News on West Africa

Swine flu kills first hajj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia

2010-04-16T08:58:12Z

Swine flu has killed four pilgrims in Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj, health authorities said on Saturday only a few days before the massive Muslim gathering reaches its peak.

An Indian man, a Moroccan woman and a Sudanese man -- all aged 75 -- died from A(H1N1), as had a 17-year-old girl from Nig...

Four pilgrim deaths from swine flu ahead of hajj

2010-04-16T08:58:20Z

Four pilgrims in Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj pilgrimage have died of swine flu, the health ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency on Saturday.

It said a Moroccan woman, a Sudanese man and an Indian man -- all aged 75 -- had died from A(H1N1), as had a 17-year-old girl from Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, Health Minister Babatunde Osotimehin said Wednesday.

"The first case of the influenza A(H1N1), otherwise called swine flu, has been reported in Nigeria of a nine-year-old American girl residing in Nigeria's health authorities on Tuesday claimed they were ready to cope with an outbreak of swine flu in the oil-rich west African country of 140 million inhabitants.

"The federal government is fully prepared to contain any outbreak of swine flu in the country," Health Minister Babatunde said in a statement published in the local media.

Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation.

The...

Ivory Coast

2011-01-03T20:30:49Z

Benin President Boni Yayi, left, walks with Sierra Leone President, Ernest Bai Koroma, on arrival at the airport in Abidjan, Monday, Jan. 3, 2011. African leaders returned to Ivory Coast...

Stanford California Basketball

2011-01-02T15:00:17Z

Stanford's Sarah Boothe, right, struggles for the ball with California's Rama N'diaye of Senegal, during the first half of an NCAA...

Nigeria Barracks Explosion

2011-01-01T08:30:10Z

The victim of a bomb explosion is been treated by medical staff at the Asokoro General Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria, Friday, Dec. 31, 2010. A bomb blast tore through a beer garden at a Nigerian army barracks where revelers had gathered to celebrate New Year's Eve, witnesses said. State-run television reported Friday night that 30 peop...

APTOPIX Nigeria Barracks Explosion

2011-01-01T08:01:26Z

A truck transports the bodies of bomb explosion victims to a mortuary in, Abuja, Nigeria, Friday, Dec. 31, 2010. A bomb blast tore through a beer garden at a Nigerian army barracks where revelers had gathered to celebrate New Year's Eve, witnesses said. State-run television reported Friday night that 30 people died, though police immediately disputed that. (AP Photo/Felix Onigbinde)

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Nigeria-Violence

2010-12-28T04:31:14Z

Bystanders gather around a burned car outside the Victory Baptist Church in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010. Authorities say dozens of assailants attacked the church on Christmas Eve, killing the pastor, two members of the choir and two people passing by the church....