At least 23 killed in central Nigeria violence

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Officials say at least 23 people have been killed in separate attacks in central Nigeria, as the nation's embattled president prepares to speak to the nation.

It's unclear what President Goodluck Jonathan's address, scheduled for Tuesday night, will be about. However, he recently cut short a visit to southern Africa to return home amid attacks pitting different ethnic groups against each other and continuing assaults by Islamic extremists.

On Tuesday, an official in the central Nigerian state of Kaduna said gunmen armed with assault rifles and suspected to be Hausa-Fulani cattle herders killed 11 people in a village there. And in Benue state, a government spokesman said an attack blamed on Hausa-Fulani cattle herders there killed at least 12 people.

The violence continues despite increased military and police deployments.

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Central African Republic rebels demand payment

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — The Seleka rebels who overthrew Central African Republic's president are now demanding that they be paid before they disarm.

Seleka Lt. Ali Alkanto said Saturday that his fighters should receive salaries before they lay down their arms.

He said if the new government doesn't pay the rebels there could be violent clashes.

The demand raises concerns about growing dissent within the rebel movement.

Seleka now controls the national government, headed by Michel Djotodia, although observers say those in the capital wield little control over the rebels who are in the country's north.

While the rebels await payment, senior Seleka leaders have set up residence at the countrkly's only luxury hotel.

Seleka is made up of a coalition of several different rebel groups.

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News Summary: Australia central bank cuts rate

DOWN, DOWN UNDER: Australia's central bank cut its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to a record low 2.75 percent Tuesday in an effort to boost economic growth.

AUSSIE OPTION: The country's Treasurer said inflation is under control, so the central bank is in a position to deploy monetary policy, particularly when faced with a high Australian dollar.

BILLABONG BONDS: the Australian dollar remains high because of demand for government bonds, viewed by investors as a safe haven with higher returns than U.S. and Japanese government bonds.

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Australia's central bank cuts rate to 2.75 percent

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- Australia's central bank cut its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to a record low 2.75 percent Tuesday in an effort to boost economic growth as a mining boom cools and the strong Australian dollar erodes business profits.

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement following the bank's monthly board meeting that economic growth was below trend in the second half of 2012 and continued to be that way in 2013. Australia's long-term trend growth rate is around 3.25 percent a year.

"Employment has continued to grow but more slowly than the labor force, so that the rate of unemployment has increased a little, though it remains relatively low," he said.

"The global economy is likely to record growth a little below trend this year, before picking up next year," he said.

Australia's jobless rate rose from 5.4 percent in February to 5.6 percent in March — the highest rate in more than three years.

The central bank last lowered its Official Cash Rate in December, cutting it by a quarter point to 3 percent.

The rate last bottomed out at 3 percent for six months in 2009 during the global financial crisis and recession.

Moments after the bank's announcement on Tuesday, the Australian dollar slid against the U.S. dollar, dropping to $1.0188 from $1.02337.

The currency ended Monday's local trading session at $1.0272.

Treasurer Wayne Swan had described the 3 percent rate in 2009 as an "emergency low."

But he said Tuesday that Australia's economic circumstances in 2009 could not be compared with now.

The Australian dollar in 2009 was worth only 60 U.S. cents and global demand was then plummeting.

Inflation is under control so the central bank is "in a position to deploy monetary policy, particularly when faced with the fact that we have a high dollar which in itself is a consequence of the strength of our economy," Swan told reporters.

"One of the challenges that flows from the higher dollar and our domestic strength is the squeeze on profits for business across our economy caused by that higher dollar," he said.

Despite commodity prices falling as Australia's mining boom cools, the Australian dollar remains high due to demand for government bonds which are viewed by investors as a safe haven and have higher returns compared with U.S. and Japanese government bonds.

Australia is now only one of eight countries with a triple-A credit rating on its debt from all three major rating agencies — Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch ratings.

The International Monetary Fund said last month that it expects the Australian economy to return to trend growth in 2014, despite the economic damage being caused by a high Australian dollar.

The IMF kept its 2013 growth forecast for Australia at 3 percent. It raised its forecast for 2014 to 3.3 percent from 3.2 percent.

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Central African Republic to probe ousted leader

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Central African Republic's interim government says it is investigating what it claims are human rights abuses committed under the rule of deposed president Francois Bozize.

Justice Minister Arsene Senda, speaking on state radio Saturday, said he instructed prosecutors to probe crimes allegedly carried out by Bozize and other members of his government. Senda charged that the Bozize government was responsible for assassinations, torture, kidnappings and economic crimes. He charged that 119 people were killed by Bozize's bodyguards. He accused Bozize and his family of embezzling state funds.

