Rome, Italy | AFP | A group of 162 “vulnerable” refugees were flown directly from Libya to Italy on Friday for the first time, a day hailed as “historic” by Interior Minister Marco Minniti. “For the first time a humanitarian corridor has been opened from Libya to Europe. It’s a start,” …

Bamako, Mali | AFP | Mali’s army said Thursday it killed five jihadists but lost one soldier repelling an attack in the centre of the vast, landlocked nation. The assault happened at a military outpost near the remote town of Niono at around 0130 GMT, a military statement said. The …

Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Tunisia’s minister for women said Friday more needs to be done to promote female civil servants to top jobs after a study showed that few reach the most senior positions. Just 37 percent of Tunisia’s 630,000 civil servants are women, said Khaoula Labidi, who coordinated …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | Sevilla sacked coach Eduardo Berizzo on Friday just a month after it was announced the Argentine is suffering from prostate cancer, the club said, citing poor results. “The Sevilla board… has taken the decision to sack the coach of the first team due to the …

Tegucigalpa, Honduras | AFP | Honduras appeared to have pulled back from the brink of crisis on Friday, after the opposition candidate admitted defeat in a disputed presidential poll and the United States recognized the incumbent as the victor. Leftist flag-bearer Salvador Nasralla conceded shortly after Honduras’ key ally Washington endorsed …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Liberia’s ruling United Party said Friday it would not appeal the top court’s rejection of its legal challenge to delay an upcoming presidential run-off vote, seen as a crucial test to the crisis-hit country’s stability. The party of Vice-President Joseph Boakai, one of the two …

Niamey, Niger | AFP | President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Niger late Friday for a morale-boosting trip that will see him have Christmas dinner with some members of France’s 4,000-strong Barkhane anti-jihadist force. Former colonial power France has been leading regional counterterrorism efforts in West Africa’s Sahel region, but is …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | A surge in Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria’s restive northeast despite a sustained military offensive against the jihadists is being driven by a need to replenish food and weapon supplies, security and local sources say. In recent months, fighters from two of the main factions …

Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma challenged on Friday a court ruling which ordered him to launch a legal probe into corruption allegations against him, according to legal documents. The North Gauteng High Court last week ordered Zuma to appoint a judicial inquiry within 30 …

Paris, France | AFP | France on Monday accepted a first group of 19 refugees identified in Africa under an overhauled asylum policy that will also see it expel thousands of economic migrants. While it has drawn little public outcry in France, the policy faces stiff opposition from the left …