Single unwed mothers face struggle in Morocco Moroccan single mother Amina has a nine month old daughter but her father and brothers are unaware of the baby's existence and her mother and sisters insist she should give the child up. As an unwed mother in the relatively-liberal Muslim country, the 23-year-old is well aware of what to expect should she tell her male relatives about baby Malak. “It would be a catastrophe,” she said. “So when I last went down to visit them, I travelled alone, without my daughter.” Read more here. Algeria Awards Two Oil, Gas Exploration Licenses in Bid Round Algeria awarded oil and natural-gas exploration licenses to national energy company Sonatrach and one to Compania Espanola de Petroleos SA of Spain, two of 10 permits being offered in a bidding round. Sonatrach won exploration rights in Rhourde Fares and Cepsa was granted a license for Rhourde Rouni, according to a statement from Al Naft, the national hydrocarbon resources agency. Both blocks are in the Berkine basin of eastern Algeria.The awards are Al Naft's first since Youcef Yousfi replaced Chakib Khelil as oil minister at the end of May. Somali pirates free Tunisian ship ‘for $2 million' Somali pirates have released a chemical tanker hijacked in November after payment of a ransom of $2 million, Tunisia's transport ministry announced on Thursday.The Hannibal II, whose 31 crewmembers are mostly Tunisian, is currently on its way to Djibouti in the Red Sea, the ministry said. “This release comes after the success of negotiations undertaken by the Tunisian government with the Somalia pirates and the payment of a ransom estimated at $2 million,” the official TAP news agency quoted the ministry as saying. It did not say who paid the ransom, or how. Canada poised to send fighter jets to Libya Canada is poised to send in fighter jets to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya, defence sources told The Canadian Press.Six CF-18 fighter-bombers are being readied at Canadian Forces Base Bagotville, Que. and are expected to deploy overseas once the Harper government gives the official green light. Their mission will be to enforce the no-fly zone that the United Nations Security Council authorized Thursday night, the sources said. Sudanese Presidency agrees to resolve Abyei issue by end of March The Sudanese Presidency on Thursday agreed to reach a comprehensive settlement for the issue of the Abyei area by the end of this month and to resume north- south talks on outstanding issues. The Sudanese Presidency on Thursday held a meeting which brought together Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his First Vice-President and President of the southern Sudan government Salva Kiir Mayardit in the presence of Chairman of the African Union (AU) Panel on Sudan Thabo Mbeki. Read more here.
