Africa

The United Nations is in talks with Canada on speeding up the deployment of six helicopters to shore up its peacekeeping force in Mali, a UN envoy said on Wednesday. Mahamat Saleh Annadif said Canada will send the helicopters in August but that the mission needs them in June, when …

As relations with the United Arab Emirates sour over the seizure of millions of dollars in cash, Somalia announced on Wednesday it would end UAE funding for its armed forces. Defence Minister Mohamed Mursal’s comments to reporters came shortly after the UAE condemned what it called an “illegal” move by …

The Presidential Council of Libya in Tripoli has announced the launch of a new military operation under the name Asifat Al-Wattan (The Nation’s Storm), which it says will be targeting terrorists across Libya. The PC Head’s spokesman, Mohammed El Sallak, announced on Monday in a presser the kickoff of the …

Algeria suffered its deadliest ever air catastrophe on Wednesday when a military plane crashed near the capital, killing 257 people on board, mostly army personnel and their family members, officials said. An AFP photographer at the scene saw the charred wreckage of the plane after it caught fire in a …

The Central African Republic, one of the world’s poorest and most unstable countries, was rocked on Wednesday after 19 people, including a UN soldier, were killed and more than 100 wounded in clashes between peacekeepers and militias in a flashpoint Muslim enclave of the capital. Bangui’s bloodiest flareup in two …

Canada will be dispatching an aviation task force to the troubled West African nation of Mali as part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission, a senior government official said Friday. The government source said the task force will be in Mali for up to 12 months and an official announcement …

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry headed for India on Wednesday to lead Egypt’s delegation in the seventh round of the joint committee between the two countries. In an official statement, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said the joint committee will commence its meetings on Thursday, followed by ministerial …

The UN Security Council on Wednesday told the peace envoy for Western Sahara to press on with talks on relaunching negotiations to settle the dispute over the North African territory. Horst Koehler met with the council behind closed doors to report on his meetings with representatives from Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania …

Libyan military officers representing the army of Libyan General Khalifa Haftar and the Al-Sirraj government agreed on Tuesday during meetings in Cairo on the importance of preserving the unity and sovereignty of the Libyan state, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported. The meetings, which started on Friday, were hosted by the …

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was taken into police custody on Tuesday for questioning over suspected Libyan financing of his 2007 election campaign, a source close to the inquiry said. Sarkozy, 63, had until now refused to respond to a summons for questioning in the case, which drew heightened scrutiny …