Africa

Tunisia ready to accept migrants deported from France

Tunisia will accept all Tunisian migrants deported from France following the fatal stabbings at a church in Nice as long as all judicial appeals have been exhausted, its interior minister…

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More mass graves discovered in Tarhouna, Libya

Libya Observer reports that five new locations of mass graves were discovered in Tarhouna; south of Tripoli. The director of the media office of the authority of finding the missing…

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Africans amused but alarmed by U.S. election’s aftermath

For plenty of Africans, President Donald Trump’s actions in the aftermath of the U.S. election have been a cause for dark humour, but others have reacted with dismay or disbelief.…

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Reports of heavy fighting in Ethiopia as army sent into Tigray region

Heavy fighting broke out in Ethiopia's Tigray region on Wednesday, diplomatic sources said, after the prime minister launched military operations in response to what he said was an attack on…

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Algerian voters shun referendum aimed at ending political crisis

Fewer than one in four Algerian voters took part in Sunday’s constitutional referendum, officials said, despite government efforts to encourage high turnout as part of a strategy to turn the…

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Libya oil production rises to 800,000 bpd

Libya's oil production currently stands at around 800,000 barrels per day, over 100,000 higher than a few days ago, a Libyan oil source told Reuters. Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC)…

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Algeria votes on revised constitution

Polls opened in Algeria on Sunday in a referendum on changes to the constitution pushed by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and the powerful military as a way to turn the page…

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Al-Sarraj retracts resignation

The Head of the Presidential Council, Fayez Al-Sarraj retracted his resignation on Friday, which was scheduled at the end of October. The retraction was in response to calls from the…

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At least 140 Europe-bound migrants drown off Senegal coast

At least 140 Europe-bound migrants drowned off the coast of Senegal when their boat caught fire and capsized, marking the deadliest shipwreck recorded this year, the U.N. migration agency revealed.…

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Malta has key role in peace and stability in Libya

Malta has a key role in the ongoing efforts towards peace and stability in Libya. This common sentiment emerged from talks that Foreign and European Affairs Minister Evarist Bartolo held…

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Algerian president Tebboune transferred to German hospital amid Covid-19 fear

Algeria’s president was transferred from hospital in Algiers to Germany on Wednesday, officials said, days after the 74-year-old went into self-isolation following reports of suspected coronavirus cases among his aides.…

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Tunisia bans internal travel to contain pandemic

Tunisia on Thursday banned travel between the country's regions, suspended schools and public gatherings and extended a curfew, as it tried to contain a rapid surge of COVID-19 cases with…

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Concerns in Tunisia as coronavirus cases increase

Tunisia said that the coronavirus pandemic had become “very dangerous” with 2,125 new infections and 52 deaths recorded in the past 48 hours, and new restrictions were expected to be…

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Libyan investigators find more mass graves in city of Tarhouna

Libyan authorities have dug 12 bodies from four more unmarked graves in the city of Tarhouna, adding to the scores of corpses already discovered since the area was recaptured in…

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Libyan delegation expected in Malta tomorrow

A Libyan delegation led by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Aguila Saleh is expected in Malta tomorrow for talks with Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Evarist Bartolo. The…

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Algeria’s president hospitalised

Algeria’s president has been admitted to a specialised treatment unit in an army hospital, his office said, days before a critical referendum on changes he has pushed to the constitution.…

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American citizen kidnapped in Niger

An American citizen was kidnapped near the town of Birnin Konni in southern Niger in the early hours of Tuesday morning, three security sources and a local official told Reuters. The…

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UN launches forum to facilitate intra-Libyan talks and elections after truce

The United Nations said on Sunday that Libya's rival factions would hold political talks, days after the two main parties in the country's conflict agreed to a cease-fire. Head of…

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Egypt votes in parliamentary elections

Polls opened in Egypt on Saturday for parliamentary elections that will stretch over several weeks and are set to be dominated by supporters of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. A first…

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Burned-out buildings and armed gangs in Lagos despite president’s plea

