Official: Vehicle hits mine in Niger, killing 7

Regional authorities say a vehicle carrying West African migrants toward Libya struck an anti-tank mine in Niger, killing seven people.

Niger main market ravaged by overnight fire

Officials in Niger's capital say an overnight fire ravaged the city's main market.

Oxfam: millions needed now to avert Niger famine

The British aid agency Oxfam says millions of dollars are needed urgently to stop a hunger crisis in Niger turning into a catastrophe.

Niger arrests Tuareg rebel who fought for Gadhafi

A Tuareg rebel leader who belonged to Moammar Gadhafi's inner circle and who led the last Tuareg uprising in the West African nation was arrested overnight in Niger's capital, a family member said Wednesday.

Niger minister: No surface-to-air missiles found

Niger's minister of defense denied on Friday that his country had seized the dangerous surface-to-air missiles left behind by Moammar Gadhafi's retreating army, which military experts now fear are being sold to terrorist organizations that operate in the Sahel.

Niger military clashes with group from Libya

Niger's army intercepted a convoy of cars traveling south from Libya toward Mali, and a cache of arms was seized in the ensuing clash, the ministry of defense said Wednesday.

Official: Gadhafi's intelligence chief in Niger

Moammar Gadhafi's intelligence chief, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, has slipped into the desert nation of Niger and is hiding in the expanse of dunes at the Niger-Algeria border, a Niger presidential adviser said late Wednesday.

Official: Gadhafi's son nearing Niger border

Moammar Gadhafi's son and one-time heir apparent is now believed to be heading toward Niger, a desert nation just south of Libya where his brother and dozens of Gadhafi loyalists already have sought refuge, a government official said Tuesday.

Niger attacks al-Qaida-linked cell, killing 3

An army patrol in Niger attacked a four-car convoy Thursday carrying suspected al-Qaida-linked militants, killing three of them and leading to the liberation of more than four dozen youths that had been forcibly recruited by the extremist group, the defense minister said.

Gadhafi's son, 3 generals in Niger ask for asylum

A son of Moammar Gadhafi and three of his generals were trying to gain political asylum Wednesday in this poor, landlocked nation at Libya's feet, after a more than 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometer) drive across the vast desert that separates the two countries for what could be their only shot at refuge.

Libya to ask Niger: Don't allow Gadhafi officials

Libya's ambassador said Friday his country's rebel administration wants Niger to stop giving refuge to fleeing officials of ousted strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

Niger: Only 1 major Libyan figure in country

A senior member of Moammar Gadhafi's inner circle slipped into Niger along with three carloads of collaborators, an official said Tuesday, but the toppled Libyan leader was not among them nor were any members of his immediate family.

2 die after soldiers clash with armed men in Niger

Niger's defense ministry says that two people died in clashes between security forces and armed men in a mining town in Niger.

Ex-president of Niger released

Niger's former president, Mamadou Tandja, has been freed, 14 months after being placed under house arrest, then jailed following a military coup that toppled his government.

Niger's opposition wins vote in provisional count

Veteran opposition leader Mahamadou Issoufou won Niger's presidential run-off election, according to final provisional results announced by the electoral commission Monday.

Niger says longtime opposition figure leads polls

Niger's electoral commission says a longtime opposition politician leads polls according to provisional results from the first round of voting.

France to release photos of failed hostage rescue

France's defense ministry said Friday it will declassify photographs and video footage taken during a failed attempt by French forces to rescue two hostages earlier this month in Niger.

US suspends Peace Corps in Niger over security

The Peace Corps has suspended its operations in Niger and evacuated its workers from the west African nation due to security concerns following the kidnapping and murder of two French citizens claimed by an al-Qaida affiliate.

Niger's deposed president moved to prison

A relative of Niger's detained former president says he's been transferred from house arrest to prison, facing charges of misappropriating public funds.

Report: al-Qaida claims Niger kidnapping

A purported spokesman for al-Qaida's North Africa branch claimed responsibility Thursday for kidnapping two French nationals in Niger who later died during a failed rescue attempt.

Niger kidnappings show terror's spread

With stunned diners looking on, the turbaned attackers burst through the metal door of the open-air restaurant and went straight for their targets: two Frenchmen whom they brazenly dragged at gunpoint into a vehicle waiting outside.

