Woman says French-Algerian writer’s prize-winning Houris uses her story as she told it to therapist Aicha Dehdouh

Two complaints have been filed in Algeria against the French-Algerian author Kamel Daoud, the winner of France’s most prestigious literary award, and his wife, a therapist, alleging that they used a patient’s life story as the basis for his prize-winning novel.

The writer, the first Algerian novelist to be awarded the Prix Goncourt, won this year’s prize for his novel Houris, a fictional account of a young woman who lost her voice when an Islamist cut her throat during the country’s brutal 1992-2002 civil war.

Al-Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud had been convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity

The international criminal court has sentenced an al-Qaida-linked extremist leader to 10 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out when he headed the Islamic police in Timbuktu in Mali, west Africa.

Al-Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud was convicted in June of torture, religious persecution and other inhumane acts. Judges found he was a “key figure” in a reign of terror after Islamic extremist rebels overran the ancient desert city in 2012.

Furore over whether Chidimma Adetshina was really South African led to invitation to represent Nigeria

A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country.

Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and came runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjær Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night.

Police say 350-400 people have stayed in Stilfontein mine to avoid arrest after minister vowed to ‘smoke them out’

South African authorities are assessing whether it is safe to rescue potentially thousands of illegal miners who may be trapped underground, after police stopped food, water and medicine being delivered to them about two weeks ago to try to force the miners to the surface.

A police spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe, insisted to reporters on Tuesday that the miners were not trapped in the abandoned goldmine in Stilfontein, a town about 100 miles south-west of Johannesburg, but rather staying underground to avoid being arrested.

Group were held after a meeting about what mining firm referred to as unsubstantiated claims regarding taxes and levies

An Australian goldmining company has agreed to pay $160m ($A247m, £126m) to Mali’s government after the west African country’s junta detained its chief executive and two other employees.

Resolute Mining’s chief executive, Terence Holohan, and the other two employees were detained on 8 November in Mali’s capital, Bamako, at the end of a meeting with government officials over tax and other state claims that the miner had previously said were “unsubstantiated”.

Singer says his ‘understanding of the narrative’ around Do They Know It’s Christmas? has changed since 2014 appearance

Ed Sheeran has said he would rather not be on the forthcoming 40th-anniversary version of Band Aid charity single Do They Know It’s Christmas?, aligning himself with criticism of it as dehumanising and damaging to Africans.

Sheeran is one of an all-star cast to be drawn from three previous recordings of the song, in 1984, 2004 and 2014 – he appeared on the latter version. Producer Trevor Horn has mashed up three sets of performances into a new “Ultimate Mix”, which will be released on 25 November, and also features George Michael, Robbie Williams, Sinéad O’Connor and many more.

Randy Boissonnault to ‘step away from cabinet’ after being accused of ‘pretendianism’ and improper business dealings

Canada’s employment minister has resigned from the cabinet after weeks of scrutiny over his business dealings and his shifting claims of Indigenous ancestry.

Moments before question period on Wednesday, Justin Trudeau’s office said Randy Boissonnault would “step away from cabinet effective immediately” and will “focus on clearing the allegations made against him”.

Council in Yukon territory deadlocked, citing the crown’s tarnished relations with Indigenous peoples in the region

The council of a town in Canada’s Yukon territory has been locked for weeks in bureaucratic standstill after its members refused to swear a mandatory oath of allegiance to King Charles, citing the crown’s tarnished relations with Indigenous peoples in the region.

The standoff, which threatens to cost them their seats, reflects a complicated view of the country’s head of state, who lives thousands of miles away, and increasingly serves as a reminder to a history of violence and broken promises

Communities on Paraná River fear privatisation of waterway operations will destroy way of life

River communities in Argentina fear that Javier Milei’s plans to privatise operations on a key shipping route could lead to environmental damage and destroy their way of life.

Since taking office almost a year ago, the self-styled “anarcho-capitalist” president has pledged to privatise a number of the state’s assets. The latest is the Paraguay-Paraná waterway – a shipping route of strategic importance for Argentina and its neighbours.

Legacy of African Brazilians honored on 329th anniversary of resistance leader Zumbi’s death by Portuguese forces

During the more than 350 years during which slavery was legal in Brazil, harsh conditions prompted a string of uprisings, often resulting in the establishment of quilombos – independent communities formed by escaped Africans who were formerly enslaved, and their descendants.

None were more prominent than the one known as Palmares, where, in the 17th century, as many as 11,000 people lived in a string of communities across parts of the north-eastern states of Alagoas and Pernambuco.