Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump said in an interview airing Sunday that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis “could be” leaving, referring to him as “sort of a Democrat.” Mattis, seen as one of the steadiest but also more independent members of Trump’s cabinet, has served as a …

Munich, Germany | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CSU allies suffered historic losses in Bavaria state elections Sunday, dealing a blow to her fragile three-party coalition government. The Christian Social Union (CSU) scored 37 percent, a steep 10-point drop from four years ago in the wealthy Alpine state it …

Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will “probably” meet at a G20 summit next month, a US official said Sunday, as both sides seek answers for a badly strained relationship that a Chinese official called “very confusing.” “The presidents will probably meet …

Washington, United States | AFP | The United States Air Force said Sunday that a group of F-22 stealth fighters left behind at a base to ride out Hurricane Michael were intact but it was too soon to say whether all of them would fly again. Tyndall Air Force Base in …

Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP | Thirty years after her iconic debut novel, Zimbabwean author Tsitsi  Dangarembga is back with a final look at her heroine’s harrowing journey through the Mugabe years, hoping to spark debate about violence against women in her country. Often praised as a leading feminist voice, …

Empangeni, South Africa | AFP | President President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday symbolically handed back land to a community of black South Africans who were forcibly removed from it under apartheid and promised to accelerate land reform. “We are making history and celebrating the return of your land today. We are …

And the secret formula needed to accelerate GDP growth Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s economy is likely to grow by 6.5%, according to central bank governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile. That would be about 12% higher than last year and the highest rate in years. But there is a problem; …

But focus on export poses unexpected challenges Kampala, Uganda | ANDREW S. KAGGWA | Uganda’s organic farming scene could change dramatically if a new model introduced by the government catches on. To see the model first hand, one must travel 56 kilometres west from the capital, Kampala, to Kampiringisa in Mpigi …

Ankara, Turkey | AFP | Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi King Salman on Sunday discussed the case of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi in their first telephone talks on the controversy, both sides said. Erdogan and Salman discussed “the issue of shedding light on the case of Jamal Khashoggi” …

Cannes, France | AFP | Children are being swamping by the visual equivalent of “pizza and sweets” in “a digital Wild  Wild West”, some of the world’s top kids television programme makers have warned. With YouTube replacing Disney as the most-loved brand among young children in the US, and streaming giants …