A senior U.N. official said on Monday the main focus after the delay of last week’s planned election in Libya should be on ways to move forward with the vote rather than on the fate of the interim government.

The U.N. secretary general’s special adviser on Libya, Stephanie Williams, told Reuters in an interview that most Libyans wanted an end to what she called “this interminable transitional period”.

The election had been scheduled for Dec. 24 but was delayed after disputes over basic rules including the eligibility of candidates and the judiciary’s role in appeals.

The eastern-based parliament, elected in 2014, is debating how long to delay the election and whether the interim Government of National Unity (GNU) and Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, a presidential candidate, can stay in place.

Gambia’s Supreme Court has dismissed a legal challenge to President Adama Barrow’s recent election victory, ruling that its proponents had not followed proper procedure in filing it, court documents showed on Tuesday.

Barrow won the Dec. 4 poll with 53% of the vote. Runner-up Ousainou Darboe, who got about 28%, and two other candidates refused to accept the results, citing alleged problems at polling stations without providing evidence.

L1N2SQ078Darboe’s United Democratic party (UDP) petitioned the Supreme Court to nullify the results the following week despite election observers having said the poll was conducted fairly.

The court dismissed the petition on Tuesday on the grounds that Darboe’s party had failed to serve Barrow within five days of filing it, which violated the Gambia’s fair trial procedures, judicial sources said.

Tanzania signs $1.9 bln railway contract with Turkish firm
anzania on Tuesday signed a contract with Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi to build a 368 km section of standard gauge railway that is expected to cost $1.9 billion and will be funded by loans.

It is part of a 1,219 km line which Tanzania is building to help boost trade with neighbouring countries and Yapi Merkezi is already building two other sections which are near completion.

The section announced on Tuesday will link Makutopora with Tabora, two towns in the country’s central region, Masanja Kadogosa, director general of Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC), said in a televised ceremony.

The full line will connect Tanzania’s Indian Ocean port and commercial capital of Dar es Salaam with Mwanza, a port city on the shores of Lake Victoria which straddles the borders of Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan said at the ceremony that Tanzania would borrow to finance the project.

A South African court has halted oil giant Shell’s seismic testing for oil and gas along the country’s eastern coastline, pending a final ruling.

The decision has been hailed by environmentalists who fear that the sound blasting will harm marine life.

Shell said it had “paused” operations while it reviewed the judgement.

South Africa’s Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe had condemned the project’s critics, saying they wanted to deprive Africa of energy resources.

In his ruling, High Court Judge Gerald Bloem said that Shell’s right to explore the waters near the Wild Coast “was awarded on the basis of a substantially flawed consultation process”.

The 250km (155-mile) stretch of coastline in Eastern Cape province is known for its natural beauty and marine life.

Campaigners argued that many sea creatures – including whales, dolphins and seals – would be affected by the seismic testing.

The mummified body of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh has been studied for the first time in millennia after being digitally “unwrapped”.

The mummy of Amenhotep I, who ruled from 1525 to 1504 BC, was found at a site in Deir el-Bahari 140 years ago.But archaeologists have refrained from opening it in order to preserve the exquisite face mask and bandages.

Computed tomography (CT) scans have now revealed previously unknown information about the pharaoh and his burial.

Dr Sahar Saleem, professor of radiology at Cairo University and lead author of the study published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, said they showed Amenhotep I was about 35 years old when he died.