Author: chicagoinquirer

TRIPOLI  -Italy has lifted a 10-year-long ban on Libyan civil aviation using Italian airspace, with flights due to resume from September, the Libyan government said on Sunday. There are currently few airlines operating flights in and out of Libya, a country that has suffered more than a decade of chaos and conflict since Muammar Gaddafi’s downfall in 2011. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni informed her Libyan counterpart Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah of the decision on Sunday, the Libyan government said in a statement. The decision was announced after a meeting between Libyan and Italian officials and after technical teams from both…

ABUJA  –     A Nigerian court has directed President Bola Tinubu’s government to disclose how much in stolen funds it has recovered from late military ruler Sani Abacha and how the money was used, court documents showed on Sunday. Abacha ruled Africa’s most populous nation and top oil exporter from 1993 until his death in 1998, during which time Transparency International estimated that he took up to $5 billion of public money. He was never charged. A Nigerian rights group asked the High Court in the federal capital Abuja to force the government to account for Abacha’s loot since…

by Philip Pullella Pope Francis on Sunday announced that he would elevate 21 churchmen to the high rank of cardinal, again putting his mark on the group that will one day choose his successor after his death or resignation. The ceremony to install them, known as a consistory, will be held on Sept. 30, the 86-year-old Francis announced during his noon prayer to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter’s Square. It will be the ninth consistory called by the pope since his election 10 years ago as the first pontiff from Latin America. The new cardinals come from countries…

by Tim Reynolds LAS VEGAS  — The final numbers for Victor Wembanyama in his Summer League debut: nine points on 2-for-13 shooting, eight rebounds, five blocked shots, three assists. Not on the stat sheet: countless pictures and videos captured on phones, the couple dozen times he applauded teammates, and all the autographs that a very friendly San Antonio Spurs coach named Gregg Popovich signed at halftime for kids and other fans. The Wemby Show is underway. The outcome on Friday night doesn’t matter much and will be forgotten in the next couple days — for the record, the Spurs beat…

YAOUNDE  – Paris St Germain forward Kylian Mbappe is touring his father’s native Cameroon for the first time this week as doubts swirl over his future at the French club. Excited fans gathered at the airport in the capital Yaounde, where the 24-year-old star touched down on Thursday for a three-day tour of the central African nation. “It is an honour for me to be here, to be in the country of my origin, to be with my family and to see the people out there. They have shown me some love,” Mbappe said on Friday after meeting Cameroon’s Prime…

ABUJA  –     Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has ordered the suspension of a newly introduced 10% tax on single-use plastics and excise duty on some locally manufactured products to reduce business costs in Africa’s biggest economy, his spokesman said on Thursday. Nigeria is one of the biggest plastic polluters on the continent, contributing some 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, some of which ends up in the sea, official data shows. Dele Alake said Tinubu signed executive orders suspending a green tax on single-use plastics, including plastic containers and bottles, that was introduced in March.…

by Ed White PONTIAC, Mich.  — Five years after her death, the final wishes of music superstar Aretha Franklin are still unsettled. An unusual trial begins next Monday to determine which of two handwritten wills, including one found in couch cushions, will guide how her estate is handled. The Queen of Soul, who had four sons, did not have a formal, typewritten will in place, despite years of health problems and efforts to get one done. But under Michigan law, it’s still possible to treat other documents — with scribbles, scratch-outs and hard-to-read passages — as her commands. The dispute is…

ABUJA  –     Nigeria’s average daily petrol consumption has fallen by 28% since President Bola Tinubu scrapped a popular but costly subsidy on the fuel at the end of May, data from the industry regulator shows. Average daily petrol consumption fell to 48.43 million litres in June, down from the previous average of 66.9 million, according to figures released to Reuters by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). A subsidy had kept prices cheap for decades in Africa’s biggest economy but it became increasingly expensive for the country – the government spent $10…

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois State Museum have returned nearly 40 sacred artifacts to Kenya so they can go back to their rightful owners. Museum officials said in a statement Wednesday that they have completed transferring 37 wooden statues known as vigango to the National Museums of Kenya so they can be returned to Mijikenda communities. The statues are considered sacred and are believed to carry the spirits of deceased male Mijikenda elders. The Illinois State Museum said the statues were removed from Mijikenda villages and sacred sites in the 1980s, acquired by art collectors and later transferred to the…

by Lori Ewing MANCHESTER, England  –     Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba says soccer players in Africa too often fall prey to fake agents peddling promises of fame and fortune. Through his foundation, Drogba has teamed up with global soccer players union FIFPRO and the International Labour Organisation to raise awareness about the risks. “Please, I need you to hear this,” former Ivory Coast international Drogba says in an animated campaign video to players. “Be very careful who you trust. Never trust the person who wants your money.” FIFPRO recently surveyed 263 players from seven African countries and…