Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | An elderly British couple have been kidnapped in South Africa, police said Thursday, amid reports they were abducted by extremists suspected to have links to the Islamic State group. The British foreign office confirmed that a pair of Britons had been kidnapped and warned …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | NBI | Ethiopia’s President Dr. Mulatu Teshome has said that one of the common challenges within the Nile Basin is that the majority of its inhabitants live under extreme poverty. Speaking during Thursday’s regional Nile Day 2018 celebrations at the UN Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, …

Paris, France | AFP | Arsenal scraped into the last 16 of the Europa League despite a 2-1 second-leg defeat by Ostersunds, but Thursday’s action was marred by violent clashes at the match between between Athletic Bilbao and Spartak Moscow which left a police officer dead. Two quickfire first-half goals …

Paris, France | AFP | As the stakes mounted in the Champions League, the usual suspects once more rose to the occasion with Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski starring in the last 16, first legs. Season after season, these preeminent performers deliver on the biggest stages and administer …

Doha, Qatar | AFP | Desert country Qatar will plant at least 16,000 trees in a bid to “beautify” its eight planned 2022 World Cup stadiums, tournament organisers said on Thursday. The trees, a mixture of local specimens and other varieties imported from China, Spain and Thailand, will be grown …

Belgrade, Serbia | AFP | A four-million-euro mosaic depicting Jesus Christ inside the world’s second largest Orthodox church was unveiled in Belgrade on Thursday. The giant mosaic, which weighs 40 tons and was worked on by 70 Serbian and Russian artists, decorates the central dome of the city’s Saint Sava …

Seville, Spain | AFP | Jose Mourinho described Scott McTominay as “fantastic” in response to his decision to select the young midfielder ahead of Paul Pogba for Wednesday’s Champions League last 16, first-leg draw with Sevilla. Pogba had been left out of the starting line-up for the goalless draw with …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain’s top energy supplier Centrica said Thursday it would cut 4,000 jobs by 2020 after announcing a 17-percent drop in profits in 2017 due to a loss of customers and poor performance in North America. “We expected the new programme to involve reduction in …

Podgorica, Montenegro | AFP | A suicide attacker blew themself up after throwing an explosive device into the US embassy compound in Podgorica, the Montenegrin government said Thursday. Authorities in Podgorica have not released any theories as to the motive for the attack in the country which recently joined NATO …

Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Twenty-six Congolese refugees at a fast-growing camp in western Uganda died from acute diarrhoea in just three days, the UN said Thursday. Tens of thousands of people have fled an upsurge of fighting in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo this year, many …