Butembo / AFP In DR Congo’s war-infested Great Lakes region, carpenter-turned-sculptor Sauveur Mulwana has left a trail of monumental statues over the past decade as part of his self-styled mission to revive local history and boost peace. The 42-year-old moved back home to Butembo, a teeming city of more than a million near the borders of Uganda, Rwanda and …

  Reuters Major Gulf stock markets were mixed in quiet trade on Wednesday although some second-tier Saudi petrochemical stocks rose sharply after oil prices climbed overnight. The main Saudi index traded higher for much of the day but closed 0.2 percent lower as Saudi Electricity, which had risen after last week’s state budget for 2017 promised to raise electricity tariffs, …

  London / AFP European stocks turned flat on Wednesday but London coasted higher on the back of a Santa Rally in subdued trade after a long Christmas holiday. The British capital’s benchmark FTSE 100 index of top blue-chip firms won 0.4 percent from last Friday’s close, as traders returned from a four-day holiday weekend. Frankfurt and Paris, which had …