ANGOLA

The West African regional bloc ECOWAS is calling for the creation of a national unity government in Mali in order to take urgent steps to confront the terrorist peril in the north of the country.

As soon as the door opened, 15 men -- armed with pistols, machetes and iron rods -- burst into the house and began beating the young Angolan musicians and activists who were known for protesting against government corruption and the use of violent tactics to suppress political dissent.

On Thursday, 70 troops arrived in Guinea-Bissau as part of a peacekeeping initiative by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The troops are meant to stabilize the country as it prepares for national elections in 12 months, following a military coup that deposed the civilian government.

The controlling militia issued a statement on Tuesday saying they were in control of key sites around the capital, including the state broadcasting building, the airport, and a major military base in Kati.

West-African regional bloc ECOWAS will send troops Mali and Guinea-Bissau to try to pressure their new juntas to reinstate civilian rule.

The military junta that seized control of Guinea-Bissau last week said on Thursday that they will hand power to civilian government in two years.

The military has taken over the West African country of Guinea-Bissau, in a coup d'etat on Thursday, a few weeks before the country's presidential elections.

Heavy weapons fire echoed through the capital of Guinea-Bissau Thursday, witnesses said, and soldiers surrounded the residence of former Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior, the frontrunner in a presidential election.

The Kimberley Process only addresses diamonds produced in areas controlled by rebel militias. It doesn’t take into consideration violence committed by government forces.

Viktor Bout, a Russian national known as the Merchant of Death for his far reaching arms deals across the world will learn how long he will be in prison on Thursday. His defense attorneys have asked the judge to set him free while United States prosecutor said he should be locked up for the rest of his life.

While this is not the first post-Macondo deep water project -- the British supermajor has been working in Brazil and Angola - it is the first on home territory since the April 2010 disaster.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Friday were: National Bank of Greece, LinkedIn Corp, Dolby Laboratories, Alliance One International and Vmware. The top aftermarket losers were: Cobalt International Energy, Global Cash Access Holdings, Talisman Energy, C.R. Bard and NYSE Euronext.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Thursday were: LinkedIn Corp, Cincinnati Bell, HyperDynamics, Genco Shipping & Trading, Cobalt International Energy, PulteGroup, C&J Energy Services, Office Depot and Protective Life Corp.

U.S. fast-food giant Yum Brands Inc. plans to open 130 new KFC stores in Africa this year, bringing its presence on the continent to 1,000 restaurants, the Business Day newspaper in South Africa said on Friday, citing a senior executive.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pressed Saudi Arabia to open its huge oil and gas resources to expanded Chinese investment, media reports said on Sunday against a backdrop of growing tension centered on Iran and worries over its crude exports to the Asian power.

Since Deepwater Horizon, a longer permitting processes and the drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico is projected to cost the U.S. more than $24 billion in lost investment, says a report from the American Petroleum Institute.

In the aftermath of the war's “official cessation” in 2003, many more people continued to die, from both disease and periodic armed conflicts.

Police are spread out across Kinshasa while 20,000 soldiers are on stand-by at military bases.

Outraged by the Kimberly Process' inability to prevent illegal trade in conflict diamonds (also called blood diamonds) in Africa, a key founding member quit the regulatory body on Monday.

Kabila is widely expected to win another five-year term

The situation has become so volatile that police have banned any more political rallies before Monday’s vote takes place.