MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he wants to see an end to the conflict in Libya and then talks between the two opposing sides to begin.

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria swore in Abdelmadjid Tebboune as president on Thursday as the Hirak protest movement debated its response to his offer of dialogue to end a months-long political crisis.

Dec 19 (Reuters) - AngloGold Ashanti said on Thursday it expected its Obuasi gold mine in Ghana to produce at a rate of 2,000 tonnes per day in 2020, after achieving its first pour of gold since it was suspended five years ago.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former managers from South Africa's troubled state-run power firm Eskom have been arrested, a spokesman for the elite police unit the Hawks said on Thursday. An Eskom spokeswoman said she was not aware of the arrests.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A fire struck South Africa's second biggest power station on Wednesday, interrupting coal delivery to the 4,000 megawatt Majuba plant, state utility Eskom said.

N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Boko Haram militants killed 14 Chadian civilians and wounded five others in an overnight attack on a fishermens' camp in the northeastern part of Lake Chad, a local official said on Wednesday.

WINDHOEK (Reuters) - Namibia's electricity generation has dropped to below 40% of its capacity as the worst drought in almost a century has hit the country's own hydropower plant and others in the region reliant on water from dams and rivers.

DEBARK, Ethiopia - Rahmat Hussein once inspired fear and respect for the watchful eye she cast over her Ethiopian neighbourhood, keeping files on residents and recommending who should get a loan or be arrested.

ABIDJAN/LONDON, Dec 17(Reuters) - Ivory Coast and Ghana's move to combat farmer poverty with a living income premium for their cocoa sales is being undermined by chocolate makers scaling down purchases and negotiating discounts on other parts of the price, sources said.

LONDON (Reuters) - Angola has recovered more than $5 billion stolen from state coffers so far this year, both at home and from abroad, Justice Minister Francisco Queiroz said on Monday, amid a two-year crackdown on corruption.

JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's president Salva Kiir said he and the country's main former rebel leader reached a deal on Tuesday to form a long-delayed unity government.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States imposed sanctions on two senior South Sudanese officials it accused of fomenting conflict, the U.S. Treasury Department announced on Monday in its latest move to pressure the country's politicians to form a unity government.

HARARE (Reuters) - The wife of Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga was charged with trying to kill her husband when she appeared in court on Monday.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's foreign ministry said on Monday that 20 of its nationals had been kidnapped from an oil tanker in West African waters, where piracy has been on the rise.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African delegation will meet officials in the United Arab Emirates to discuss why the country has not ratified an extradition treaty, South Africa said on Monday, as it tries to investigate a case of alleged influence-peddling.

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Suspected Islamist militiamen killed at least 22 people overnight in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said on Sunday, as the rebels kept up attacks on civilians despite government claims to have them on the defensive.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean authorities arrested the wife of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga on charges of money laundering, fraud and violating exchange control regulations, the country's anti Corruption Commission (ZACC) said on Sunday.

GABERONE (Reuters) - Botswana's government has revoked the licences of two professional hunters who shot dead a research elephant and then destroyed its collar to try to hide the evidence.

LAGOS (Reuters) - An armed group that kidnapped humanitarian workers in northeastern Nigeria five months ago has claimed it killed four hostages, international aid agency Action Against Hunger said on Friday.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A Sudanese court on Saturday convicted former president Omar al-Bashir on corruption charges and sentenced him to two years of detention in a reform facility, the first ruling against the ex-leader ousted by mass unrest.