Dakar, Senegal | AFP | Above the sacks of seeds and coal, three kerosene lamps gather dust in the tiny shed that Kenyan chicken farmer Bernard calls home. He prefers to use solar energy to light up his evenings, listen to the radio or watch television, after abandoning a diesel …

Stockholm, Sweden | AFP |  Former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden on Monday downplayed the importance of President-elect Donald Trump and again defended his decision to leak documents showing massive surveillance of US citizens’ communications. “Donald Trump is just the president. It’s an important position. But it’s one …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis declared Monday that all priests would have the right permanently to forgive abortion, seen as a significant outreach by the Catholic Church to women. “I henceforth grant to all priests, in virtue of their ministry, the faculty to absolve those who …

Uganda’s generation and transmission firms UEGCL and UETCL have taken over administration of mega power projects Karuma and Isimba. “Glad to inform that this morning I received, on behalf of @UegclP , the Deeds of assignment for Karuma and Isimba,” tweeted Harrison Mutikanga, Uganda Electricity Generation Co.Ltd (UEGCL) CEO. The …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Rap superstar Kanye West has pulled the plug on his North American tour, organizers said Monday, two days after a rambling onstage tirade against fellow artists Jay Z and Beyonce. The “Saint Pablo Tour” was set to run through December 31 but all …

Tokyo, Japan | AFP |  A strong 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit northeastern Japan early Tuesday, with the country’s meteorological agency issuing a tsunami warning for the region’s coast, including Fukushima prefecture, public broadcaster NHK said. A some three metre (9.9 feet) tsunami could hit the northeastern coast, the agency said, …

Washington, United States | AFP |  President-elect Donald Trump’s habit of firing off tweets, even at such critical times as when forming a new government, is a harmless and legitimate way to “cut through the noise,” one of his top advisors said Monday. Trump was known during the campaign for …

United Nations, United States | AFP | A bid by African countries to delay the appointment of the first-ever UN expert on LGBT rights was defeated on Monday, clearing the way for the investigations of anti-gay violence. A draft resolution demanding talks on the legality of the new expert’s mandate …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP |  Nigeria’s economic slump sharpened in the third quarter as rebels bombed oil pipelines in the restive south and businesses struggled to access foreign exchange, official data showed Monday. The third quarterly contraction in a row comes as the West African nation reels from a crash …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  Queen Elizabeth II could host Donald Trump within months of him becoming United States president, with the British government confirming Monday that it was considering a state visit next year. Royal officials said that the government was responsible for organising state visits, and a …