Bee Gees lead singer Robin Gibb said Friday he was making a "spectacular" recovery from colon cancer and felt better than ever.

"The prognosis is that it's almost gone and I feel fantastic and really from now on it's just what they could describe as a 'mopping-up' operation," the 62-year-old told BBC radio.

Robin's twin brother Maurice died in 2003 from complications resulting from a twisted intestine, and younger brother Andy died in 1988 following a battle against cocaine addiction.

www.france24.com | 2/3/12 10:16 PM

The Iranian government has arrested relatives of Persian-language journalists working abroad for the BBC in a bid to silence them, the British Broadcasting Corporation said Friday.

BBC Director General Mark Thompson said the sister of a BBC Persian journalist was arrested last week and held in solitary confinement on unspecified charges at Evin Prison in Tehran, before being released on bail.

www.france24.com | 2/3/12 9:50 PM

US stocks rallied sharply Friday after a strong jobs report for January that showed the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in nearly three years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 154.63 points (1.22 percent) to 12,860.04 in closing trade.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 19.25 (1.45 percent) to 1,344.79, while the Nasdaq Composite added 45.98 (1.61 percent) to 2,905.66.

www.france24.com | 2/3/12 9:30 PM

Russia on Friday launched an Internet site which will transit live images from polling stations during the March 4 presidential election in which Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is seeking back his Kremlin job.

Internet users can register on the webvybory2012.ru site until March 3, Deputy Minister for Telecommunications and Mass Media Ilya Massukh told a news conference.

Web cameras have been installed in 91,400 voting stations across the country at a cost of 25 billion roubles (629 million euros/$824 million).

www.france24.com | 2/3/12 9:00 PM

One of Libya's many new militias has been accused of detaining and apparently torturing to death a former ambassador to France, the latest allegation of brutality to mar the victorious revolutionaries' reputation since the fall of Col Muammar Gaddafi. www.telegraph.co.uk | 2/3/12 8:09 PM

Iraq has postponed a problem-plagued project for the holy city of Najaf to be the Arab world's Islamic Capital of Culture, the spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said on Friday.

The announcement came after a spokesman for Grand Ayatollah Bashir al-Najafi, one of Iraq's top clerics, said the highest Shiite authority wanted the project postponed because of "financial and administrative corruption."

www.france24.com | 2/3/12 7:55 PM

Members of the hacker group Anonymous defaced the website on Friday of the law firm that defended a US Marine who faced charges in connection with the 2005 killing of 24 Iraqi civilians.

Anonymous, in a statement which appeared on the website of the law firm of Puckett and Faraj, also claimed to have published online three gigabytes of private email messages of attorneys Neal Puckett and Haytham Faraj.

www.france24.com | 2/3/12 7:55 PM

UNHCR reports attacks on camps in North Kivu province province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo www.voanews.com | 2/3/12 7:48 PM

At least 37 people have been killed in South Sudan following a shoot-out at a peace meeting aimed at ending recent violence, officials say. www.bbc.co.uk | 2/3/12 7:30 PM

A U.N. staff member was shot during a clash that broke out as officials met to discuss a weekend cattle raid massacre that left 78 people dead, including many women and children, U.N. officials said Friday.

www.topix.net | 2/3/12 7:20 PM

Two demonstrators and a soldier died in Cairo on Friday in continued clashes between football fans, democracy protesters and security forces outside the interior ministry after protests across Egypt. www.telegraph.co.uk | 2/3/12 6:56 PM

Preview of Saturday's second quarter-final between Ivory Coast and co-host Equatorial Guinea at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. www.bbc.co.uk | 2/3/12 6:55 PM

Two US women tourists and their Egyptian guide who were kidnapped in the south of Egypt's Sinai peninsula have been released, security sources say. www.bbc.co.uk | 2/3/12 6:02 PM

Ugandan government sees so-called 'tree banks' as a means to combat deforestation, but practice remains controversial www.voanews.com | 2/3/12 5:38 PM

