Pakistan, Rwanda, Libya

Today's three stories you should know

Pakistan

At least 31 people have been killed and 169 wounded in Pakistan by an attacker who opened fire at the gates of a mosque in Islamabad before setting off a suicide vest, officials said. Footage from the scene showed bloodied bodies strewn across a carpeted floor while survivors were rushed away on stretchers. Though the government is battling rebel groups across the country, attacks on the capital are rare, and it was the worst there for a decade. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on X that the bomber had a history of traveling to Afghanistan and blamed India for sponsoring the attack, a claim New Delhi quickly dismissed as “baseless.”

More from Reuters here.

Rwanda

President Paul Kagame has said it is vital for Rwanda to be self-sufficient in an apparent response to growing talk in the U.S. that sanctions be imposed on the country for its involvement in the conflict in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Kagame administration is reported to be backing the powerful M23 armed group as it does battle with DRC government forces. "We have committed ourselves to be self-reliant,” Kagame said. “So that our existence would not depend on luck, or on the goodwill of others who might choose to help us today and withdraw tomorrow." Though U.S. President Donald Trump brokered a draft deal between the sides late last year, fighting has continued.

More from Africa News here.

Libya

Thousands of people attended a funeral in Libya for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of late leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was assassinated this week. The 53-year-old was buried in the town of Bani Walid, a former stronghold of his father still populated by many Gaddafi loyalists, where mourners carried portraits and held aloft the green flag the country flew before Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed in 2011. Saif, a controversial figure in the fractious nation, had presidential ambitions and registered as a candidate for a 2021 poll that was later postponed. There has been no confirmation of who was behind the killing.

More from AFP via France 24 here.