South Africa says Mandela 'much better', Al Jazeera Zach

President's office says anti-apartheid icon is responding "satisfactorily" to treatment after a week in hospital.

Doctors last week drained excess fluid that had built up on lining of Mandela's lungs because of recurring infection[AFP]

Nelson Mandela is "much better" and responding "satisfactorily" to treatment after a week in hospital for pneumonia, the South African presidency has reported. "[Nelson Mandela] has been visited by family and continues to make steady progress" - President Jacob Zuma The ailing 94-year-old, who served as South Africa's first black president, was making a steady improvement and doctors were happy with his progress, President Jacob Zuma's office said in a statement on Wednesday. "His doctors say he continues to respond satisfactorily to treatment and is much better now than he was when he was admitted to hospital on the 27th of March 2013," it said. "He has been visited by family and continues to make steady progress." No details on a possible release were given.

Pistorius returns to the track, Al Jazeera Zach

Paralympian spotted on track near home town of Pretoria while on bail for murder as family deny his return to training.

A South African newspaper published a picture of the Pistorius at the University of Pretoria running track as the athlete’s agent says a return to training is imminent [Getty Images]

Oscar Pistorius has been running on his blades again and his return to regular training is imminent, his agent says. It is the first time it has been confirmed that the athlete has run since he was charged with the Valentine's Day shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. A grainy mobile photo of what appears to be Pistorius on the track at the University of Pretoria was published on Thursday on the front page of the Afrikaans-language Beeld newspaper in South Africa. The photograph - taken by a high school student from a bus passing by the track - shows the double amputee at some distance wearing his unmistakable blades and dark lycra running clothes and walking on a track with his hands on his hips.

South Africa to withdraw troops from CAR, Al Jazeera zach

President Jacob Zuma announces full withdrawal from Central African Republic after criticism over death of 13 soldiers.

Thirteen South African soldiers died in combat with Seleka rebels last weekend [Reuters]

South Africa has decided to pull its troops out of the Central African Republic because the deal under which they were deployed has become void with the fall of the government there, President Jacob Zuma has said. "We have taken a decision to withdraw our soldiers," Zuma was quoted as saying on Thursday by the public broadcaster SABC at the end of a summit of African regional leaders. On Wednesday, Clayson Monyela, spokesperson for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, tweeted that South Africa had been requested to keep troops in the Central African Republic, but had decided to withdraw following the fall of the government there. South Africa's decision to withdraw troops comes amid rising domestic criticism over South Africa's decision to deploy its troops to the country, after 13 soldiers died during combat with Seleka rebels last weekend.

US offers reward for Uganda warlord Kony

War Crimes Rewards Programme offers $5m each for information leading to arrest or capture of Joseph Kony and his aides. Last Modified: 04 Apr 2013 09:43

War crimes suspect Joseph Kony, ejected from Uganda in 2005, is wanted by International Criminal Court [Getty]

The United States has offered bounties of up to $5m each for fugitive Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony and some of his top aides in the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group. The announcement on Wednesday came just as Uganda and Washington said they had been forced to suspend their two-year hunt for Kony in the jungles of the Central African Republic, after rebels seized power in Bangui. The US State Department said Kony, along with aides Okot Odhiambo and Dominic Ongwen, had been cited under the department's newly expanded War Crimes Rewards Programme. Under the programme, the State Department offers rewards for information leading to the arrest, transfer, or conviction of such fugitives. The LRA "for almost 20 years has tormented and terrorised children across Uganda, the DRC, the Central African Republic and South Sudan. It has to stop", John Kerry, the US secretary of state, said. He admitted Kony and his cronies would "not be easy to find". "The LRA is broken down into small bands of rebels, scattered throughout dense jungle, hidden by dense canopy, controlling territory through tactics of fear and intimidation," he said in a column in the Huffington Post. The LRA was "one of the world's most brutal armed groups", Stephen Rapp, ambassador for Global Criminal Justice, told reporters, unveiling the rewards.

Chinese president arrives in Tanzania

Xi Jinping begins three-nation tour emphasising Beijing's growing presence and influence in African continent. Last Modified: 24 Mar 2013 20:53

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Xi Jinping, China's new president, has arrived into Tanzania at the start of a three-nation Africa tour that underscores Beijing's growing presence in the resource-rich continent. Xi flew into the east African nation's economic capital Dar es Salaam from Russia, the opening stage of his first foreign trip since being anointed president 10 days ago, on Sunday, The president is set to give a keynote speech on Monday covering relations with Africa and sign some 20 trade, development and cultural accords, before heading to Durban, South Africa to join an emerging economies summit. He will wrap up the African tour with a visit to Congo. "China-Africa cooperation is comprehensive," Xi said ahead of the trip, adding that Beijing valued "friendly relationships with all African countries, no matter whether they are big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor". "No matter whether it is rich or poor in resources, China treats it equally and actively carries out pragmatic cooperation that benefits both sides."

CAR rebel leader to review mining deals

Central African Republic's leader, Michel Djotodia, who took power through a coup, says he will review resource deals. Last Modified: 29 Mar 2013 23:13

Fighters from the Seleka rebel coalition overran the army and ousted the president in a coup last week [Reuters]

Central African Republic's new President Michel Djotodia, who seized power last week, said he would review resource deals signed by the previous government and promised to step down at elections in 2016. "I will ask the relevant ministers to see whether things were done badly, to try to sort them out," Djotodia said, when asked about resource licences awarded to Chinese and South African firms. Djotodia, a former civil servant turned rebel leader, said on Friday he would seek aid from former colonial power France and the United States to retrain the ill-disciplined army, which was easily overrun by fighters from his Seleka rebel coalition. Paris and Washington have called for the rebels to adhere to a power-sharing deal signed in the Gabonese capital Libreville in January which mapped out a transition to elections in 2016 at which then-President Francois Bozize was forbidden from running. "We are going to act according to the spirit of the Libreville agreements," Djotodia told his first news conference since seizing power. "Anyone currently in power supporting our takeover will not contest the next presidential elections, myself included." The rebel takeover has been strongly condemned internationally.

UN approves DR Congo 'intervention brigade'

Security Council unanimously approves first-ever "offensive" brigade to battle rebel groups in DR Congo. Last Modified: 29 Mar 2013 00:08

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The UN Security Council has unanimously approved the first-ever "offensive" UN peacekeeping brigade to battle rebels groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The force of more than 2,500 troops will operate under orders to "neutralise" and "disarm" armed groups in the resource-rich east of the huge country, according to the council's resolution on Thursday. The intervention brigade is unprecedented in UN peacekeeping because of its offensive mandate. But the resolution states clearly that it would be established for one year "on an exceptional basis and without creating a precedent" to the principles of UN peacekeeping. Surveillance drones will be used to monitor the DR Congo's borders with neighbours accused of backing the rebels will be operating by July, according to UN officials. The resolution, sponsored by France, the US and Togo, would give the brigade a mandate to operate "in a robust, highly mobile and versatile manner" to ensure that armed groups cannot seriously threaten government authority or the security of civilians. UN peacekeepers were unable to protect civilians from M23 rebels, whose movement began in April 2012 when hundreds of troops defected from the Congolese armed forces. The resolution strongly condemns the continued presence of the M23 in the immediate vicinity of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, and its attempts to establish "an illegitimate parallel administration in North Kivu". It demands that the M23 and other armed groups, including those seeking the "liberation" of Rwanda and Uganda, immediately halt all violence and "permanently disband and lay down their arms". It also strongly condemns their continuing human rights abuses including summary executions, sexual and gender-based violence and large-scale recruitment and use of children.