Personal chef, Xoliswa Ndoyiya, has published a cookbook of meals she serves to the former president, his family and guests www.voanews.com | 2/3/12 5:36 PM

Consequences of last year’s scant rains, exceptionally poor harvest now being felt in northern Senegal www.voanews.com | 2/3/12 5:33 PM

Despite the loss of his mother Ghana midfielder Anthony Annan is determined to continue playing at the Africa Cup of Nations in her memory. www.bbc.co.uk | 2/3/12 5:29 PM

The fashion film we've been waiting for has finally hit the web: Oscar winner Sofia Coppola's Marni for H&M promo. www.telegraph.co.uk | 2/3/12 5:29 PM

Preview of Saturday's first quarter-final between Zambia and Sudan at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. www.bbc.co.uk | 2/3/12 5:17 PM

Tullow oil to sell $ 3 billion assets to France’s Total and China’s CNOOC www.voanews.com | 2/3/12 5:04 PM

At least 3 dead as protesters blame army, police and 'the old regime' for allowing violence to get out of control www.voanews.com | 2/3/12 4:58 PM

The world's deadliest beach, which saw six fatal shark attacks in five years, remains open to swimmers despite pledges by authorities to close it. www.telegraph.co.uk | 2/3/12 4:44 PM

William Hague has hailed a historic opportunity to end piracy and terrorism in Somalia after a landmark visit to the war-torn nation. www.telegraph.co.uk | 2/3/12 4:23 PM

In this outpost in the Sahara Desert, scientists are working feverishly to add a "Biblical problem" to the weather forecasts: The Desert Locust Center here in the capital of Mauritania, an enormous and sandy West-African country, is employing all kinds of technology - from "eLocust" computing devices to satellite images and crowdsourced locust ... (more)

www.topix.net | 2/3/12 4:16 PM

The head of the South African Medical Association has called for the return of the death penalty after one of the country's senior dermatologists was gunned down by carjackers in the capital Pretoria. www.telegraph.co.uk | 2/3/12 3:49 PM

Should southerners support Sudan at Cup of Nations? www.bbc.co.uk | 2/3/12 3:11 PM

The UN Somalia Food Security Nutrition Analysis Unit and the US famine warning network FEWS NET said in a statement Friday that famine conditions have ended in Somalia, but that humanitarian conditions are still dire. www.france24.com | 2/3/12 3:06 PM

FAO director credits rain, improved harvest and enormous humanitarian response www.voanews.com | 2/3/12 2:05 PM

A south Sinai security official said Friday that unidentified gunmen had intercepted a tourist minivan and kidnapped two female American tourists and their Egyptian tour guide at gunpoint near St. Catherine's Monastery. www.france24.com | 2/3/12 1:26 PM

Oil production is set to start in Uganda after a deal is signed between the government and London-based Tullow oil, which also draws in Chinese and French firms. www.bbc.co.uk | 2/3/12 1:06 PM

Doctors Without Borders walks fine line in caring for sick and wounded www.voanews.com | 2/3/12 12:30 PM

Human Rights Watch says that a Moammar Gadhafi -era diplomat appears to have died under torture after his arrest by a Libyan militia, the latest in a series of reported abuses by former rebels who overthrew the dictator last year.

www.topix.net | 2/3/12 12:01 PM

Protesters have gathered on the streets of Egypt's capital Cairo amid calls for more rallies over the deaths of 74 fans at a football match on Wednesday. www.bbc.co.uk | 2/3/12 11:57 AM

Preview followed by live coverage of Sunday's game between Newcastle and Aston Villa in the Premier League. www.bbc.co.uk | 2/3/12 11:57 AM

An ambassador who served under former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi dies after being detained by Tripoli-based militia, Human Rights Watch says. www.bbc.co.uk | 2/3/12 11:53 AM

Egyptian protesters are gathering on the streets of Cairo, as anger over the deaths of dozens of football supporters boils over into political unrest. www.bbc.co.uk | 2/3/12 11:01 AM

