Kerry makes sub-Saharan Africa visit

Making his first official trip to sub-Saharan Africa, US Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday demanded that Nigeria respect human rights as it cracks down on Islamist extremists and pledged to work hard in the coming months to ease tensions between Sudan and South Sudan.

Kerry, attending the African Union's 50th anniversary, backed the Nigerian government's efforts to root out Boko Haram, an al-Qaeda-linked radical sect. But he said there is no excuse for abuses by armed forces in Nigeria's long neglected north, where President Goodluck Jonathan has declared emergency rule. (AP)