Bozize, 66, was toppled in March after 10 years in power and sought refuge in Cameroon. The Seleka rebels, led by Michel Djotodia, formed an interim government and have vowed to hold free and fair polls within 18 months.

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Central African Republic elephant poaching rises

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Elephant meat is flooding food markets in villages near a famed wildlife reserve in Central African Republic one month after rebels believed to be involved in poaching overthrew the government, conservationists said Thursday.

The Dzanga-Sangha reserve in the rainforests of southwestern Central African Republic has been home to more than 3,400 forest elephants and features a world-renowned clearing where dozens gather each day.

Now the political chaos unleashed by a rebellion that overthrew Central African Republic's president of a decade has enabled elephant poachers to further their slaughter.

"Elephant poaching is on the increase and given the fact that Central African Republic for the moment is also in dire straits we are fearing for the worst in terms of people trying to look seriously for ivory," said Bas Huijbregts, head of policy for WWF's campaign against poaching in Central Africa.

Elephant meat is now being openly sold not only in the town of Bayanga near the reserve, but also in surrounding villages near the protected wildlife area, which is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, he said.

"Given the total absence of any type of law enforcement and rule of law in the area, there is elephant meat all over the place," he said.

At least 40 elephants have been slain at Dzanga-Sangha since the rebels took power on March 24, said local residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from the rebels operating in the area.

However, WWF said it was impossible to estimate how many animals may have been killed because there are currently no patrols going on in the forest to determine where the elephant carcasses may be.

Central African Republic's forest elephants have faced growing threats in recent years from Sudanese hunters on horseback who are making their way further and further south.

The poachers are used to killing elephants in savannah terrain though experts say they are increasingly adapting their methods to hunt elephants in the forest terrain of southern Central African Republic and in neighboring Cameroon.

The Sudanese hunters are now working in tandem with armed rebels from the group known as Seleka, which now has seized control of the federal government, anti-poaching rangers who have fled rebel-controlled areas told The Associated Press.

At least one notorious poacher has declared himself the local representative for Seleka.

Poachers are making greater inroads because of the near-anarchic state that has emerged in many parts of the country since President Francois Bozize was forced from power. Bozize, who himself took control in 2003 after a rebellion, fled into exile as thousands of armed rebels descended upon the capital in late March.

While their leader Michel Djotodia has been chosen to lead a transitional government, critics say he wields very little control over the rebels, who came together from several different groups with a common goal of ousting Bozize.

The rebels are blamed for rampant looting of hospitals and aid groups in the capital, and WWF said it has also had to evacuate its staff from the Dzanga-Sangha reserve after armed rebels looted their offices several times.

WWF said it is working with park staffers who have remained behind to try to secure the key areas inside the reserve despite threats to their personal safety. Those efforts may not be enough to protect elephants though if the situation continues to deteriorate.

"The worst case scenario that we could imagine," said Huijbregts of WWF, "is there would be no change in rule of law, and total anarchy would install itself."

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Associated Press writer Jose Richard Pouamba in Bangui, Central African Republic, contributed to this report.

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Online:

Dzanga Sangha Reserve: http://www.dzanga-sangha.org

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11 killed in central Nigeria village attacks

JOS, Nigeria (AP) — Officials in central Nigeria say at least 11 people have been killed in ongoing fighting between Christian and Muslim villagers in the region.

The attacks centered around the volatile city of Jos, where thousands have been killed since Nigeria became a democracy in 1999.

In the first attack Saturday, Tarok Christian people living in the Karkashi village say people from a neighboring Muslim Hausa-Fulani village raided their homes. Military spokesman Capt. Mustafa Salisu said Sunday that seven people were killed in that attack.

Later, in Zango, a Hausa-Fulani village, a community leader says four attackers from a Tarok settlement were killed. At least five people were also injured.

Religion, politics, grazing rights and economic power all play a role in the violence in Nigeria's fertile central belt region.

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18 killed in head-on bus crash in central Nigeria

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Authorities say 18 people have been killed in a head-on collision between two buses in central Nigeria.

Jonas Agwu, a spokesman for Nigeria's Federal Road Safety Corps, said the crash happened early Wednesday morning near Gwagwalada, a town outside of Nigeria's capital, Abuja.

Agwu said investigators suspect the driver of a smaller, older bus fell asleep behind the wheel, causing the vehicle to drift into the other lane and hit a large touring bus. He said at least nine others were injured in the crash.

Nigeria has some of West Africa's worst roads, despite its oil wealth. Massive potholes and poor paving, coupled with aggressive drivers, are blamed for many crashes. World Health Organization data shows Nigeria suffers from one of the world's highest traffic fatality rates.

