DAKAR (Reuters) – Senegal voted in a run-off election on Sunday pitting octogenarian President Abdoulaye Wade, whose bid for a third term has triggered violent protests, against former ally and prime minister Macky Sall.

The vote in the usually peaceful nation is a test for democracy in West Africa where polls have been marred by fraud and bloodshed and where a military coup toppled the government of Mali last week.

DAKAR (Reuters) – Octogenarian President Abdoulaye Wade, whose bid for a third term has brought violent protests to Senegal, faces a tough challenge from former ally and prime minister Macky Sall in the second round of voting on Sunday.

Wade fell short of a majority in the February 26 vote with 34.8 percent. Sall came second with 26.6 percent. The first-round candidates have now united behind Sall as has civil society group M-23, which has been calling on Wade, 85, to step down.

DAKAR, Feb 28 (Reuters) – Senegalese President
Abdoulaye Wade is unlikely to have won Sunday’s first-round
presidential vote, the head of the EU observer mission said on
Tuesday, adding to expectations Wade will have to fight a tough
run-off to secure a third term.

“There will probably be a second round as any other outcome
seems improbable, according to what we have heard so far,” Thijs
Berman told a news conference in Dakar as partial returns showed
Wade in the lead with about a third of the vote – well short of
the more than 50 percent needed to secure a first-round win.

KINSHASA, Feb 15 (Reuters) – BHP Billiton’s
decision to abandon plans for an aluminium smelter in the
Democratic Republic of Congo could create problems for the
planned Inga 3 hydro power project, the energy minister said on
Wednesday.

“The problem is real but there are alternative solutions,”
Energy Minister Gilbert Tshiongo told Reuters, but added the
government was confident of finding other backing for the
project.

DAKAR (Reuters) – Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade’s bid for a third mandate in next month’s election, which has triggered protests across the capital, could endanger his country’s record of democracy and stability, the United States warned on Monday.

One policeman died as protesters hurled rocks, overturned cars and set fire to tyres in the streets of Dakar on Friday after Senegal’s top legal body said Wade could stand despite complaints it breached rules setting a two-term limit.

NIAMEY (Reuters) – Nestled on the banks of the Niger River, Niamey stands at the crossroads of the Sahel and sub-Saharan Africa with a population of nearly 1 million people who take pride in their city’s reputation as one of the continent’s most laid-back capitals.

Unlike the 32 dignitaries of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s regime who have sought refuge here but remain under surveillance with limited movement, you will be able to visit some of the panoramic countryside which surrounds Niamey, enjoy all the local cuisine on offer and hit the nightlife.

NIAMEY, Sept 20 (Reuters) – Nestled on the banks of the
Niger River, Niamey stands at the crossroads of the Sahel and
sub-Saharan Africa with a population of nearly 1 million people
who take pride in their city’s reputation as one of the
continent’s most laid-back capitals.

Unlike the 32 dignitaries of former Libyan leader Muammar
Gaddafi’s regime who have sought refuge here but remain under
surveillance with limited movement, you will be able to visit
some of the panoramic countryside which surrounds Niamey, enjoy
all the local cuisine on offer and hit the nightlife.

DAKAR (Reuters) – Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, on course to win Sunday’s election, will use a new term to try to build a favourable legacy to his decades in power with major construction projects, and to anoint a successor, say analysts.

During his 29-year rule, Biya has kept the central African oil-producer on a relatively stable path in a volatile region — although critics say sometimes at the expense of democracy.

NIAMEY (Reuters) – Niger called on Wednesday for international help to secure its northern border with Libya, saying the conflict to the north was holding back efforts by its new civilian government to find stability and develop its economy.

Justice Minister Marou Amadou said Niger needed help with intelligence-gathering and aerial surveillance of some six million square meters of desert in its north, already a venue for al Qaeda’s North African wing and bandits.

NIAMEY (Reuters) – Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saadi entered the territory of Libya’s southern neighbor Niger on Sunday, Niger’s justice minister said.

“He was in a convoy of nine people. They were intercepted heading in the direction of Agadez,” Marou Adamou told a news conference, referring to the northern town through which at least two previous convoys of Gaddafi loyalists have entered in the past week.