Chicago, United States | AFP | Major auto makers announced their end-of-year US sales totals Thursday, showing a slowing market even as Americans’ demand for more expensive SUVs and trucks drove up priaces. US consumers continued the trend away from small cars and sedans, but appeared increasingly squeezed by higher …

Doha, Qatar | AFP | World number one Novak Djokovic won another gruelling battle in Doha on Thursday to continue his unbeaten start to the year and progress to the Qatar Open semi-finals. The Serb came from a set down, just like in his previous match, to beat Georgia’s Nikoloz …

United Nations, United States | AFP | Somalia on Thursday told the UN Security Council not to interfere in its national affairs after expelling a UN envoy who questioned the government’s decision to arrest an al-Shabaab defector running for election. Somali Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman did not specifically mention his …

Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP | Pep Guardiola reshuffled his Manchester City defence for Thursday’s must-win top of the table Premier League clash with Liverpool as England international Kyle Walker was again dropped to the bench. City trail league leaders Liverpool by seven points with Guardiola admitting anything other than …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Five members of the Nigerian air force were killed when a helicopter crashed as Boko Haram militants ambushed a military base in northeastern Nigeria, a spokesman said Thursday. Air force spokesman Ibikunle Daramola said the five crew members had died when the helicopter “crashed in …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s influential Roman Catholic Church said Thursday that it knew who had won the country’s presidential elections and called on the authorities to quell a mounting storm about the outcome. A spokesman for a senior church body, the National Episcopal Conference of Congo …

Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP | Some 372,000 German owners of Volkswagen cars fitted with motors that cheated emissions tests have joined a collective legal action against the auto giant, official figures showed Thursday. Hundreds of thousands of people signed up to the collective action between late November and …

Paris, France | AFP | The world’s most popular museum, the Paris Louvre, received over 10 million visitors in 2018, a record which it partly attributed Thursday to a Beyonce video shot against the backdrop of the Mona Lisa and other famous works. Some 10.2 million people visited the museum last …

Nentón, Guatemala | AFP | The death of two Guatemalan children in the United States within weeks of each other has highlighted why there are so many children among Central American migrants heading north: smugglers tell them families have a better chance of being allowed in by US border guards, …

Maranello, Italy | AFP | Ferrari issued an emotional message on Thursday to mark the 50th birthday of Michael Schumacher, who has not been seen in public since he suffered head injuries in a skiing accident five years ago. The German, who won a record seven Formula One drivers’ championships …