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Rebels patrol Central African Republic capital

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Teams of rebels patrolled the capital of Bangui on Tuesday after aid groups said their facilities had been looted and robbed in the aftermath of the weekend coup that ousted Central African Republic's president of a decade.

The efforts to restore order to the city of 700,000 came as a rebel leader declared himself the new president and announced he would stay in power for three years.

Continuing violence in Central African Republic was preventing critically wounded patients from getting the help they needed, said the French medical aid group, Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders.

"MSF condemns the looting and robberies of our facilities and reminds all parties that medical personnel must be respected and protected and must be granted all available help in the performance of their duties," said Serge St. Louis, MSF head of mission in Bangui.

More than 1,000 armed rebels attacked the capital on Saturday, forcing longtime President Francois Bozize into exile in neighboring Cameroon. The fierce fighting left at least 13 South African soldiers dead and an untold number of civilian casualties.

It was the latest political turmoil to destabilize Central African Republic, a country where leaders since independence from France in 1960 have come to power or been ousted in a series of coups and rebellions.

On Monday, rebel leader Michel Djotodia made his first public declaration since overthrowing Bozize, stating that he planned to stay in power until 2016.

The leader of the rebel coalition known as Seleka justified the coup by saying that Bozize had veered into dictatorship during his 10 years in power.

"Through us, it was the entire population of Central African Republic that rose up as a single man against the president," Djotodia said, according to Radio France Internationale.

Meanwhile, French forces protecting Bangui's main airport opened fire on three cars that were speeding toward a security checkpoint, said the French Defense Ministry.

The cars, carrying Indian and Chadian citizens, continued despite warning shots. Two Indian citizens were killed, and the wounded Indian and Chadian passengers were taken for medical care, the defense minister said in the statement Monday.

France is investigating the shooting, the statement said.

The rebels' advance started last week when they pushed past Damara, a town 75 kilometers (47 miles) to the northeast. Damara had marked the line of control drawn by regional forces in January, following an accord signed in Libreville, the capital of neighboring Gabon.

The rebels broke that accord last week, claiming that Bozize's government had failed to make good on a series of promises, including sending back the South African troops guarding the capital.

The South African troops came under an onslaught of fire from the Seleka rebels, who shot and killed 13 South African soldiers over the weekend, in their fight to take the capital.

Seleka is a loose coalition of fighters, many of whom fought in previous rebellions. They joined forces last fall, beginning their advance toward the capital in December.

The Seleka fighters benefited from the growing dissatisfaction with Bozize, who came to power in 2003, at the helm of a column of a different rebel group which also invaded the capital and toppled the former leader.

Bozize is accused of growing cronyism, and in the last election in 2011, around 20 of Bozize's family members and close associates including former mistresses, won posts in the government, according to Louisa Lombard, a postdoctoral fellow in geography at the University of California, Berkeley.

"There was the sense that governing was being carried out by a tighter and tighter circle of people around Bozize," says Lombard, who has been travelling to Central African Republic for the past 10 years for research.

"And although all sorts of technocratic procedures were in place to make the government more inclusive, it was in fact less and less inclusive. The more technocratic people got sidelined. Those who held positions of power did not have much education, much background in their chosen field. There was a disregard for any kind of merit in governing."

Lombard cautions, however, that the Seleka coalition is very loosely held together. Already on Monday, a different rebel leader, 26-year-old Nelson N'Djadder who is based in Paris, said that he does not recognize Djotodia as their new president.

"Seleka is a very heterogeneous group. That is something we noticed since the beginning, when it first emerged," said Lombard. "Holding it together will be a big problem."

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Callimachi reported from Dakar, Senegal. Lori Hinnant contributed to this report from Paris.

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Rukmini Callimachi can be reached at www.twitter.com/rcallimachi

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Swiss tourist gang-raped in central India

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian media are reporting that a Swiss tourist was gang-raped in the central state of Madhya Pradesh and that 13 men are being questioned.

Local police superintendent C. S. Solanki told the Press Trust of India that the woman and her husband had camped out for the night in a forest after bicycling from the temple town of Orchha on Friday when they were attacked by a group of eight men.

He said the couple were beaten and had their belongings stolen, and that the woman was gang-raped.

Solanki said police were questioning 13 men in connection with the attack.

India has seen outrage and protests against rape and attacks on women since the fatal gang-rape of a young woman in a moving bus in New Delhi in December.

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Mining, China central issues in Greenland election

By Alistair Scrutton

NUUK (Reuters) - Voters in Greenland's capital will stream into the town's one polling station on Tuesday in a national parliamentary election in which mining, Chinese influence and the environment are core issues.

