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AFPCopyright: AFP

The jail sentence of a prominent independent journalist in Algeria has been substantially increased by an appeal court in Algiers.

Ihsane el-Kadi was sentenced to three years in jail with two years suspended earlier this year on charges of receiving foreign financing for the independent media group he owns.

His sentence has been raised to seven years - with five to be served in prison.

Kadi was arrested last year on Christmas Eve - an order was issued to close down his media company.

His lawyers denied the charges, saying that the only foreign transfer of money came from his daughter who's a partner in the company and lives in the UK.

Read more on this story:

• Algeria jails journalist Ihsane el-Kadi as old guard asserts power

Armed militants in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, looted the residence of the Tunisian ambassador to Sudan, the Tunisian foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The foreign ministry called the development “a grave violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the headquarters of diplomatic missions”.

The ministry called for the perpetrators “to be tracked down and held accountable” while calling for restraint and an immediate end to the fighting in Sudan which began in April.

A number of embassies in Khartoum have been ransacked since the start of fighting in April, including those of Qatar, Kuwait, Libya, Jordan and Oman.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Nine Egyptian men are due to appear in court in Greece in connection with the sinking of a trawler last week that was carrying hundreds of migrants.

Seventy-eight people are confirmed to have died in the disaster but hundreds more are feared to have drowned.

The nine suspects are accused of people-smuggling and other offences.

They were arrested after survivors said they took turns steering the boat, giving orders and communicating with the Greek coastguard.

The Greek authorities are facing mounting questions about whether did enough to prevent the shipwreck.

Read more about the shipwreck:

• Greece boat disaster: Ship tracking casts doubt on Greek Coastguard's account

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

The Greek authorities have arrested nine suspected people smugglers in connection with the deadly sinking of a migrant boat on Tuesday.

The Greek public broadcaster, ERT, said they were all Egyptian nationals.

Relatives of people who were on board have been gathering in the port city of Kalamata, hoping to find family members.

More than 100 people have been rescued but nearly 80 have died and up to 600 are still missing.

There are unconfirmed reports that around 100 children could be among them.

More on the Greece boat disaster:

• Capsized vessel had 100 children in hold, BBC told

At least 78 migrants are known to have drowned when their boat capsized off the southern coast of Greece, with many more possibly missing.

Officials have been quoted as saying the vessel may have been carrying up to 400 people.

More than 100 have been rescued, but the operation has been hampered by strong winds.

The Greek coast guard said the boat had been spotted by a surveillance plane from the EU's Frontex agency on Tuesday afternoon, but that the passengers refused any help.

Authorities said the vessel appears to have been on its way from Libya to Italy.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

More than a dozen companies, mainly from Saudi Arabia, are bidding for two million tonnes of carbon credits at an auction in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Demand for carbon offsets is growing fast as companies seek to reach their target of net-zero emissions.

The organisers of the auction say almost three-quarters of the carbon credits are being generated by projects in Africa, including supplying efficient cooking stoves in Kenya and Rwanda.

Large companies looking to offset their own carbon emissions - including the airline Saudia - will be bidding in Nairobi.

Within the next decade, the global market for these voluntary carbon credits is expected to be worth tens of billions of dollars.

But critics have in the past questioned the quality of some so-called green projects set up in Africa.

There is also some concern that with an option to buy carbon credits, companies including airlines are not under enough pressure to cut their own emissions.