Militants storm UN compound in Somalia; 20 killed MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Seven al-Qaida-linked militants on a suicide mission attacked the U.N. compound Wednesday with a truck bomb and then poured inside, killing at least 13 people before dying in the assault....Top Charles Taylor ally found in Sierra Leone FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) -- A notorious arms supplier and top associate of former Liberian President Charles Taylor has been living freely in Sierra Leone's capital city, according to United Nations experts....Military: Thurayas banned in northeast Nigeria MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) -- Soldiers fighting to halt an insurgency by Islamic militants are banning the use of Thuraya satellite telephones by civilians in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state, throttling communications already made difficult by cut cell phone service....Zimbabwe's president goes back to court on polls HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Zimbabwe's highest court said Wednesday it has received an application from longtime President Robert Mugabe's party to delay crucial elections by at least two weeks following pressure from regional leaders....Armed robbers kill 48 in northwest Nigeria KANO, Nigeria (AP) -- Police say armed robbers have shot and killed 48 people in a revenge attack on villagers in northwest Nigeria who have formed vigilante groups to try to end a spree of violent thefts....Mali and Tuareg rebels sign accord OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) -- Mali, which lost half its territory last year to a rebel invasion, signed an accord Tuesday with Tuareg separatists who still control the country's northernmost province, paving the way for the Malian military to return to the areas that remain under rebel control....Report: Piracy in West Africa outstrips Somalia DAKAR, Senegal (AP) -- More ships and sailors fell prey to pirates off West Africa last year than off Somalia's coast, long the lair of pirates, according to a new report that highlights the risk posed by the rise in attacks on vessels in the Gulf of Guinea....
Egypt top cleric: Protests against Morsi permitted CAIRO (AP) -- Egypt's top Muslim cleric declared Wednesday that peaceful protests against the president are permitted, in a snub to hard-line Islamist backers of Mohammed Morsi who declared that those behind opposition protests planned for June 30 are heretics....Fears of violence as Egypt nears June 30 protests CAIRO (AP) -- Massive nationwide protests that Egypt's opposition plans for June 30 are taking on a dangerous edge....Egypt seen to give nod toward jihadis on Syria CAIRO (AP) -- Under Hosni Mubarak's rule, Egypt's authorities took a tough line on Egyptians coming home after waging "jihad" in places like Afghanistan, Chechnya or the Balkans, fearing they would bring back extremist ideology, combat experience and a thirst for regime change. In most cases, they were imprisoned and tortured....
