Beijing, China | AFP | China launched a rover early Saturday morning destined to land on the far side of the moon, a global first that would boost Beijing’s ambitions to become a space superpower. The Chang’e-4 lunar probe mission — named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology — …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The top stories in this week’s THE INDEPENDENT. COVER STORY No crooks with cash: Museveni, MPs plot less money in next election THE LAST WORD Uganda’s boat tragedy: Why accidents like the one that killed tens of revellers will continue to happen MOTORING Understand …

Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP |  A mine blast killed two generals and five other soldiers near the Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday, military sources said, in an attack claimed by the jihadist Al-Shabaab movement. General Omar Adan Hassan, head of the army’s 12th brigade, and the brigade’s operational commander, General …

Nouakchott, Mauritania | AFP | Western donors said Thursday they have pledged 2.4 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in funding aimed at preventing terrorism and lawlessness along the southern rim of the Sahara. The updated pledge total was announced in a final statement from a donors conference held in the Mauritanian …

Montreal, Canada | AFP |  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that politics played no part in the arrest of a top executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei, who was detained on a US extradition request. “I can assure everyone that we are a country (with) an independent judiciary,” …

Washington, United States | AFP | US Supreme Court justices appeared divided on Thursday as they took up the question of “double jeopardy” — whether a person can be tried twice for the same offense — in a case with possible implications for President Donald Trump and the Russia probe. …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | Boca Juniors striker Carlos Tevez conceded playing a Libertadores Cup final in Madrid on Sunday will be “weird” but rejected suggestions River Plate have been put at a disadvantage. The second leg was moved to Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu after the original fixture at River’s …

Quito, Ecuador | AFP |  Ecuador’s president said Thursday that conditions have been met for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to leave the country’s embassy in London, which would end a six-year standoff with British authorities. “The way has been cleared for Mr Assange to take the decision to leave in …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May sought Thursday to woo MPs with a promise of more power over the next stage of Brexit as she fought to save her EU withdrawal deal ahead of a crucial parliamentary vote next week. May said lawmakers could have …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | UK mobile phone operator O2 and Japan’s SoftBank said Thursday that tens of millions of their customers were unable to use data due to a glitch with sofware made by Sweden’s Ericsson. The outage wreaked havoc across Britain, with millions of drivers unable to …