North Africa

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US to Reopen Most Diplomatic Posts

Facilities in Yemen and Pakistan will remain closed

(Newser) - The State Department plans to reopen all but one of the diplomatic posts it shuttered this week over a possible al-Qaeda attack , reports CNN . Only the embassy in Sanaa Yemen will stay closed over continued concerns of a terror strike. The Obama administration will reopen 18 other facilities throughout North...

Once-Green Sahara Turned to Dust Quickly

Change occurred 5K years ago, over a century or two

(Newser) - You wouldn't know it from looking around today, but the Sahara desert was once a lush, green wonderland of lakes, vegetation, and animals. And then poof, relatively speaking, it turned into the desert we know today. Researchers studying 30,000 years of dust sediment off the coast of Africa...

North Africa Militants Eye New Western Targets: Report

New concerns about al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

(Newser) - Washington is growing increasingly concerned about groups like al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, once considered less of a threat than other branches. Following the attack on an Algerian gas plant that killed dozens, north African militant groups are on the hunt for new Western targets, US officials tell the Washington ...

African Nations Agree: Let's Invade Mali

Leaders aim to wrest northern Mali from Islamist control

(Newser) - West African nations yesterday agreed to send some 3,000 troops to help the country of Mali wrest back control of its northern half, which was seized by al-Qaeda-linked fighters more than six months ago, according to an official and a report on Nigerian state television. The decision came at...

US Gives Up on Taliban Peace Deal

 US Gives Up on 
 Taliban Peace Deal 
Plus: Al-Qaeda in North Africa
Oct 2, 2012 7:27 AM CDT

US Gives Up on Taliban Peace Deal

And sees fresh danger from al-Qaeda in North Africa

(Newser) - The US has essentially given up hope of negotiating a peace settlement with the Taliban, once a key piece of its strategy for ending the Afghan war, generals and civilian officials tell the New York Times . Their new, more modest goal is to lay the groundwork for the Afghans to...

North Africa Unrest: Protests Spread to Morocco
 Thousands March in Morocco 
Feb 20, 2011 12:48 PM CST

Thousands March in Morocco

Some target parliament, prime minister in calls for constitutional reform

(Newser) - The protests sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa have made their way to Morocco, where demonstrators took to the streets of the capital today. An organizer estimates more than 5,000 people attended, demanding a new constitution, among other things; police put the number at less than 3,...

Tunisian Police Kill 2, Injure 17

Protest turned violent after police chief slapped a woman

(Newser) - Two people were killed by police gunfire and 17 were injured in northwestern Tunisia yesterday, after a local police chief allegedly slapped a woman during a demonstration, causing protesters to turn against the police. About 1,000 people threw stones and small firebombs at the local police station, burning two...

Rush: Who Cares About Journalist Attacks in Egypt?

...or, at least, who cares about 'New York Times' reporters?

(Newser) - For some reason, Rush Limbaugh isn’t particularly worried about the journalists being systematically attacked in Egypt. “It is being breathlessly reported that the Egyptian army is rounding up foreign journalists,” Rush said, in a segment caught by Mediaite . "Now this is supposed to make us feel...

Algeria Lifting 19-Year State of Emergency

Leaders loosen up in bid to stave off unrest

(Newser) - Algeria's president, apparently trying to stave off unrest, says the state of emergency that has been in place since 1992 will be lifted "in the very near future." President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has told ministers that state-controlled media should give air time to all political parties, and that protest...

Global Rates of Alzheimer's Disease Soar

Aging populations drive increase; developing world will be hit hard

(Newser) - Rising life expectancy in the developing world will lead to a dramatic increase in the number of people stricken by Alzheimer’s disease, HealthDay News reports. The number of dementia cases worldwide will reach 35.6 million in 2010, a 10% increase over the total in 2005. That number is...

Face of Jihad Ever More Youthful
Face of Jihad Ever More Youthful
Dec 28, 2007 3:03 PM CST

Face of Jihad Ever More Youthful

Teens as young as 15 turn to web to connect with extremists

(Newser) - They’re young, impressionable, disillusioned, and they’re seeking out al-Qaeda: Muslims as young as 15 are connecting with Islamic extremists over the web and becoming radicalized through jihadist videos and literature, the Christian Science Monitor reports. In Morocco and elsewhere, teenagers reinforce an increasingly decentralized al-Qaeda. They have “...

Algiers Searches for Missing
Algiers Searches for Missing
Dec 12, 2007 8:44 AM CST

Algiers Searches for Missing

Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for twin blasts that killed dozens

(Newser) - Rescuers worked though the night to locate missing UN workers and others trapped in the rubble left by yesterday's twin car bombs in Algiers, which a North African group linked to al-Qaeda claims to have detonated. Death counts vary, but the UN estimates that 45 were killed, including a dozen...

European Militants Find Training in Pakistan

Fighters wary of Iraq are groomed for terror ops on Afghan border

(Newser) - Renewed Al-Qaeda strength on the Pakistan-Afghan border is wooing European militants to train in Pakistan, the Los Angeles Times reports. Fighters who are wary of Iraq—where they may have to strap on a bomb on short notice—can enjoy being groomed for missions in Pakistan. “Pakistan worries me...

BP Snags Libyan Gas Fields
BP Snags Libyan Gas Fields
May 30, 2007 10:00 AM CDT

BP Snags Libyan Gas Fields

North Africa is looking more attractive to big business—especially the oil business

(Newser) - The deal BP made with Libya this week for rights to huge gas fields demonstrates the new attraction North Africa has for investors. Once controlled by what Business Week calls "pariahs and basket cases," the area now looks stable (compared to the Middle East, that is) and is...

Bombers Hit Algerian Capital
Bombers Hit Algerian Capital
Apr 11, 2007 11:50 AM CDT

Bombers Hit Algerian Capital

(Newser) - Two bombs, including one targeting the prime minister's office, killed at least 23 people in Algiers today, in the latest in a round of suspected Al-Qaeda-affiliated terror attacks that have rocked North Africa in recent weeks, the New York Times reports.

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