Paris opens probe into 2 hostage deaths in Niger

Paris anti-terrorism investigators have gone to Niger to probe the deaths of two French hostages killed amid a rescue operation led by French special forces, a judicial official said Monday.

France: al-Qaida involved in Africa kidnapping

France's defense minister said Sunday that al-Qaida linked militants were most likely behind the kidnapping of two French nationals in the west African nation of Niger, who were found dead following a rescue attempt that involved French and Niger troops.

Regional court: Release Niger's detained president

A regional court in West Africa has called on Niger's military government to release the nation's detained former president.

Niger passes new constitution following a coup

Niger's electoral commission says the country's new constitution passed with 90 percent of the vote.

Niger is the worst country on earth in which to be a mother, according to a report by Save the Children. The charity’s annual Mothers’ Index uses statistics covering female and child health and nutrition, as well as prospects for women’s education, economic pros …

Saadi, who is facing demands for his extradition from Niger, was hoping to move to Canada or Mexico where he had investments, Mr Peters said.

Some are marked radioactive, as were the open plastic bags alongside. The powder they contain appears to be yellowcake uranium from neighbouring Niger.

Last year, the Washington Post reported that the United States had deployed special operations forces in seventy-five countries, from South America to Central Asia.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayipp Erdogan recently raised eyebrows when he deep-sixed Israeli diplomats from Turkey.

The White House is urging Libya's neighbors to detain Moammar Gadhafi and members of his family if they seek refuge in another country. White House spokesman Jay Carney says the U.S. has specifically delivered that message to Niger, which shares a porous desert border with Libya.

The Convoy Through the Desert

AL-QAEDA'S offshoot in North Africa has snatched surface-to-air missiles from an arsenal in Libya during the civil strife there, Chad's President says.

In an interview on February 27th with Al Arabyia news network, an informed source within the Revolutionary Guards of Iran revealed that Iran has several military bases in Libya.

Unlike in Egypt or Tunisia, it is not the conventional military that holds the balance of power in Libya. Instead, it is a murky network of paramilitary brigades, "revolutionary committees" of trusted followers, tribal leaders and imported foreign mercenaries.

Two young Frenchmen who died less than 24 hours after being kidnapped in Niger were probably killed by their captors, French military officials said today.

Most of Israel is arid, with the Negev Desert spanning 60 percent of the country. Desertification, water scarcity and soil erosion makes it increasingly difficult to farm, endangering the livelihoods of those who depend on agriculture for both food and income.

Islamic militants who kidnapped seven people at a French-owned uranium mine in Niger Sept. 16 have warned Western firms that "steal our wealth … to leave promptly."

"According to the World Food Programme, Niger is now in the midst of the worse hunger crisis in its history. The report reprinted below is taken from Africa News.com.

ABSURD?! ABSURD?! Yup, that's what he said...Wait, that didn't come out right....! Arguments used by the US to justify the invasion of Iraq were "absurd", the UN's former chief weapons inspector Hans Blix has told Iraq war inquiry.

Mr Sarkozy defended France's decision to take part in that operation with troops from Mauritania as a last-ditch effort to free Mr Germaneau.

Save the Children media manager: "The question I ask myself is: will the media help us avert mass starvation in Niger, or do millions of people, including up to 400,000 children, have to die for the human tragedy to become news?"

The United States has scored poorly on a campaign group's list of the best countries in which to be a mother, managing only 28th place, and bettered by many smaller and poorer countries.

For China, the transition seems smooth.

BBC News: "The leaders of the military coup in Niger have promised a "return to constitutional order", three days after overthrowing President Mamadou Tandja.

Opposition parties, Niger's largest union and members of civil society announced their support on 19 February for a military ruling council that abducted President Mamadou Tandja the day before and suspended a contested constitution.

United States, African Union, and United Nations want Niger's military junta to act quickly on pledges to restore democracy, saying sanctions could be lifted following moves to establish civilian rule.

The organisation said it had imposed sanctions on the country and demanded a return to constitutional rule. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the coup, and appealed for calm and respect for human rights.

Coup leaders in Niger have been roundly condemned by the international community after they kidnapped the country's president and established a military junta.

A coup has taken place in Niger and the president has been captured after a gun battle in the capital, Niamey. In a television announcement, a spokesman for the plotters said Niger's constitution had been suspended and all state institutions dissolved. The country was now being …