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Protesters in Tahrir Square, Cairo, 3 February 2011. Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh By RFI Crowds were gathering in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday morning, preparing for an eleventh day of protests on what the Egyptian opposition has designated President Hosni Mubarak's "departure day". Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq has told the Interior Ministry to allow peaceful protests to go ahead undisturbed, according to state TV. Opposition leaders have called for mass rallies nationwide after the end of midday prayers. They have set Friday as their deadline for Mubarak to leave office. In Cairo, correspondents report that thousands of anti-government protesters are massing in Tahrir Square. Many of have camped out overnight. Dossier: Revolution in Egypt The Egyptian army has repeated its promise not to fire on protesters , acording to US Admiral Mike Mullen. He said in a TV interview that the army had nonetheless "taken steps to try to quell the viol

Africa dossiers 05/02/2011 Revolution in Egypt 05/02/2011 Tunisia in transition 12/01/2011   Independence for South Sudan? 12/07/2010 World Cup 2010 - South Africa  04/03/2010 - Africa Africa: 50 years of independence

Latest Africa articles 05/02/2011 - France - Egypt Shut up! France tells Egypt-based researchers France has told researchers based in Egypt not to speak to the media during the current wave of protests, if they are employed by the French state. 05/02/2011 - Egypt Gas pipeline blast blamed on saboteurs Huge flames billowed from a pipeline supplying gas from Egypt to Israel near the Gaza Strip on Saturday after an explosion which officials blame on saboteur

Duty-free maize imports to plug imminent deficit, says report A huge maize deficit in August and September this year will only be filled by allowing the private sector to import duty-free maize.

World Bank backs out of toll road plan The World Bank has withdrawn financing for the Nairobi Toll Road Essar’s yu ups price wars Mobile phone operator, Essar Telecom Kenya has unveiled a new promotion for extra.

Google slams Microsoft for 'cheating ' The world's biggest Internet search company, Google, is accusing rival Microsoft's Bing of copying its results, a charge Microsoft denies.  SPORTS IN KENYA Gor Mahia fans all out Gor Mahia fans cheer on their team during the friendly match against Ghana at Nyayo Stadium Gormahia won 2-1

Groups want court to bar Kibaki nominees    The controversy over President Kibaki’s nomination of Mr Alnashir Visram as CJ, Prof Githu Muigai, Mr Kioko Kilukumi (DPP) and William Kirwa as controller of budget has found it’s way to the High Court.   More protests in Egypt An Egyptian woman holds up a placard during a demonstration in Cairo on February 1, 2011 as... End of the road for Masai giraffe South Sudan: Free at last

Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Sunday moved to calm the waters as the row over President Kibaki’s nomination of top judicial officers provoked serious rifts in the government. ...

Kioko Kilukumi - one of the four men whose nominations to key State jobs last Friday has sparked a controversy in the Grand Coalition government - has withdrawn from being William Ruto’s lawyer in a fraud case. Mr Ruto the suspendet minister of Higher Education who is also in the list of six presented by the prosecutor Ocampo at the International Criminal Court as a suspect behind  the 2007-2008 post election cheos in kenya and gearing up for the presidential seat come 2012 general elections.  Mr Kilukumi was the suspended Higher Education minister's advocate in a corruption case where together with seven others, he is accused of purporting to sell part of a forest to a parastatal. Amongst those accused in the case are Mr Joshua Kulei, a former aide to retired president Daniel arap Moi and Sammy Mwaita, former Commissioner of Lands and currently Baringo Central MP. Mr Ruto is accused of accepting at least Sh38.8 million from former Kenya Pipeline Company manager Hellen Njue, by p

Ten people were killed and 43 were injured, 18 seriously, when two trains collided in eastern Germany late Saturday, a Magdeburg Police spokesman said. The crash between a regional HarzElbeExpress passenger train and a freight train occurred less than two miles from the nearby town of Oschersleben shortly after 10:30 p.m . local time. Portions of the train burned in the snow for about two hours. Officials said many passengers were thrown from the train after the incident. The cause is unknown.

The Manhattan district attorney announced Thursday new indictments against Rodney Alcala, the so-called "Dating Game Killer," in connection with the deaths of two women in New York during the 1970s. Alcala, 67, is currently on death row in California for killing four women and a 12-year-old girl there. He was convicted of those crimes in February 2010 and sentenced the following month. The California murders took place between November 1977 and June 1979 and covered a wide swath of suburban Los Angeles, from Burbank to El Segundo.   Rodney Alcala, 67, is on death row in California for killing four women and a 12-year-old girl in the 1970s . "Cold cases are not forgotten cases -- our prosecutors, investigators, and partners in the NYPD do not give up," said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. "These cases were built one brick at a time, as each new lead brought us closer to where we are today." Alcala is charged with murder in the de

Egypt's protesters defy curfew, surround opposition figure The U.S. plans to begin flying thousands of Americans out of the country on Monday, a day after the government's call for protesters to obey a curfew, plus low-flying fighter jets overhead did nothing to deter thousands of Egyptians from continuing their protests into Sunday night.

 Mubarak Egypt's President opens door to talks with rival political parties After 30 years of mostly unchallenged rule, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak opened the door Sunday to talks with rival political parties while calling out those who, he claimed, used religion to "spread fear" through rampant hooliganism. According to a transcript of his comments to leaders of his new government read on state-run Nile TV, Mubarak acknowledged what he called "peaceful demonstrations" as well as grievances about the economy. Thousands of protesters have hit the streets of Cairo, Alexandria and beyond calling for the president's ouster as well as substantial reforms. "The current stage requires us to reorganize the country's priorities in a way that acknowledges the legitimate demands of the people," he said. The president, again recognizing the depth of the unrest, urged those charged with shaping the new Cabinet -- specifically, his newly appointed Pri