LAGOS, Jan. 1 (GIN) - At a meeting of local Christian groups, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo publicly apologised for the killing of more than 200 unarmed civilians by the army in Benue State in October 2001.    The army has been accused of several mass killings since civilian rule…

ABIDJAN, Jan. 2 (GIN) -- A government attack by helicopter on a rebel-held village in the center of embattled Ivory Coast was condemned by the French military detachment which has reportedly been assigned to preserve a fragile ceasefire in this West African nation.    The 2,500 French…

New York, Jan 1 (GIN) -- Under pressure from aid agencies and mounting bad publicity, Swiss-based multinational Nestle has dropped its demand for $6 million from the famine-stricken Ethiopian government.    Nestle claimed the $6 million was owed by Ethiopia since the former regime lead by…

JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 1 (GIN) - Initial reports that the South African Broadcasting Corporation would drop CNN for Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based Persian Gulf news network well known for broadcasting videotaped messages from Osama bin Laden, have been denied by the SABC.    However, Al-Jazeera…