Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced deep concern over a series of attacks targeting the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) which have resulted in numerous casualties, a statement issued by a UN spokesperson said today.

According to the UN, seven peacekeepers were wounded on 23 April in Mali's north-eastern Kidal region when a MINUSMA vehicle struck an explosive device. The incident was preceded by two separate attacks - on 17 and 20 April - involving unidentified armed men killing the drivers of MINUSMA-contracted trucks outside the city of Gao.

The head of the UN Mission in Mali (Minusma) said he "hopes" the dominant Tuareg rebellion in northern Mali sign the Algiers peace agreement before the deadline of 15 May, according to a statement published by the Minusma on Thursday.

Head of Minusma Mongi Hamdi on Wednesday met Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and expressed his "full support" for "efforts" for a peace agreement.

Le président de l’Instance Supérieure Indépendante des Elections (ISIE), Chafik Sarsar, a insisté sur la nécessité de moderniser le régime juridique régissant la présentation des candidatures en vue des élections municipales, rapporte le quotidien Al Maghreb.

Il a, aussi, appelé les acteurs politiques à se préparer pour mettre en place un cadre légal pour les élections municipales qui auront lieu, selon lui, en 2016.

L’Algérie s’apprête-t-elle à vivre une période d’incertitudes sur tous les plans ? Le gouvernement a-t-il vraiment un cap, une feuille de route et une stratégie politique et économique pour négocier au mieux ces mois de vaches maigres qui se profilent à l’horizon ? Ces questions coulent de source dans la conjecture actuelle, marquée par l’effondrement soudain des cours du pétrole, cette vache nourricière qui a maintenu le pays sous perfusion.

His Excellency, Abdikarim Hussein Guleed has declared his candidate for central State of Somalia after a well organized ceremony has been held in Adado town of central Somalia’s Galgadud region.

The highly organized ceremony was attended by politicians, elders, intellectuals, youth and female civil society organizations hailed Mr Hussein’s declaration of his candidacy, adding that he could deal with the needs of people in central Somalia regions.

Members of the opposition and the civil society have welcomed the statement of the Sudan Troika members, saying that the general election last week does not reflect the will of the Sudanese people. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the statement, and summoned the US, UK, and Norwegian ambassadors on Tuesday.

Rebel leader Yasir Arman claims that the poor voter registration forced the National Election Commission (NEC) to use the 2010 electoral register. NEC chairman Mukhtar El Asam announced on Tuesday that the voter turnout reached 42 percent.