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The man who was once Nelson Mandela’s chosen successor returns to government, this time as a business tycoon.

After nearly two days of hiding from the hostage-takers at the facility in Algeria, eight workers decided their only chance at survival would come from climbing the fence and running away.

The attack in Algeria could lead some energy companies to pull out of especially volatile countries, although analysts said the siege is not likely to fundamentally reshape the industry.

Several Egyptians who laid siege to an Algerian gas complex also took part in the deadly attack on the American mission in Libya, a senior Algerian official said.

The airlift expands the involvement of the United States in support of a NATO ally, but officials stressed that the American military footprint on the ground in Mali would remain small.

Eritrea appeared calm on Tuesday, a day after soldiers stormed a government ministry and briefly took over the state-run airwaves, according to capital residents.

Gunmen killed 18 people at a market in northern Nigeria where local hunters were selling bush meat from animals such as monkeys and pigs, which strict Muslims are forbidden to eat.