Gangs armed with knives and sticks blocked major roads in Lagos on Friday, with many on the streets angered by a speech in which the president called for calm but…

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Malta welcomes Libya ceasefire agreement

Malta welcomes wholeheartedly the ceasefire agreement that was reached between the Libyan parties during the 5+5 Joint Military Commission talks in Geneva and commends the efforts of the United Nations…

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Libya’s long path to peace after the permanent cease-fire

Libya’s warring factions signed a permanent cease-fire agreement on Friday, but any lasting end to years of chaos and bloodshed will require wider agreement among myriad armed groups and the…

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Libya’s warring parties sign ceasefire agreement

The two main warring parties in Libya have signed a ceasefire agreement in Geneva, UN Libya envoy Stephanie Williams announced. "I wish to congratulate you on what you have accomplished here.…

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Libya’s troubled oil sector sees new revival

Libya's oil sector, shattered by unrest since the toppling of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, is back on the rise. The easing of a blockade by eastern forces, which…

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Israeli delegation travels to Sudan to discuss normalisation

An Israeli delegation made a rare visit to Sudan on Wednesday to discuss normalising ties, Israeli public broadcaster Kan radio said, as a minister predicted a possible diplomatic breakthrough between…

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Libyan sides to soon work on a consolidated budget, deputy GNA PM says

Libya's warring parties will soon start working to produce a single, consolidated state budget as part of efforts to find an agreement between them, the deputy head of the Tripoli-based…

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Lagos under 24-hour lockdown after violent protests

Lagos was under a round-the-clock curfew on Wednesday enforced by a heavy police presence, as smoke rose from a flashpoint area in Nigeria's biggest city where soldiers had opened fire…

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Locust swarms ravage Ethiopia

Mother-of-ten Marima Wadisha screamed, threw rocks and in her desperation even fired bullets at the locusts that descended on her sorghum fields in northeast Ethiopia. But the insect swarms were…

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Photo Story: Burial complex in the necropolis of Saqqara in Egypt uncovered

Photos made available by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities showing part of the newly discovered ancient burial shaft at a necropolis in Saqqara, south of Cairo, Egypt (issued…

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U.N. acting Libya envoy ‘optimistic’ on talks

The United Nations' acting Libya envoy said on Wednesday she was "quite optimistic" that ongoing talks between the warring sides would lead to a lasting ceasefire after they agreed in…

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Islamic group frees 1,300 fighters from jail in DRC

Armed men freed more than 1,300 prisoners from a jail in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in a coordinated attack on Tuesday, the town's mayor said, blaming an Islamist militant…

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Photo Story: Schools in Egypt reopen amid coronavirus pandemic

Students wear face masks during the first day of school at Notre Dame school in Cairo, Egypt, 19 October 2020. The new academic year in Egypt is expected to start…

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Tunisia government to pump $1.5 billion into state firms, agrees to raise wages

Tunisia's government will pump $1.5 billion into state firms as part of an attempt to overhaul the struggling sector and will pay a new instalment of wage increases for public…

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Nationwide curfew ordered in Tunisia over pandemic

Tunisia's Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi on Monday ordered a curfew starting from Tuesday in all regions of the country. Coronavirus cases have been surging in Tunisia, which had managed to…

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Kidnappings by pirates up 40% in Gulf of Guinea

Kidnappings rose by 40% in the Gulf of Guinea in the first nine months of this year, and the region off West Africa’s coast now accounts for 95% of global…

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Nigeria to launch nationwide military exercise as protests rock country

The Nigerian army will begin a two-month national exercise, it said, while denying the move was part of any security response to recent widespread demonstrations against alleged police brutality. Operation…

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Sarkozy indicted for concealment of Libyan public funds in new corruption charges

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy claimed on Friday his "innocence is again violated" after new charges were issued against him as part of an investigation into the alleged illegal campaign…

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Tunisia sees 14% budget gap in 2020, aims to halve it in 2021

Tunisia expects the coronavirus crisis to drive its budget deficit to 14% of gross domestic product this year, double the original target and the highest in nearly four decades, a…

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Photo Story: Sticking out in Soweto

