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Regional News

Al-Qaeda seizes Japan hostage in Yemen

21 Nov 2009, 9:32PM

Al-Qaeda gunmen have seized a Japanese engineer from his kidnappers in Yemen, a tribal source who has been seeking to negotiate his release said on Saturday. Read more

Plane misses runway, lands in lava rock

20 Nov 2009, 8:15AM

A passenger plane has overshot the runway, landing in hardened lava surrounding an airport in eastern Congo and injuring 20 people, a UN-run radio station said. Read more

New fossils reveal a world full of crocodiles

20 Nov 2009, 8:06AM

New fossils unearthed in what is now the Sahara desert reveal a once-swampy world divided up among a half-dozen species of unusual and perhaps intelligent crocodiles, researchers say. Read more

Algerian football fans out in force after their team beat Egypt. (Getty Images)

Egypt recalls Algiers envoy after soccer loss

20 Nov 2009, 6:25AM

Egypt has recalled its ambassador from Algiers after Egypt's football team lost to rivals Algeria in a World Cup play-off, accusing its fans of post-match thuggery. Read more

New fossils reveal a world full of crocodiles

20 Nov 2009, 2:50AM

New fossils unearthed in what is now the Sahara desert reveal a once-swampy world divided up among a half-dozen species of unusual and perhaps intelligent crocodiles, researchers say. Read more

South African runner Caster Semenya has undergone gender testing. (AAP)

Semenya to keep her title

19 Nov 2009, 9:56PM

The International Association of Athletics Federations has agreed that South African runner Caster Semenya will keep her 800 metres world title.
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Hijacked tanker captain dies of wounds

19 Nov 2009, 7:40AM

The captain of a tanker captured by Somali pirates off the Seychelles with 28 North Koreans on board has died of his wounds after being shot, a pirate said. Read more

Forty seven dead in south Sudan clashes

18 Nov 2009, 11:59PM

Forty-seven people were killed in ethnic clashes in south Sudan's Lakes state region, a military spokesman said on Wednesday. Read more

Ransom paid as pirates free trawler

18 Nov 2009, 8:43AM

Somali pirates have released a Spanish tuna trawler and its 36 crew seized more than a month ago in the Indian Ocean, saying they had been paid a $US4m ransom. Read more

Rwandan priest acquitted of genocide

18 Nov 2009, 6:53AM

A United Nations court on Tuesday acquitted a Catholic priest charged with genocide, murder and extermination in Rwanda's 1994 genocide. Read more

'Drugs plane' crashed after poor takeoff

17 Nov 2009, 7:45AM

A Boeing being used to transport cocaine from Venezuela to West Africa crashed in Mali this month after a failed take-off, the UN drugs and crime office said. Read more

Tsvangirai ally pleads not guilty

17 Nov 2009, 7:19AM

A key ally of Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai pleaded not guilty on Monday to terrorism charges to try and topple veteran President Robert Mugabe. Read more

Five dead, minister hurt in Sudan unrest

17 Nov 2009, 7:25AM

Five people have been killed and seven hurt, including a minister in the south Sudan government, during a gunbattle between ethnic groups, officials say. Read more

Editor cleared in childbirth 'porn' case

17 Nov 2009, 6:55AM

A Zambian news editor was acquitted of pornography charges over mailing unpublished pictures of a woman giving birth on the pavement outside a hospital. Read more

Shot Robben Island rabbits to feed poor

14 Nov 2009, 1:00PM

An official from the island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned says rabbits killed to control an infestation will be fed to the poor. Read more