Egypt judge orders lawyers investigated

Cairo - In an unprecedented move, an Egyptian judge ordered prosecutors on Wednesday to investigate three activist lawyers over his claims they "rioted" in court when they demanded to see their hunger-striking client.

Judge Mohammed Nagui Shehata ordered the investigation following a brief session and adjourned the session to 17 September Shehata is the same judge who recently sentenced three Al-Jazeera English journalists to prison on terrorism related charges.

Lawyer Osama el-Mahdi, one of the three attorneys, said the defence team was only doing its job, demanding to see their client Ahmed Douma, who is serving a three-year prison sentence for protesting and is facing another trial.

Somali government offers amnesty to extremists

Mogadishu - Somalia's government said on Wednesday it was offering amnesty to fighters with al-Shabaab, the Islamic extremist group whose leader was targeted Monday night in a US airstrike.

Following a Cabinet-level security meeting on Tuesday, Somali authorities are giving al-Shabaab militants 45 days to take up the offer, Security Minister Khalif Ahmed Ereg told reporters Wednesday in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.

He said the government "will create a better livelihood to build their future for those who meet the deadline."

The offer of amnesty comes after a US airstrike that targeted al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane, whose fate remains unclear as US and Somali officials assess the outcome of the attack.

Shabaab boss probably died in Somalia strike

Nairobi - The death of the leader of Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab rebels in a US air strike is a "very strong probability" but still unconfirmed, security sources told AFP on Wednesday.

"There is a very strong probability that he is dead... this requires verification on the ground, which is not simple," said a western security source, who asked not be identified. The comment was echoed by a senior Somali security official.

Ebola poses threat to humanity - US

Dakar - Ebola represents a threat to all humanity and an outbreak of the virus in five West African countries will likely spread to more, American officials warned on Wednesday.

"This is not an African disease. This is a virus that is a threat to all humanity," Gayle Smith, special assistant to President Barack Obama and senior director at the National Security Council, told reporters during a telephone briefing.

About half of the 3 000 people sickened have died in the current Ebola outbreak, which has hit Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal.

Nigeria's Bama still under state control

Maiduguri - The Nigerian town of Bama remains under government control after an assault by Boko Haram, the Borno state government and local vigilante groups said on Wednesday, contradicting reports that the Islamist group had seized much of it.

The attack on Bama began on Monday, and on Tuesday residents and several security sources, including a soldier on the ground, said the insurgents had overrun much of it.

Nigeria's military has remained silent since the attack began. A defence spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment. There was no immediate comment from Boko Haram, which never communicates with the press beyond releasing videos of its leader, Abubakar Shekau.