamroeun is now an educated leader in her community.

Police in Mozambique's capital fire rubber bullets on the third day of riots, as the violence spreads to the central city of Chimoio.

The United Nations' food agency calls a special meeting of policy makers to discuss the recent rapid rises in food prices.

Nigeria's economy will hit double-digit growth by the end of 2011 or early 2012, the country's finance minister says.

The committee set up to organise a referendum on independence in southern Sudan decides on a northerner to be its head.

South Africa strongly criticises Madagascar over the life sentence passed on exiled President Marc Ravalomanana.

South Africa is to start expelling Zimbabweans again, from 31 December, the government announces.

Remember that even though you may not like each other everyday.....it doesn`t mean that you don`t love each other everyday!

Already stricken by a severe food crisis brought on by a prolonged drought, the people of Niger have now to contend with floods which have affected more than 200,000 people, the United Nations said on Friday.

No nation on earth is without developmental challenges and problems. The advanced countries of this world have once travelled the trajectory our dear nation Ghana is charting and were equally buffeted by all the scourges one could imagine. But what catapulted most of them to greater heights were strong institutions which fulfilled their expected roles designed for them by society.

The recent fire damage to Ultima Studios' in Nigeria (see Broadcast News below) and the 2008 fire in Universal Studios' video vault underline the importance of holding a back-up and making a proper archive of work. Balancing Act's Sylvain Beletre looks at what the practice in Africa has been so far and suggests some easy ways to overcome the problem.

AFTER the ignominy of failing to qualify for the African Cup of Nations at the beginning of the year, Bafana Bafana will attempt to haul themselves on the road to redemption when they host little-known Niger in the must-win opening qualifying match of the 2012 continental showpiece at Mbombela Stadium tomorrow night.

The Legislature has passed the Freedom of Information Act that originated from the Press Union of Liberia, and it now awaits the President signature to become.

Ahead of the Lone Star's home match on Sunday with the Warriors of Zimbabwe in the qualifiers of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) final in 2012, the Liberia Football Association has excluded three overseas players from participation in the pending encounter after they were accused of breaking camp.

More than 100 demonstrations are planned across France to protest against the government's policy of deporting Roma people.

Police declare an overnight curfew in Christchurch, New Zealand, after a powerful earthquake causes considerable damage but no fatalities.

Scientists from the US space agency Nasa advise the trapped Chilean miners to exercise and regulate their day and night sleep patterns.

Eggs and shoes are thrown at the former Prime Minister Tony Blair as he attends a book signing in Dublin.

Violence in Afghanistan will get worse before it gets better, the UK's most senior military commander in the country tells the BBC.

The South Korean Foreign Minister, Yu Myung-hwan, offers to resign after it was revealed that his daughter was offered a job in his ministry.