The Turkish presidency forwarded a motion yesterday to the presidency of the Parliament to extend the deployment of Turkish forces in Libya for a further 24 months, from next January 1st until 2026. The motion states that “in the event of a resumption of attacks against the legitimate government”, i.e. Turkey’s support for the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord helped turn the tide of war in Libya. Turkish military assistance — including advisors, equipment and intelligence — helped block a year-long military campaign by the Libya National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, which sought to gain foothold in the capital. The deal added to tensions in Turkey’s dispute with Greece, Cyprus and Egypt over oil and gas drilling rights.

South Korea’s recent announcement of the opening of new diplomatic missions in several African nations signals that Seoul aims to commit more resources to a continent that is widely seen as home to some of the world’s fastest-growing markets, according to experts. “More politically conservative Korean presidential administrations have focused on building ties to Africa with an eye towards countering or isolating North Korea, both in international fora and on the African continent,” she added. But, according to Matthew Minsoo Kim, a researcher into Korean-African relations based in Seoul, there are clearly numerous challenges for both South Korea and Africa to consider if they are serious about strengthening this new, developing relationship. As for Seoul, it will need to find ways to encourage its businesses to take advantage of the opportunities available in African markets. African nations, on their part, that are eager to establish economic ties with South Korea would do well to reassure potential investors that their capital and assets will be safe.

Open Extended ReactionsTwo down, one to go -- North Melbourne will play Brisbane in their first grand final as they aim to complete an impressive collection of AFLW scalps. Now they take on the Lions, who won the 2021 flag and are in their fifth grand final after Saturday night's narrow win over Geelong. "You can say a few weeks ago that we couldn't beat the Big Three and now we've knocked over two of them and we have one to go in a grand final," he said. "Whether there was a bit of resolve from last year, whether there's a bit of resolve from some of the close losses we've had this year, I thought in the last quarter the players were just super -- they dug really, really deep." Adelaide are the only multiple AFLW premiers with three and, like Brisbane, were aiming for their fifth grand final.

Morocco’s capital market regulator AMMC gave its approval for the listing of merchant bank CFG Bank on the Casablanca Stock Exchange. Under this IPO, CFG aspires to raise 600 million dirhams at a price share of 110 dirhams, with the subscription period running from November 30 to December 7. CFG Bank is also the first bank to issue an IPO since 2004. In 2022, CFG Bank had a net banking income of 500 million dirhams, up 25% and a net profit of 54 million dirhams, up 73%. The goal is part of directives under Morocco’s new development model which also aims at increasing the stock exchange market capitalization from 50% to 70% by 2035.

Nuclear-armed North Korea launched the satellite on Tuesday, but South Korean defence officials and analysts said its capabilities have not been independently verified. Kim examined photos of Seoul and other cities of Mokpo, Kunsan, Pyeongtaek and Osan, where U.S. and South Korean military bases are located. The photos were taken as the satellite passed over the peninsula on Friday morning, state news agency KCNA said. On Saturday, Kim visited the control centre once again to examine more photos taken in the morning of different target regions in South Korea: Jinhae, Busan, Ulsan, Pohang, Daegu and Gangneung. On Thursday, South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik said North Korea had "exaggerated" by saying Kim had already viewed images of Guam.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) express grave concern over the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the eats of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The UNHCR and UNICEF say the crisis is made worse by the limited humanitarian access to those in need, primarily due to the obstruction of major routes. The humanitarian response in the DRC is significantly underfunded. The humanitarian response in the DRC is significantly underfunded, the U.N bodies say. For 2023, the coordinated Humanitarian Response Plan, which includes both UNHCR and UNICEF financial needs, is set at US$2.3 billion, but as of today, it is only 37 percent funded.

Lonely Planet has the answer, with its freshly released “Best In Travel” selection of must-visit hotspots for the year ahead. For its part, the renowned Lonely Planet travel guide publisher has now shared its travel inspirations for 2024, resulting in its Best In Travel pick for the year ahead. Looking across the board at Lonely Planet’s full selection of trendiest destinations – country, city, region, sustainable destination, value destination – the Balkans stands out as a recurring theme. Lonely Planet also recommends visiting the Bosnian city of Mostar, or opting for the Danube Limes in Bulgaria for an inexpensive change of scenery. Finally, for those in search of off-the-beaten-track escapism, Lonely Planet recommends a hike in Wales, or a trip to the Japanese island of Hokkaido, unless you’re tempted by Tanzania’s Swahili Coast.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, which also has the continent’s largest economy, appears to be looking toward the ascendent East and Global South as it seeks to strengthen its global strategic alliances and to increase its international clout. He added that he believes Nigeria not only meets the criteria for membership for BRICS+ but for the G-20 as well, Bloomberg reported. The African continent’s leading economic power has previously voiced its intention to join the BRICS bloc. Fourteen countries, including North Africa’s second-largest economy Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Palestine, Senegal, Thailand, Venezuela, and Vietnam, have, at this point, formally applied to join the group. Despite that, BRICS member states only have 15% of the voting rights in the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The German government has committed to investing EUR 4 billion (USD 4.4bn) in Africa’s green energy by 2030, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Thursday, prompting African leaders to produce green hydrogen for sale to Germany. Scholz made the pledge after meeting African leaders during the G20 Compact with Africa conference. So far, 13 African countries have joined the Compact with Africa initiative, which was initiated by Germany in 2017. The German Chancellor said the conference was “the starting signal for stronger, reliable cooperation between Africa and Europe to realise climate-friendly energy supply based on green hydrogen,” as quoted in a statement by the African Development Bank. African Development Bank Group president Akinwumi Adesina, who attended the meeting, called for stronger partnerships and investment in Africa and stressed the importance of private sector development.