Protesters in Cairo stormed Egypt's Interior Ministry Friday, in the second day of rioting following Wednesday's football stadium disaster that killed 74. One protester in Cairo and two in Suez were shot dead by police. www.france24.com | 2/3/12 10:48 AM

Revolutionary youth groups in Egypt call for a mass weekend protest named the "Friday of Anger" www.telegraph.co.uk | 2/3/12 10:38 AM

Revolutionary youth groups in Egypt call for a mass weekend protest named the "Friday of Anger" www.telegraph.co.uk | 2/3/12 10:38 AM

Famine conditions have ended in war-torn Somalia six months after they were first declared but the situation remains serious, the UN says. www.bbc.co.uk | 2/3/12 10:36 AM

Hungary's national airline Malev said early Friday that it had grounded its planes after running out of cash almost a month after the European Union said the carrier must pay back state aid.

"At 0500 GMT on February 3, after 66 years of almost continuous operation, Malev stopped taking off," Malev chief executive Lorant Limburger told a news conference.

The immediate reason for grounding the flights was a refusal by Israeli ground staff to service a Malev flight in Tel Aviv, Limburger said.

www.france24.com | 2/3/12 10:35 AM

British Energy Secretary Chris Huhne, a senior member of the Liberal Democrat junior coalition partners, will face charges over allegations that he dodged a speeding penalty, prosecutors said Friday.

Huhne and his ex-wife, Vicky Pryce, will be charged with perverting the course of justice over the alleged incident in 2003 and will appear in court on February 16, Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer announced.

www.france24.com | 2/3/12 10:21 AM

The Iraqiya bloc sent a "positive signal" by ending its parliament boycott, and its eventual return to the cabinet depends on how Iraq's premier responds, the country's fugitive vice president told AFP.

Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni, is accused of financing a death squad to target policemen, judges and officials and has been hiding out in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region since December.

The accusations against Hashemi, which he has strongly denied, came amid a wider conflict between the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc, of which he is a member, and the Shiite-led government.

www.france24.com | 2/3/12 10:21 AM

The United Nations said Friday that conditions in Somalia have improved enough to downgrade the country's famine, but the world body's Food and Agricultural Organization warned that continued assistance is needed to stop the region from slipping back.

www.topix.net | 2/3/12 10:01 AM

Stuart Broad took three wickets in 16 balls as England ripped through Pakistan's top order on the opening day of their third and final Test.

Broad, who had 4-21, dismissed Azhar Ali (one), Younis Khan (four) and Mohammad Hafeez (13) as Pakistan lurched to 53-7 at lunch after deciding to go in first on a seemingly batting-friendly Dubai Stadium pitch.

At the break Asad Shafiq (24) and Saeed Ajmal (one) were at the crease hoping to add some semblance of respectability to the score in the afternoon session.

www.france24.com | 2/3/12 9:55 AM

John Terry's future as England captain was in the balance on Friday as Football Association chiefs were poised to decide whether he should be stripped of the armband over his racism court case.

Widespread media reports said the FA chairman David Bernstein had contacted all members of the governing body's 12-strong board to seek their opinion on whether Terry should keep the captaincy.

The BBC reported early Friday that the FA was set to remove Terry as captain but allow the player to continue to be available for selection.

www.france24.com | 2/3/12 9:41 AM

The Moment (London)-THE Horn of Africa is going through the worst humanitarian disaster ever recorded in history. allafrica.com | 1/30/12 2:20 PM

BuaNews (Tshwane)-The economic crisis occurs under very upbeat circumstances for Africa said President Jacob Zuma. allafrica.com | 1/29/12 8:41 PM

Business Daily (Nairobi)-New research reveals how Africa Tweets South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco lead Tweeting on the continent allafrica.com | 1/26/12 2:39 PM

Portland Communications (London)-Young people Tweeting from mobile devices are driving the growth of Twitter in Africa, according to How Africa Tweets, new research launched in Nairobi today. allafrica.com | 1/26/12 5:17 AM