Democratic Republic of Congo's largest opposition party said on Wednesday it would not agree to bring home the body of its recently deceased leader, Etienne Tshisekedi, until President Joseph Kabila names a new power-sharing government. Tshisekedi, who died in Brussels last week aged 84, led Congo's main opposition bloc during negotiations in December that resulted in a deal obliging Kabila to step down after elections this year. Kabila, in power since 2001, stayed on as president when his constitutional mandate expired on Dec. 19, sparking unrest that stoked fears of Congo sliding back into the anarchy and civil war of the turn of the century.

Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) works council has accused top executives of breaching a cost-cutting deal, risking fresh trouble at the German carmaker as it struggles to overcome its emissions scandal. In a letter to VW brand chief Herbert Diess, seen by Reuters, the labour leaders said he and personnel boss Karlheinz Blessing had breached the terms of November's "future pact" by ruling out possible hirings in the first half of 2017 and cutting temporary jobs more quickly and deeply than agreed. "The ink on the contracts was hardly dry, and brand management blatantly infringed the agreements and the spirit of the future pact," a works council spokesman said.

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A former prime minister who holds dual Somali-U.S. citizenship was declared Somalia's new president Wednesday, immediately taking the oath of office as the long-chaotic country moved toward its first fully functioning central government in a quarter-century.