Security forces foil armed robbery, kidnapping, oil theft

Nigerian security forces have arrested three men accused of taking part in a mass abduction on Bethel Baptist High School in July. Gunmen kidnapped 121 students who were asleep in their dorm rooms. The attack took place just outside the city of Kaduna in the north-west of the country. One hundred teens have since managed to escape or were freed, but twenty-one are still unaccounted for.

Heavily armed gangs have been stepping up raids on schools and villages in northwestern Nigeria, often taking hostages for ransom.

The liberation of the nun, captured on the border with Burkina Faso nearly five years ago, has been welcomed by the Colombian government. Mali's president saluted her "bravery" after the ordeal.

Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso deployed police and the military to "take control of all the country's prisons" after scores of inmates were killed in gang clashes.

Doctors have accused security forces of firing live rounds at pro-democracy demonstrators and killing four of them.

The Doctors Committee said two people have been killed by authorities. Sudan's military leader has vowed to crack down on protesters demanding civilian rule, saying they "would not achieve a political solution."

The latest round of protests against Sudan's military are met with tear gas, sparking clashes with security forces. Rallies were held in Khartoum and neighbouring cities on Tuesday. Also, the first findings of an inquiry into corruption under former South African president Jacob Zuma establish that state decisions were shaped by private individuals and interests during his nine years in power. Finally, we sample the Pan-African offerings of award-winning experimental Congolese chef Dieuveil Malonga at his Kigali restaurant.

The Central Committee of Sudanese doctors say seven civilians have been killed by security forces. UN Security Council members urged "utmost restraint."

One protester was killed as security forces confronted thousands of people protesting against military rule in Sudan's capital Khartoum on Sunday (January 30), medics linked to the demonstrations said. The 27-year-old, Mohamed Yousef Ismail, was hit in the chest, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) said.

Security forces have fired tear gas on Hausa protesters who marched in several cities after clashes in the southern Blue Nile province. The UN said around 100 people had been killed in the unrest

A Sudanese security armoured vehicle on Thursday fired tear gas at demonstrators in Khartoum while it was pelted with rocks and bricks, as an anti-military campaign carried into its tenth month.

The head of Europe's largest nuclear power plant was kidnapped, Ukraine's nuclear power company said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces surrounded some 5,000 Russian soldiers in the key city of Lyman.