Pedestrians walk under a huge retired Shackleton aircraft that has been placed on top of a petrol station near Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa. The Avro Shackleton was a British long-range…

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European Union agrees to help Mozambique tackle insurgency

The European Union has granted Mozambique’s request for assistance in tackling a wave of attacks in the country’s north by rebels with links to Islamic State, the EU delegation in…

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UN report offers rare glimpse into finances of Somali Islamists

Somalia’s Islamist insurgents are moving millions of dollars through the formal bank system and appear to be investing in businesses and real estate, according to a United Nations report offering…

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Libya’s Tripoli government says it holds U.N.-sanctioned alleged people smuggler

Libya’s internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) has detained Abdalrahman al-Milad, a coastguard commander sanctioned by the United Nations for alleged human trafficking and migrant smuggling, its interior ministry…

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Protesters clash with police in Tunisia

Hundreds of stone-throwing protesters clashed with police in a provincial Tunisian town on Tuesday after authorities bulldozed an unlicensed cigarette kiosk, killing its owner sleeping inside, witnesses said. Street protests…

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11 migrants die off Tunisia

At least 11 migrants from Africa died when their boat sank off Tunisia on Sunday, as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to the Italian island of Lampedusa, a Tunisian…

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Nigeria’s police disbands controversial anti-robbery Squad after protests

The head of Nigeria's police dissolved its Special Anti-Robbery Squad with immediate effect on Sunday, a police statement said, prompted by days of protests across the country against alleged brutality…

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Third of Tunisia’s business threatened with bankruptcy

The coronavirus pandemic has plunged Tunisia into an economic crisis that has cost tens of thousands of jobs and collapsed the country's important tourism industry. Despite initially containing the spread of Covid-19 during…

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Libya’s NOC lifts force majeure on Sharara oilfield

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said it was lifting force majeure on Sharara oilfield from Sunday, and a Libyan source said initial output there will be 40,000 barrels per day…

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Kidnapped Mali politician, French aid worker and two Italians freed

Freed Malian politician Soumaila Cisse, French aid worker Sophie Petronin and two Italians arrived in Bamako on Thursday aboard a Malian military transport plane, ending their lengthy captivity in the…

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Sub-Saharan Africa to contract 3.3% this year, World Bank says

The coronavirus crisis is expected to drive a 3.3% contraction in sub-Saharan African economies in 2020 and could push 40 million people into extreme poverty, the World Bank said on…

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Tunisia imposes night curfew to slow second wave of pandemic

Tunisian authorities will impose a curfew in the capital Tunis to slow a surge in coronavirus cases, months after stopping a first wave with an expensive lockdown that the government…

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Libya’s Mosques to reopen on Friday

Libya's General Authority of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs said mosques "will reopen for all prayers starting next Friday" after over seven months of closure due to coronavirus pandemic. The Authority…

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Reports Libyan oil production rose to 290,000 bpd

Libyan oil production has risen by about 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) from last week to reach 290,000 bpd as exports ramp up, a Libyan oil source told Reuters on…

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Chevron Nigeria plans to cut 25% of staff after oil price drop

The Nigerian unit of oil major Chevron plans to cut its local workforce by 25% to reduce costs, it said, due to weak demand for oil in the wake of…

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US signs 10-year military cooperation deal with Morocco

The United States and Morocco at the beginning of the weekend signed an accord that aims to strengthen military cooperation and the North African kingdom’s military readiness over the next…

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Tunisia to ban gatherings, cut public-sector work hours due to coronavirus

Tunisian authorities will ban all gatherings and reduce working hours for employees in the public sector in order to stop the rapid spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi…

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Pompeo accused Russia of working to destabilise Libya

The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has accused Russia of working to destabilise Libya and escalate tensions, saying in a presser in Greece that Washington and Athens are working…

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Egypt unveils 59 ancient coffins in major archaeological discovery

Egypt on Saturday put on show dozens of coffins belonging to priests and clerks from the 26th dynasty nearly 2,500 years ago, with archaeologists saying tens more were found in…

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