Image source, AFP

A court in France has adjourned the corruption trial of Equatorial Guinea's flamboyant Vice- President Teodorin Obiang Nguema after his lawyers asked for more time to prepare his defence, AFP reports.  

Mr Obiang, the son of the president,  is accused of buying a mansion and sports cars in France with a fortune amassed from oil-rich Equatorial Guinea's public funds.

His lawyers says he not a "big-time bandit". 

The trial is the first following  an unprecedented investigation into the French assets of  African leaders accused of leading a life of luxury abroad while their citizens live in poverty.

Mr Obiang is being tried in absentia. 

Last month, the International Court of Justice rejected a bid by Equatorial Guinea's government to prevent the trial from going ahead, arguing Mr Obiang had diplomatic immunity.

A car bomb has wounded at least four guards when it exploded near a United Nations compound in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, police have said, Reuters news agency reports. 

Militant Islamist group al-Shabab said it carried out the attack. 

Image source, AP

Ilhan Omar has made history by becoming the first Somali-American to be sworn in as a lawmaker in the US. 

Ms Omar, a Somali-born former refugee, was elected to serve in Minnesota's state house of representatives in tightly contested elections last year.

The election of Ms Omar, who is Muslim, came just days after US President-elect Donald Trump accused Somali immigrants in Minnesota of "spreading their extremist views".

Image source, AFP

Five opposition sympathisers who were detained in The Gambia for selling or wearing T-shirts seen to be opposed to President Yayha have been released, AFP news agency quotes a security source as saying.

One of those briefly detained, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said armed men had entered a shop selling merchandise featuring images of property developer Adama Barrow, who defeated Mr Jammeh in elections last month. 

Caps, badges and T-shirts which had the slogan #GambiaHasDecided were seized, AFP reports. 

The five were taken to the National Intelligence Agency headquarters where they were cautioned before being released, the agency adds.   

Mr Jammeh, who first seized power in a coup in 1994, has refused to accept defeat and has launched court action to annul the result, despite pressure from the regional leaders to step down. 

Mr Barrow has vowed to inaugurate himself as president on 19 January when Mr Jammeh's term ends. 

Electoral commission chairman Alieu Momar Njai, who declared Mr Barrow the winner, has fled to neighbouring Senegal because of threats to his safety, his family has said. 

Read: From estate agent to president-elect

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