Hargus,+Maggie

The main armed group in Nigeria's oil-rich Delta region has announced a new indefinite ceasefire so peace negotiations can happen with Nigeria's government. A splinter group of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) lifted a ceasefire in September and threatened violence. These new peace negotiations are good for both the country's economy and the oil companies, whose oil output has been reduced by 1/3 for the past three years due to attacks by MEND. While there is no exact death toll, several hundred fighters and civilians have been killed in the past three years.

Sources: **Al Jazeera**: [|http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/]
 * BBC**:http://www.bbc.com/uk

The BBC article was very short, providing little detail or background information. It definitely could have given more to help me understand without having heard about the conflict earlier. The Al Jazeera article was a lot better, in my opinion, with several direct quotes and plenty of background information on who has been affected, the history of the conflict, and current developments. Both articles used the same source from MEND, but the Al Jazeera article actually names the MEND spokesman. All in all, Al Jazeera offered better coverage of this event. _

Two journalists were freed after being held captive in Somalia for 15 months. They were flown out of Somalia's capitol city and into Kenya, where they were rushed to a hospital. According to Australian journalist Nigel Brennan, he was pistol whipped and kept in chains for months while being held hostage. The other journalist, a Canadian by the name of Amanda Lindhout, said she was kept in a windowless room, alone at all times, with limited food and other necessities. A Somali journalist kidnapped with them was released in January. They were kidnapped in February 2008, and released for a ransom.

Sources: **The New York TImes**: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/27/world/africa/27somalia.html?_r=1&ref=africa
 * Al Jazeera**: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/11/2009112665436604999.html

Both articles were about the same length, but had different sources. The Al Jazeera article had a quote from Amanda Lindhout, while the NY Times article had information from Nigel Brennan about what happened to them during captivity. Also, the NY Times quoted the prime minister Somalia, the prime minister of Canada, the Canadian ambassador to Kenya, and Nigel Brennan's sister. The Al Jazeera article only qouted two sources, Amanda Lindhout and Somalia's information minister. If I had to choose between the two articles for which one is better, I'd pick the New York Times article.

800 miles off the coast of Somalia on Sunday, Somali pirates hijacked a ship bound for the U.S. The ship was an oil tanker carrying $20 million in crude oil from Saudi Arabia. There were 28 crew members on the ship. The pirates are probably poor former fishermen from Somalia's war zones. They seem to have shifted their focus from the Gulf of Aden to the large area between the Seychelles Islands and the African mainland. 38 ships have been attacked in the last two months, and 10 have been hijacked. However, this appears to be the only oil tanker ever hijacked.

Sources: **MSNBC**: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34203208/ns/world_news-africa/
 * The New York Times**: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/world/africa/01pirates.html?_r=1&ref=africa

The MSNBC article was very short, offering only basic information and a little bit of history, with no direct quotes. The NY TImes article, though, was much longer, with several direct quotes from people like the manager of the International Maritime Bureau in London, and a spokesman for the United States Navy's Fifth Fleet. I'd choose the NY Times article, because it has more information about the actual event, and more background information, as well as having quotes from credible sources.

Today, the president of South Africa announced that all of the children under one year of age who are HIV positive in the country will be treated. South Africa is the nation with the most people living with HIV. 5.2 million of South Africa's citizens have HIV, and 59 thousand babies per year are born with HIV. The president also said that he himself will be taking the treatment. The previous government of South Africa distrusted drugs to help combat HIV, instead using garlic, which resulted in 300 thousand premature deaths. This event marks a turning point for the country into a new "era of openness."

Sources: **BBC**: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8388178.stm
 * MSNBC**: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34220909/ns/health-aids/

Once again, the MSNBC article is very short, providing barely enough information to summarize the topic. The BBC article was lengthy, giving a lot of information and several direct quotes from President Jacob Zuma and a spokesperson for the UK's Department for International Development, as well as quoting the Treatment Action Campaign. Both articles used one of the same statistics, about the number of deaths from the garlic treatment of the former government. The BBC article also offered other statistics about the number of people and babies living in South Africa who are HIV positive. I would say that the BBC article does a better job of reporting on this event.