AFP news

Chinese controls on exports of two metals critical to making semiconductors came into force on Tuesday, a day after Beijing imposed curbs on the foreign sales of some drones.

Niger's new junta on Monday accused France of seeking to "intervene militarily" to reinstate deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, as tensions soared with the former colonial power and its neighbours.

A missile strike on a residential building killed six and wounded dozens in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown on Monday, as Russia said it stepped up strikes against military facilities in response to attacks on its territory, including Moscow.

Two men set the Koran alight outside parliament in Stockholm on Monday, an AFP reporter saw, at a protest similar to previous ones that have sparked tensions between Sweden and Muslim nations.

Sonko, a fierce critic of President Macky Sall, "was charged and placed in custody" after appearing before a judge, lawyer Ousseynou Ngom told AFP.

After bust-ups with Mali and Burkina Faso, France is now watching its relationship with Niger spiral downwards following the Sahel's third military takeover in as many years.

The king, known as the Kabaka, occupies a largely ceremonial role, but has previously had run-ins with the government of President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled over Uganda with an iron fist.

A Ukrainian drone downed by Russia on Tuesday struck a Moscow office tower that was also hit over the weekend, as multiple other drones were downed, Russian officials said.

Two people were killed Monday during protests in southern Senegal after the indictment and detention of opposition figure Ousmane Sonko, a presidential candidate for the 2024 election, the interior ministry said.

The company formerly known as Twitter removed a towering, blinking X from atop its San Francisco headquarters Monday after the rebranded tech firm tangled with city officials over the controversial sign.

The Euclid space telescope, launched July 1 on a mission to shed more light on elusive dark matter and dark energy, has reached its destination orbit and on Monday its European operators revealed its first test images.

Panama announced on Monday that more migrants have crossed the Darien Gap, the hazardous jungle area separating Central and South America, so far this year than in all of 2022.

At least four people were killed including a 10-year-old child after a Russian missile attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rig on Monday, officials said.

Nigerien participants in the Francophone Games, which have kicked off in DR Congo's capital, have been left struggling after a putsch in their home country last week.

Firebrand Senegalese opposition politician Ousmane Sonko said Sunday he had started a hunger strike from custody after being arrested this week, as his lawyers condemned his arrest.

Kenyan President William Ruto said Sunday he would "not negotiate about the safety of our country" with his rival after agreeing to dialogue to end violent protests against his government.

African leaders on Sunday gave the junta in Niger one week to cede power or face the possible use of force, and slapped financial sanctions on the putschists, after the latest coup in the jihadist-plagued Sahel region raised alarm on the continent and in the West.

The coup in Niger, the third in as many years to topple an elected leader in Africa's troubled Sahel, threatens to further hamper efforts against jihadist groups in the region, analysts say.

Nouhaila Benzina became the first player to wear a hijab during a Women's World Cup game when she sported the Muslim headscarf in Morocco's match against South Korea on Sunday.

Niger's junta said ECOWAS could stage an imminent military intervention in the capital Niamey as the regional bloc was due to hold an "extraordinary summit" on Sunday over the coup in the Sahel state.

The Central African Republic voted on Sunday in a referendum on a new constitution that would allow President Faustin-Archange Touadera to seek a third term in a country which has endured several coups.

Russia said on Sunday it had downed Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and the Crimea peninsula in attacks that damaged two office towers in the capital and briefly shut an international airport.

The African Union asked Niger's new junta to return to their bases and restore constitutional order in 15 days as the EU and former colonial ruler France Saturday suspended security cooperation and financial aid to the jihadist-hit country.

A Russian missile struck an apartment block in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Friday, Kyiv officials said, injuring at least nine people including two children.

Despite the military intervention in Ukraine and efforts by the West to paint Russia as a pariah state, Moscow can still count on support from several African, Latin American and Asian governments, including that of heavyweight China.

The United Nations insisted Friday it is still providing humanitarian assistance on the ground in Niger but was forced to suspend aid flights after the coup closed borders.

Environment ministers from G20 nations meeting in India on Friday raced against time to reach a last-minute consensus on the most contentious issues to redress the global climate crisis.

Ethiopian Airlines successfully weathered the Covid pandemic by shifting its strategy, but Africa's only profitable carrier still faces "real challenges" in sourcing parts and staying competitive at a time of inflation, its CEO told AFP. The 2022-2023 financial year ending June 30 "was a very successful year," Mesfin Tasew said in an interview in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

Romina Nunez scored the equaliser as Argentina roared back from two goals down to draw 2-2 and deny South Africa a landmark first Women's World Cup win on Friday. South Africa were cruising to a first-ever win in five matches at the World Cup after goals by Linda Motlhalo and Thembi Kgatlana either side of half-time in Dunedin.