With sea ice thawing and new shipping routes opening in the Arctic, the former Cold War ally of the West has emerged from isolation as a geopolitical interest for governments seeking a share of untapped minerals and potential offshore oil and gas.

Prime Minister Kuupik Kleist, who in his youth hunted whales with a hand-held harpoon, has opened up Greenland to investors over the last four years.

The capital Nuuk has an art cinema, sushi bars, Thai restaurants and gleaming new office towers alongside older, grey Soviet-style housing estates.

Many of the 57,000 mostly Inuit inhabitants dotted along remote coastal towns and villages fear change has come too fast. Ice floes often are so thin that hunters can no longer use dog sledges.

And miners exploiting Greenland's resources may employ more foreigners than locals.

Revenues from mining may help wean self-governing Greenland off Denmark's roughly $600 million annual grant and lead to eventual independence. But they also bring worries of environmental damage to traditional hunting and fishing.

The main opposition leader Aleqa Hammond, who lost her father when young after he fell through ice on a hunting trip, has promised more taxes or royalties on foreign mining companies.

"Where is the voice of the people?" Hammond told Reuters last week. "People feel that the prime minister speaks on behalf of investors from outside."

The capital of 15,000 people overlooks a bay where whales can often be spotted. There are just two traffic lights and no roads or train links with the rest of the country - the only way in or out is by plane or boat.

Campaign posters vie with ice sculptures on the frigid main street for attention.

Polls show the results, which may not be known until late Tuesday night, could be close.

CHINESE INFLUENCE?

European Union officials have expressed concern about China's influence in Greenland, part of what some analysts say is a multi-pronged Arctic strategy by the world's most populous nation to secure needed resources.

One of the most controversial plans is a proposal for a $2.3 billion mining project by the British-based London Mining Plc near the capital Nuuk that could supply iron ore to China. Some 2,000 Chinese workers could be flown in for its construction.

Kleist's government passed a law that critics said allowed large companies to bring in cheap labor to work on construction projects. Hammond has promised to revise the law if she wins.

Another issue has been the mining of rare earths, essential in 21st century technology like smartphones. China currently has the lion's share of production.

Rare earths are often intertwined with uranium deposits. But Greenland is split over whether to jettison its zero tolerance policy on mining radioactive materials, which originates in Denmark. Kleist wants to keep the ban while Hammond would end it.

One rare earth deposit in southern Greenland, being explored by Australian-owned Greenland Minerals and Energy, could be one of the largest such mines outside of China.

"Everything is on hold for us with the election," said Ib Laursen, operations manager at Greenland Minerals and Energy.

(Editing by Michael Roddy)

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Australia central bank targeted by hackers

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's central bank has been targeted by sophisticated hackers seeking sensitive information which included Group of 20 negotiations, but a bank spokesperson said nothing was stolen.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would not comment on a media report that the malware computer virus used in the attack was Chinese in origin.

Hacking attacks on governments and corporations have become routine, with suspicion falling on China as the source of much of the activity. Beijing has repeatedly denied accusations it is behind the attacks, saying it too is a victim of hacking, particularly from the United States.

Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act showed Australia's central bank was the subject of a malicious email attack on November 16 and 17 in 2011, using a virus that was undetectable by the bank's anti-virus software.

An email titled "Strategic Planning FY2012" was sent to several RBA staff up to department heads and was opened by six of them, potentially compromising their workstations. The email purported to come from a senior staff member at the bank and came from a "possibly legitimate" external account.

The emails contained a compressed zip file with an executable malware application, though the Bank would not identify the virus used.

Fortunately all of the six workstations affected did not have local administrator rights, which prevented the virus from spreading. The servers were considered comprised and removed from the network on November 17.

"The email had managed to bypass the existing security controls in place for malicious emails by being well written, targeted to specific bank staff and utilized an embedded hyperlink to the virus payload which differs from the usual attack whereby the virus is attached directly to the email," according the RBA's report of the incident.

"Bank assets could have been potentially compromised, leading to service disruption, information loss and reputation," the report noted.

The RBA took the issue up with the providers of its anti-virus software to update its defenses, including scanning for hyperlinks in emails and automatically blocking them.

As well as the attempted hacking, the RBA documents also listed a range of potentially embarrassing incidents from lost laptops and Blackberry's, to sensitive documents emailed out by mistake.

In one incident, a folder containing confidential information was left on the rear of an office car by a distracted staff member. On driving off, the staff were advised by a passing motorist that papers had scattered across the road.

After a hour of searching most of the papers were recovered though some were thought lost in a stormwater drain, "resulting in moderate reputational risk to the Bank", the reports showed.

(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Michael Perry)

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