International

ELECTIONS:President Atta Mills pledges peaceful polls President Barack Obama praised the African state of Ghana on Thursday as a model of democracy and growth in a continent that many Americans associate with poverty and violence.

Up to 197 identified bodied will be buried today after hundreds of people were reportedly killed in Sunday’s serial explosions in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, the Central African country’s crisis committee has said.

A British and an Italian hostages have been killed by their captors in Nigeria, after a failed hostage rescue attempt, authorities say.

Cote d’Ivoire’s Prime Minister Guillaume Kigbafori Soro on Thursday rendered resignation along with his cabinet to President  Alassane Ouattara saying his election as a parliamentary member  meant he could no longer exercise the powers of the executive branch.

REFORM:Deal needed for second bailout
The Greek government has confirmed that it has secured backing for a debt swap deal that will enable it to avoid defaulting on its debts.

Indigenous protesters in Ecuador have begun a two-week march across the country against plans for large-scale mining projects.

The British government’s view about its role in the world in the medium- and long-term is “unrealistic,” a critical report by a panel of senior lawmakers said on Thursday.

Dissidents have reacted with dismay to special envoy Kofi Annan’s call for a “political settlement” to end the crisis in Syria, saying his emphasis on diplomacy ignores the government’s repression.