SEOUL, June 17 (Yonhap) -- A group of 150 government officials and business executives from Ethiopia will fly to South Korea this week on board the Ethiopian Airlines' inaugural flight from Addis Ababa to Seoul, officials said Monday. The visit by the Ethiopian delegation, led by the African country's Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom, comes as Ethiopian Airlines will become the first African carrier to operate scheduled flights to Seoul on Tuesday.

NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's North African wing (AQIM) on Sunday confirmed the death of two of its senior commanders in Mali earlier this year, veteran jihadist Abdelhamid Abou Zeid and brigade commander Abdallah Al Chinguetti, Mauritania's ANI news agency said. The death of Abou Zeid, who made millions of dollars kidnapping Western hostages over the past decade, had already been announced "with certainty" by France in March after clashes with its troops in northern Mali.

Nelson Mandela is showing a "sustained" improvement after more than a week in hospital battling a lung infection although his condition remains serious, South African President Jacob Zuma said Sunday. "As you are aware, president Nelson Mandela is still in hospital in Pretoria. We are grateful that he continues to get better," Zuma said at a public rally. "Over the last two days, although he remains serious, his doctors have stated that his improvement has been sustained. He continues to engage with family."

Ivory Coast became the first country to reach the play-offs in the Africa zone qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup after winning 4-2 in Tanzania Sunday. The result gave the 'Elephants' from west Africa an unassailable five-point Group C lead over Morocco, who triumphed 2-0 against bottom side Gambia in Marrakech late Saturday. Substitute Wilfried Bony sealed victory for the 2006 and 2010 World Cup qualifiers with a goal three minutes into stoppage time at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Indian Ocean city Dar es Salaam.