International Business News - meafrica http://www.ibtimes.com All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif Lawali Danjega is 6 feet of shirtless sinew, tense muscle and jangled nerves as he readies himself for a bout of traditional Nigerian boxing, frantically wrapping and rewrapping a length of rope around his tightly balled right fist. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48987-nigeria-fight-night.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080518/fists-a-flurry-nigerias-distinctive-boxing-style.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080518/fists-a-flurry-nigerias-distinctive-boxing-style.htm Sun, 18 May 2008 13:05:04 EDT Mobs rampaged through poor suburbs of Johannesburg in a frenzy of anti-foreigner violence over the weekend, killing at least seven people, injuring dozens and forcing hundreds to seek refuge at police stations. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48960-aptopix-south-africa-immigrants-attacks.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080518/s-africa-mobs-kill-6-in-anti-foreigner-violence.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080518/s-africa-mobs-kill-6-in-anti-foreigner-violence.htm Sun, 18 May 2008 12:33:39 EDT The media wing of al-Qaida says Osama bin Laden soon will issue a new message addressed to the Islamic world. Al-Sahab posted a banner Sunday on a militant Web site known for carrying the terror network's messages. It said a "powerful speech to the Islamic nation," will be issued soon. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48873-bin-laden-israel.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080518/bin-laden-to-send-strong-message-al-sahab.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080518/bin-laden-to-send-strong-message-al-sahab.htm Sun, 18 May 2008 09:10:49 EDT An American soldier used a Quran, the Islamic holy book, for target practice in a predominantly Sunni area west of Baghdad, prompting an apology from the U.S. military, a spokesman said Sunday. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/49043-iraq-violence.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080518/us-military-says-soldier-shot-at-quran.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080518/us-military-says-soldier-shot-at-quran.htm Sun, 18 May 2008 14:10:29 EDT Kuwait's parliamentary elections showed strong gains for Muslim hardliners, official results found Sunday, but women candidates failed to win a single seat. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48775-kuwait-elections.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080518/religious-hardliners-gain-in-kuwait.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080518/religious-hardliners-gain-in-kuwait.htm Sun, 18 May 2008 06:28:19 EDT Feuding Lebanese factions traded accusations Sunday while meeting a second day in Qatar for talks in the country's 18-month political crisis. In discussions between the government, which has U.S. support, and Hezbollah-led opposition in Doha, Hezbollah's chief negotiator, Mohammed Raad, accused the government of trying to "blackmail" the opposition by raising the subject of Hezbollah's weapons. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48852-qatar-lebanon.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080518/2nd-day-of-top-lebanese-talks-in-qatar.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080518/2nd-day-of-top-lebanese-talks-in-qatar.htm Sun, 18 May 2008 08:17:51 EDT An Israeli police spokesman says investigators are summoning Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for a second round of questioning about money he accepted from an American businessman. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48748-aptopix-bush-us-mideast.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080518/israeli-police-to-question-olmert-again.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080518/israeli-police-to-question-olmert-again.htm Sun, 18 May 2008 05:12:10 EDT The leader of Sudan's main opposition party said Saturday that a recent attack on the capital by Darfur rebels may encourage other disgruntled Sudanese to rise up against the government. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/sudan-opposition-head-rebel-assault-may-spur-more-violence.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 19:02:43 EDT President Rafael Correa says Ecuador wants to buy out private oil companies unwilling to negotiate new deals with his government. Correa has asked companies now suing over an October decree that slashed their share of windfall oil profits to 1 percent to drop their lawsuits. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/ecuador-offers-to-buy-out-oil-companies.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 19:32:16 EDT Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak will meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday to discuss efforts to work out a cease-fire between the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip and Israel, officials said. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48403-mideast-israel-palestinians-al-nakba.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/israeli-egyptian-leaders-to-seek-gaza-cease-fire.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/israeli-egyptian-leaders-to-seek-gaza-cease-fire.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 17:23:19 EDT In the eyes of Iraqi justice, Yahya Ali Humadi is a free man. To the U.S. military, he's another of the detainees in yellow jumpsuits held at the sprawling Camp Bucca in southern Iraq. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/iraqi-court-rulings-stop-at-us-detention-sites.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 12:34:00 EDT Somali pirates hijacked a Jordanian ship carrying humanitarian aid to Mogadishu on Saturday in the latest in a string of attacks off the lawless Somali coast, the head of a seafarer's association said. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/pirates-hijack-jordanian-ship-off-somali-coast.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 12:42:00 EDT Zimbabwe's opposition leader was on the way to the airport when word came that assassins were awaiting him in his homeland Saturday, derailing plans for his return. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48366-aptopix-britain-northern-ireland-zimbabwe.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/tsvangirai-postpones-zimbabwe-return-after-threat.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/tsvangirai-postpones-zimbabwe-return-after-threat.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 13:51:14 EDT Cathay Pacific Airways might cut routes to help cope with surging fuel prices, its chief executive said. Tony Tyler said in an internal company newsletter, seen Saturday by The Associated Press, that the airline must focus on its most profitable markets, maximize use of fuel-efficient aircraft and cut unspecified routes if necessary. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/cathay-pacific-airways-considers-cutting-routes.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 08:06:55 EDT Nearly 1,000 people have been detained in a sweep to break al-Qaida in Iraq's sway in Iraq's third largest city, Mosul, but many of the fighters have fled to nearby areas, where troops are hunting for them, Iraqi officials said Saturday. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48354-iraq-violence.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/us-house-speaker-pelosi-makes-visit-to-iraq.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/us-house-speaker-pelosi-makes-visit-to-iraq.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 15:58:12 EDT A former Church of England leader has appealed for militants to release five British civilians kidnapped in Iraq a year ago. Former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey released a video Saturday addressing the kidnappers as "honorable men" and "men of faith." http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/ex-archbishop-urges-release-of-british-hostages.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 07:23:32 EDT Lebanon's ruling coalition demanded Saturday that talks to end the country's 18-month-old political crisis tackle the issue of Hezbollah's weapons, a demand the militant group rejected. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48393-qatar-lebanon-leaders.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/high-level-lebanese-talks-in-qatar.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/high-level-lebanese-talks-in-qatar.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 16:30:22 EDT Kuwaitis voted Saturday for a parliament that could include women for the first time and which many hope will end two years of political wrangling that has created widespread disgust with politics. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48427-kuwait-elections.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/kuwaitis-elect-new-parliament.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/kuwaitis-elect-new-parliament.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 17:37:12 EDT Islamic insurgents in Somalia seized a major agricultural center overnight, sending hundreds of people fleeing, a human rights leader said Saturday. The attack underscored the government's vulnerabilities, as U.N.-sponsored peace talks stalled in neighboring Djibouti. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/islamist-fighters-seize-town-in-somalia.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 06:04:09 EDT Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan was freed unharmed three months after he vanished in a tribal area in Pakistan's border region, a foreign ministry official and a relative said Saturday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/abducted-pakistani-diplomat-freed.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 05:04:50 EDT