AFRICA

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Libya is planning to extradite the brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi to Britain by the end of the year, Libya’s UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj told the BBC in an interview on Wednesday. Britain last year submitted a request to extradite Hashem …

United Nations, United States | AFP | France, Russia and the United States were locked in negotiations Wednesday to overcome differences over peace efforts in the Central African Republic ahead of a deadline for renewing the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission there. The Security Council must vote on prolonging …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Kenya and Ethiopia went on scoring sprees Wednesday as the African football qualifying competition for the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan kicked off. The Kenyans were two goals ahead of Mauritius within 13 minutes in Nairobi and finished 5-0 winners of a one-sided first …

United Nations, United States | AFP | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is renewing his call for UN financing to shore up a regional force fighting an insurgency in the Sahel, despite opposition from the United States. Guterres said in a report to the Security Council seen by AFP on Wednesday …

Cape Town, South Africa | AFP | One day, when nature calls, your urine could be put to better use than to be flushed down the loo. Instead it could be a key ingredient in the construction of a greener office or new home. In one of the latest innovations …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | African leaders are set to gather this weekend for a special summit aimed at pushing through long-debated reforms to their pan-continental body. The changes seek to streamline and empower the African Union — an ambitious call for an organisation often seen as toothless and …

United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Security Council on Wednesday lifted sanctions on Eritrea following a landmark peace deal with Ethiopia and a thaw with Djibouti that have buoyed hopes for positive change in the Horn of Africa. The council unanimously adopted a British-drafted resolution lifting the …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | One of Nigeria’s leading and respected Islamic figures on Tuesday renewed calls to tackle endemic poverty and rapid population growth to help end deadly Boko Haram violence. More than 27,000 people have been killed since the start of the insurgency in the country’s remote northeast …

Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Freedom of the press is being eroded in Gabon, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Wednesday, after the government suspended a newspaper for commenting on the hospitalisation of President Ali Bongo. Gabon’s media regulator, the High Authority for Communications (HAC), on Friday handed a three-month suspension …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The UN has sounded the alarm over fighting in eastern DR Congo, warning that violence, which is unfolding alongside an Ebola outbreak, could hamper next month’s elections. Leila Zerrougui, head of the UN stabilisation mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUSCO, said the …