Congo has accused Rwanda of preparing an "imminent" attack on the Congolese town of Goma. FRANCE 24's Arnaud Zajtman reports that fighting between the Congolese army and a rebel group with suspected links to Rwanda has resumed in North Kivu.

Libyan authorities have started depositing funds in an account to compensate US victims of terrorism as part of an agreement to normalize relations between the two countries, a senior US official said Thursday.

At least 12 people died when a crumbling apartment building collapsed in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria as families slept in their homes.

Allies of former South African President Thabo Mbeki, including former defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota (photo), accused African National Congress leaders of endangering democracy on Wednesday and threatened to split from the ruling party.

Ghardaia, a city under mud

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution urging states to commit naval and air assets to the fight against piracy off Somalia. "It states very clearly that you can use force against the pirates," said France's UN ambassador, Jean-Maurice Ripert.

The BBC has reported that the cargo of tanks captured by pirates off the Somali coast were destined for South Sudan. Kenya insists it ordered the weapons.

Police in Mauritania have fired tear gas on crowds supporting ousted president Sidi Ould Cheikh Adballahi. The protest was held in defiance of a ban on demonstrations by the new military regime.

As 42 French personalities suspected of illegal arms appear in a Paris court over the so-called "Angolagate" scandal, the Angolan government called for the trial to be annulled, citing a breach of state security.

Moussa Kaka, a correspondent for Radio France Internationale held in prison in Niger for the past year, has been released pending trial. FRANCE 24 spoke to him shortly after his release.

While war has sparked up again in the east of the country, in the capital, the state's treasury can no longer pay for basic public services. See the report by special correspondents Arnaud Zajtman, Marlène Rabaud and Florence Villeminot.

Rescue efforts continue in Algeria after heavy rains flooded the country Tuesday, leaving 33 people dead in the historic southern city of Ghardaia. Police reportedly broke up a protest by city residents asking for more aid.

Zimbabwean ruler Robert Mugabe is set to meet opposition leader and Prime Minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai on Saturday, in a new attempt to break the deadlock over key ministerial appointments

The United Nations' top official in the Democratic Republic of Congo, special envoy Alan Doss, asked the UN Security Council on Friday for extra troops to help halt the spread of violence in the country's eastern provinces.

The Week in Maghreb underlines an emerging phenomenon in Morocco, women becoming imams; reports on how the end of Ramadan was celebrated in Kabylia; and gives two Algerian writers the occasion to speak about the colonial times.

Twelve people involved in a toxic waste company that killed 17 Ivorians face sentences up to life in prison. However Dutch company Trafigura, which operated the ship that delivered the waste to the Ivory Coast, remains immune from prosecution.

Sudanese forces claim to have killed six of the kidnappers who abducted 11 European tourists in a remote part of the Egyptian desert two weeks ago. A six-million euro ransom was asked in exchange for the hostages who are believed to be in Chad.

At least 52 Somali died in the Gulf of Aden as they were making their way to Yemen, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Sunday. Yemen coastguards rescued 71 passengers after their boat suffered an engine failure.

The World Bank's decision in 2000 to issue Chad a loan for an oil pipeline against the promise that it would use its revenues to fight poverty was recently overturned. Read how a blue print for Africa's development became a World Bank embarrassment.