Libya’s delegates do not reach agreement on

The first day of new UN-led talks between delegates from war-torn Libya failed to reach an agreement on a constitutional framework for holding elections as planned in December, the UN said. The UN support mission in Libya said that the participants in Wednesday's meeting held via video conference discussed four proposals, the content of which was not revealed. "A final decision on the constitutional basis" for legislative and presidential elections would be taken at the next meeting, UNSMIL said,…

Algeria arrests 22 suspected arsonists

Algeria has arrested 22 people suspected of being behind the most devastating forest fires in the country's history, killing 69 people, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on Thursday, calling the fires a "disaster" and calling for national unity. Dozens of forest fires have hit mountainous areas in northern Algeria since Monday, mainly in Tizi Ouzou, the main province of the Kabylie region east of the capital, Algiers. On Thursday, Algeria held a national day of mourning for dozens killed. "Some…

Tunisia’s Ennahdha party forms another committee

On Thursday, one of Tunisia's largest parties in parliament announced the formation of a temporary committee to deal with the country's political crisis. In a statement, Ennahdha said the new committee will be chaired by Mohamed Goumani, a member of the party's executive office. The statement added that the committee has jurisdiction and that its decision is binding on the party. The statement also said that the committee would look for solutions and understandings to avoid the worst for Tunisia and…

Algeria mourns dozens killed in destructive fires

Flames erupted across northern Algeria on Thursday as the country observed a national day of mourning for dozens of people killed in recent forest fires to cover the Mediterranean. The North African country has been gripping devastating fires since Monday that have claimed 69 lives - 41 civilians and 28 soldiers. Soldiers and civilian volunteers have joined firefighters on several fronts in an effort to put out the fires that are being blown by windy and dry dry conditions. In the district of Tizi…

Zambia goes to the polls amongst COVID-19 considerations

Zambia goes to the polls on Thursday to vote for a new president and member of the National Assembly. The vote comes at a challenging time for the copper-rich nation, which is currently struggling with a serious economic crisis on top of political tensions and severe coronavirus restrictions. There are 16 names on the ballot papers for the president, but the race is expected to be a close head-to-head between incumbent Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front (PF) and main opposition candidate Hakainde…