A man killed himself and 16 other people with a grenade in northern Burundi when he was stopped from addressing scores of family members at a welcome home party for his sister, a police spokesman said today.

MIDO’S blistering start to life on Teesside could leave delighted manager Gareth Southgate with a major headache.

THE European Union announced a €166 million aid package for 10 African countries yesterday, saying the continent’s poorest nations must be remembered on the first anniversary of the tsunami in Asia.

A gun battle between Burundi’s last rebel group and soldiers broke out today on the outskirts of the capital, with gunfire echoing in the city and apparently putting an end to a ceasefire agreement reached earlier this month.

The people of Burundi appear to have overwhelmingly approved a new constitution, preliminary results showed today.

THE AFRICAN Nations Cup begins tomorrow without two of its perennial contenders as well as a clutch of big-name players.

The President of Burundi, Domitien Ndayizeye, is assuring the Irish Government that progress has been made in identifying a number of people believed to be involved in the murder of Archbishop Michael Courtney.

THE Pope’s representative in Burundi, an Irishman, was shot dead in an ambush yesterday.

A group of junior army officers who attempted a coup to oppose Burundi President Pierre Buyoya’s negotiations with Hutu rebels surrendered today, the defence ministry said.