Ethiopia

*Ownership disputed between Sudan and South Sudan. GENEVA/ KHARTOUM, Feb 4- Sudan has sold a cargo of oil of disputed ownership from South Sudan oilfields, a minister and trading sources said, in what is likely to be seen by the south as a provocation after security and oil transport talks between the two countries fell apart.

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 25- Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said on Friday Khartoum will not seek international arbitration in a dispute with South Sudan over Juba's takeover of oil assets when it won independence in 2011..

WASHINGTON, Jan 24- U.S. safety regulators are nowhere near finishing an investigation into a battery fire on the Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner, a top official said on Thursday, raising the prospect of a prolonged grounding for the aircraft.

WASHINGTON, Jan 24- U.S. safety regulators are nowhere near finishing an investigation into a battery fire on the Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner, a top official said on Thursday, raising the prospect of a prolonged grounding for the plane.

WASHINGTON, Jan 24- U.S. safety regulators will update their probe into battery fires on Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner on Thursday, as key customer United Airlines stood by the jet and said it expects more of them soon. Boeing and its regulators have said they do not know when the plane will fly again.

TOKYO/ WASHINGTON, Jan 23- Japanese regulators have joined their U.S. counterparts in all but ruling out overcharged batteries as the cause of recent fires on the Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner, which has been grounded for a week with no end in sight.

TOKYO/ WASHINGTON, Jan 23- Japanese regulators have joined their U.S. counterparts in all but ruling out overcharged batteries as the cause of recent fires on the Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner, which has now been grounded for a week worldwide.

*Poland's LOT first to seek compensation from Boeing. TOKYO/ SEATTLE, Jan 17- Airlines scrambled on Thursday to rearrange flights as regulators around the world joined the United States in grounding Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner passenger jets while battery-related problems are investigated.

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 17- Ethiopian Airlines said on Thursday it was grounding its four Boeing Dreamliners for "precautionary inspection", even though its aircraft had not encountered the same malfunctions suffered by other airlines.

TOKYO/ SEATTLE, Jan 17- Airlines scrambled on Thursday to rearrange flights as Europe, Japan and India joined the United States in grounding Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner passenger jets while battery-related problems are investigated.

BAMAKO, Jan 15- France hit Islamist rebels in Mali with fresh air strikes and deployed armoured cars on Tuesday, stepping up its intervention in the West African state as regional allies struggled to accelerate their plans to send in troops.

BAMAKO, Jan 15- France kept up its air strikes against Islamist rebels in Mali as plans to deploy African troops gathered pace on Tuesday amid concerns that delays could endanger a wider mission to dislodge al Qaeda and its allies.

BAMAKO/ DUBAI, Jan 15- France will end its intervention in Mali only once stability has returned to the West African country, French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday, raising the prospects of a costly, drawn-out operation against al Qaeda- linked rebels.

JUBA, Jan 3- South Sudan will delay resuming oil exports until at least mid-March even if the new African republic solves all security conflicts with Sudan at a presidential summit on Friday, Oil Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau said.

*Gum arabic exempt from U.S. trade embargo. *So Sudan remains world power in the industry. EN NAHUD, Sudan, Jan 2- Counting piles of banknotes in front of his tiny warehouse, Sudanese trader Maaz Adam is arranging yet another purchase of a red g u m which may find its way into a bottle of soda pop drunk a world away from this dusty town.

*European, U.S. instability pushes investors toward Africa. DUBAI, Jan 2- Wealthy Gulf Arab companies are boosting their investment in Africa's vast lands and untapped resources, marking a shift for investors who have traditionally directed their money towards assets in the United States and Europe.

NEW YORK, Dec 28- Russia's new ban on U.S. adoptions is the latest setback for hopeful American parents as countries increasingly impose restrictions. Other countries, including China and Guatemala, have erected hurdles for adoptive families as they create their own domestic adoption programs.

NEW YORK, Dec 28- Russia's new ban on U.S. adoptions is the latest setback for hopeful American parents as countries increasingly impose restrictions. Other countries, including China and Guatemala, have erected hurdles for adoptive families as they create their own domestic adoption programs.