Tune Age

Pirates have hijacked a Norwegian tanker off the coast of Madagascar and are steering the ship toward Somalia, the ship’s owner said.

Gangs of machete-wielding Muslims have been blamed for the weekend slaughter of hundreds of Christian villagers in Nigeria, but analysts say it would be wrong to assume the conflict was rooted in religion.

Nigeria on Tuesday faced international calls to bring to justice killer mobs armed with guns and knives who massacred hundreds of villagers in the country’s rural heartland.

The death toll from weekend violence in central Nigeria climbed to more than 200 Monday after members of a machete-wielding Muslim group attacked mostly Christian villages, officials said.

The death toll from weekend violence in central Nigeria climbed to more than 200 Monday after members of a machete-wielding Muslim group attacked mostly Christian villages, officials said.

More than 100 people were dead after an attack Sunday on a predominantly Christian group in central Nigeria, officials said.

Pirates released a Thai-flagged fishing vessel Sunday after a ransom was paid, a European Union anti-piracy force said. It did not say how much money was handed over.

The son of Togo’s late dictator has won re-election, extending the family’s four-decade rule in the west African nation.

Pirates have hijacked a Norwegian tanker off the coast of Madagascar and are steering the ship toward Somalia, the ship’s owner said.

Twenty-eight suspected pirates were taken into custody Friday by the European Union Naval Force after a handful of failed attacks on fishing vessels in the Indian Ocean, the EU mission said.