South Africa coach Gordon Igesund says his players lost their nerve after a stalemate in the Nations Cup opener.

Algerian troops end a siege at a gas facility in the Sahara desert killing 11 Islamist militants after they killed seven hostages, state media say.

The revered emir of Kano in northern Nigeria survives an attack which is suspected to have been carried out by Islamist militants.

Is Francois Hollande bucking the French trend in Mali?

Militants are said to be holed up in a workshop with a group of foreign hostages at a remote gas plant in Algeria, surrounded by security forces.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud pleads for help from thousands of Somalis in Minnesota, a day after gaining official US recognition.

West African leaders are to meet in Ivory Coast to discuss the unrest in Mali, where regional troops are helping tackle an Islamist insurgency.