As African leaders converged on Germany’s capital earlier this week to attend the G20 ‘Compact for Africa’ meeting, the African Union (AU) chief called for “positive competition” from Europe in the continent, which would be more welcome than its criticism of Chinese investments for saddling poor countries with huge debts. There was a need for “positive competition”. There is no monopoly anywhere… Everyone has a place,” he said. The ‘Compact for Africa’ that brings together the G20 and 13 African countries, with support from organizations including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, aims to mobilize more private, sustainable investments in African countries. While welcoming Scholz’s praise of Africa’s potential and his call for investment, an African diplomat who did not wish to be identified also added that “at the moment Europe needs Africa more than Africa needs Europe.”

Double-amputee Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius was granted parole Friday, 10 years after shooting his girlfriend through a toilet door at his home in South Africa in a killing that jolted the world. Pistorius' parole will come with other conditions, Department of Corrections spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said outside of the prison where Pistorius has been incarcerated in the South African capital, Pretoria. Pistorius will not wear a monitoring bracelet as that is not part of South African parole procedure, Nxumalo said. Pistorius' parole hearing was his second in the space of eight months. Pistorius killed Steenkamp just months after he had become the first double-amputee to compete at the Olympics.

Oscar Pistorius sits in the dock at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa for a bail hearing, December 8, 2015. In the first he was the "Blade Runner", the multiple Paralympic gold medallist with carbon-fibre prosthetic legs who also took on the best in the 2012 London Olympics. The Johannesburg-born athlete was first catapulted on to the world stage in the early 2000s, when he won Paralympic gold in the 200 metres at the Games in Athens. But the Supreme Court of Appeal in late 2015 found him guilty of the more serious charge of murder after an appeal by prosecutors. Her mother June said she did not believe Pistorius, who turned 37 this week, was rehabilitated in a statement at the parole hearing.

Germany, Italy to Partner on Hydrogen Pipeline to North Africa11.24.2023 By Tank Terminals - NEWSNovember 24, 2023 [Renewables Now]- Germany and Italy have agreed to push ahead with the development of a hydrogen pipeline from North Africa to southern Germany to support long-term energy security and transformation. Under the plan, Germany and Italy will seek to advance the development of new gas and hydrogen pipelines connecting the two countries via Austria or Switzerland. Special attention is focused on the South Central Corridor linking southern Germany and Italy to North Africa which should expand cross-border infrastructure and help import 10 million tonnes of hydrogen by 2030. The pipeline will connect demand centres in Italy, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, thereby contributing to the establishment of a larger European hydrogen network. In pursuit of these goals, Germany and Italy will also actively promote the acceleration of renewable energy, gas, and hydrogen production in North Africa.

The World Vegetable Center has collected and stored 6,000 vegetable germplasm at its state-of-the-art facility in Arusha. The seeds comprise of more than 100 species of vegetables such as Egg plants and Solanum nigrum. Taking journalists on a tour of the World Vegetable Center, Eastern and Southern Africa, a scientist in charge with Traditional Vegetables Conservation and Utilizatuon at the centre, Dr Sognigbe N’Danikou underscored the facility’s role in supporting better income and healthier diets for Tanzanians. “This is a global key collection point of traditional African vegetable seeds where collection and conservation work is done in collaboration with national partners who maintain duplicate collections”, said the scientist. “Nearly half a ton of Vegetbale seeds is collected at the center every year which eventually leads to led to the release of hundreds of varieties”, he observed.

JOHANNESBURG, NOVEMBER 24 (IANS): Opener Laura Wolvaardt has been appointed as South Africa's full-time captain for all formats, and her reign will start from the T20I series against Bangladesh happening next month, said Cricket South Africa (CSA). In the T20I series against Bangladesh happening from December 3-8, Laura will oversee a South Africa squad which has youngsters Ayanda Hlubi and Eliz-Mari Marx earning their maiden international call-ups in the shortest format of the game. "Having Laura Wolvaardt as the official captain, together with a blend of young and experienced players bodes well for our succession planning. South Africa's squad for the ODI series against Bangladesh will be announced ahead of the 50-over encounters which are being held in East London, Potchefstroom and Benoni between December 16 - 23. South Africa T20I Squad: Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder, Lara Goodall Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nondumiso Shangase, Delmi Tucker and Laura Wolvaardt (captain)