Africa highlights: 'Pro-Gaddafi' hijackers surrender, Somali women defy basketball ban

Somalia’s first national women’s basketball tournament in 25 years is into its second day despite a religious edict declaring it “unIslamic”.  

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The influential Somali Religious Council has said the competition is not in keeping with Somali culture.

Sheikh Bashir Ahmed Salat told the BBC Somali service it was mainly to do with the players' clothing as although they cover up in tracksuits and headscarves, he considered such sportswear inappropriate.

But the autonomous north-eastern Puntland region, which is hosting the tournament in Garowe, dismissed the criticism as “uncalled for”, saying the games would go on as planned.

The tournament has drawn teams from four states and Mogadishu, the capital:

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At one time, hardline Islamists who took power banned women from sport, but as a UN-backed administration has begun to reassert its authority over the last few years, women and girls are increasingly returning to the court.

“Before the civil war, we used to play basketball. After the country went into ruins, so too did women’s most popular sport, basketball,” says Suad Abdulahi Galoow, a former basketball player who has returned from the US to help basketball reclaim it lost glory.

“From 2006 and especially when extremist ideology started to spread here, women and girls were banned from sports.”

But she says women's basketball is now thriving in Mogadishu where there are several different local leagues.

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Maltese authorities are questioning the more than 100 passengers freed from the hijacked Libyan plane and and are doing security checks in case a hijacker is among them, Libya's Transport Minister Milad Matouq is quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying. 

Back in Libya, friends and relatives have been waiting anxiously to hear from the passengers, who will be flown back to Libya once investigations end: 

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Here's some of the arrest of Libyan plane hijacker by Malta's security forces: 

The UN special envoy for Libya has tweeted: 

The UN Security Council has rejected a US-sponsored resolution to impose an arms embargo and sanctions on South Sudan, despite warnings of a possible genocide in the country. 

The resolution garnered seven votes of the 15-member council, falling short of the nine required for approval. 

Eight countries - including Russia, China and Japan - abstained.  

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Fighting between forces loyal to South Sudan President Salva Kiir and his sacked deputy Riek Machar broke out in December 2013, plunging the country into civil conflict that is still ongoing. 

The head of Libya's state-run culture agency says a total of 25 artists, writers, and intellectuals from southern Libya were among the 111 passengers on the hijacked plane, the Associated Press news agency reports

They were heading to the capital, Tripoli, to take part in a cultural forum when the Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 was hijacked by two men and diverted to Malta. 

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Libya's transportation minister has been defending security at airports in the North African state after a plane was hijacked and diverted to Malta. 

Milad Matouq said security breaches happen everywhere and Libya was no exception, the AP news agency quotes him as saying. 

He added that this is the first such incident since the 2011 uprising, which led to the overthrow of long-serving ruler Muammar Gaddafi.   

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We'll bring you more details on the plane hijacking as they come in but for now let's turn our attention to football.... Former Nigeria captain Daniel Amokachi has said the practice of local coaches being bribed to invite players onto the country's national teams is endemic.

Despite no one being found guilty of the accusation, there have long been suspicions it happens in Nigeria.

"Agents always come to give money for their players to be invited to camp," said Amokachi. "Does it have to be so?"

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has asked Amokachi to produce evidence to support his claims.

The 43-year-old, who won the Africa Cup of Nations as a player in 1994, says it is time people spoke up about an issue that he says has long bedevilled the Nigerian game.

"We know this thing has been going on for a while but we have to voice it," the current manager of Finnish second tier side JS Hercules told BBC Sport.

Read the full BBC Sport story

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Airport security in Libya is as lax and chaotic as the country's politics. 

Various armed groups who do not have any particular allegiance to any Libyan administration control them all.

Over the years there have been several incidents that passengers have become accustomed to, which often go unreported. 

Rival armed groups can delay planes by driving on the runway or even temporarily boarding the aircraft if they have a particular demand or a personal axe to grind.

The capital Tripoli's main airport was burned down during the 2014 rival militia clashes to control it.

Libyans already have trouble flying out of their own country and cannot travel directly to any European country. 

European airspace has been closed to all flights from Libya for over two years. 

The latest incident will undoubtedly dash any hopes that a change in that reality will take place any time soon.

The two young Libyan who hijacked a passenger plane surrendered peacefully without making any conditions after the Maltese government insisted that all passengers had to be released, Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said at a press conference. 

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The plane was hijacked while flying from the oasis city of Sebha to the capital, Trip, a trip which usually takes just over two hours. 

It was diverted to Malta, some 500 km (300 miles) north of the Libyan coast.

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Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has told a press conference that the two hijackers were "probably of Libyan nationality".

He said that they were told that no negotiations would be entertained until all passengers had been released. 

He added:

Quote Message: They were asked to surrender any weapons in their possession. They were found to be in possession of a hand grenade and a pistol. Nevertheless the armed forces of Malta are currently conducting a full search of the aircraft and a second pistol has been found so far. The search is ongoing.

They were asked to surrender any weapons in their possession. They were found to be in possession of a hand grenade and a pistol. Nevertheless the armed forces of Malta are currently conducting a full search of the aircraft and a second pistol has been found so far. The search is ongoing.

Quote Message: The two hijackers have been detained in custody and interrogations are ongoing.

The two hijackers have been detained in custody and interrogations are ongoing.

Quote Message: The rest of the crew ad passengers are also being questioned to ascertain events."

The rest of the crew ad passengers are also being questioned to ascertain events."

The passengers and crew would be flown back to Libya on another Afriqiyah aircraft after questioning was finished, he added.

A newspaper in Malta has tweeted: 

Malta's government has confirmed that the hijackers did not harm any of the 118 passengers or crew of the Airbus A320 which was seized earlier today after taking off from the Libyan oasis city of Sebha:

An independent journalist has tweeted details of one of the young Libyan men who hijacked a passenger plane after take-off in the oasis city of Sebha (spelt Sabha below) and diverted it to Malta:  

All the 118 passengers and crew were freed, apparently unharmed, ending a stand-off of almost four hours. 

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Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat will be addressing the media shortly, according to his communications chief:

It hasn't started yet, but when it does you can follow a live video stream of the press conference below:

In other news... Negotiators in the Democratic Republic of Congo have drawn up an agreement to try and ensure a smooth transition of power. 

The talks - brokered by the Catholic Church - follow the refusal of President Joseph Kabila to step down after two terms in office. 

Under the deal, President Kabila will stay in power until elections at the end of next year. 

A new prime minister will be chosen from the opposition and the deal will be overseen by the veteran opposition leader, Etienne Tshisekedi. 

A government spokesman said the proposal would be presented to the full delegation at the talks later today. 

Mr Kabila's refusal to step down and the postponement of elections have sparked violent street protests. 

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Here are some dramatic photos of the two men who hijacked the Libyan passenger plane with 118 people on  it: 

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The pilot of the Libyan Airbus A320 says the hijackers first asked him to fly to Rome, before he landed in Malta,  the Libya Channel TV network is reporting. 

Pilot Ali Milad named the two hijackers as Libyan nationals Moussa Shaha and Ahmed Ali.

The men were seeking political asylum and said they wanted to form "the New Fateh".  

Fateh is a reference to former Libyan ruler Mummaar Gaddafi, who led what was known as the Fateh revolution after he staged a coup in 1969.

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