RABAT, Dec 12 (Reuters) – The African Development Bank (AfDB) announced on Friday that it will lend Morocco 270 million euros ($316 million) to finance upgrades to the country’s airport infrastructure ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup. Morocco, which will co-host the World Cup with Spain and Portugal, is planning to invest 38 billion dirhams ($4 billion) to increase overall passenger capacity at its airports to 80 million by 2030, up from 38 million currently, as it prepares for a surge in tourist arrivals.

By Tarek Amara TUNIS, Dec 12, 2025 — A Tunisian court on Friday sentenced prominent opposition figure Abir Moussi to 12 years in prison, her lawyer said, in what human rights groups describe as another step toward consolidating President Kais Saied’s one-man rule. “The ruling is unjust and is not a judicial decision but a politically motivated order,” Moussi’s lawyer, Nafaa Laribi, told Reuters.

By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA, Dec 12, 2025 — The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Friday that food rations for communities facing famine in Sudan will be reduced starting next month due to severe funding shortages. The announcement comes amid a conflict that erupted in 2023 between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which the UN has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Hundreds protest Guinea-Bissau coup, demanding release of opposition leaders as ECOWAS prepares to discuss sanctions and restore democratic order.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 12 — The United States accused Rwanda on Friday of fueling instability in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group advances, threatening U.S. efforts to broker peace in the region. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Mike Waltz, told the Security Council that Rwanda has been strategically controlling M23 and its political wing, the Congo River Alliance (AFC), since 2021, providing military, logistical, and training support.

DAKAR/ABIDJAN, Dec 11 – Ivory Coast has requested that the United States station spy planes in its northern region to conduct cross-border operations against Al Qaeda-allied jihadists wreaking havoc across the Sahel, senior Ivorian security officials told Reuters. A decision from Washington is expected next year. A senior counterterrorism official in Abidjan said the two countries had agreed on regional security priorities, with timing as the only remaining issue.

French special forces assisted Beninese troops to foil weekend coup attempt as President Patrice Talon remained in full control of Cotonou.

Nigeria rescues 100 children abducted from a Niger State Catholic school, pledges to secure release of remaining students amid wave of mass kidnappings.

Africa’s expanding coup belt gained a new front line on December 7, when soldiers appeared on Benin’s state television claiming power. Led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri and calling themselves the “Military Committee for Refoundation”, eight uniformed men declared President Patrice Talon “removed from office”, suspended the constitution, dissolved state institutions, and ordered border closures. Observers prepared for a now-familiar scenario: A forced resignation, leaders detained or under house arrest, and routine condemnations from the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Nigeria sends fighter jets and troops to Benin after failed coup; ECOWAS forces also deployed to protect democracy and constitutional order.