Gunmen have kidnapped a prominent human rights lawyer in southern Nigeria. Chief Mike Ozekhome was abducted on Friday in Edo state. He's been a staunch critic on government corruption in the country. Colleagues have appealed for his release.
More than 2,500 US firefighters are battling to gain control of a fast moving wildfire on the edge of California's Yosemite National Park. Forestry and Fire Protection officials say mountainous terrain is hampering efforts to control the blaze which is burning largely on check to over an area of 50,000 hectares. From Los Angeles Alistair Leithead reports.
The so-called Rim Fire has burnt an area almost the same size as San Francisco. The city now under a state of emergency because threats to electricity transmission lines, hydroelectric power stations and water supplies. The fire is closing in on a reservoir which provides drinking water to millions of people. The blaze has spread over the boundary of the Yosemite National Park where millions of tourists visit each year. Thousands of people have been warned to leave their homes as firefighters and aircrafts dropping flame resistance powder are trying to create lines that the blaze can't cross.
The government in Egypt has shortened a widely imposed night curfew in response to demands from citizens. The month-long curfew imposed in the wake of the unrest that followed the ousting of President Mohammed Morsi will now begin two hours later at 9pm local time, although on Fridays when protests usually take place, it will start at seven.