Jakarta, Indonesia | AFP | The UN human rights chief warned Monday that possible acts of “genocide and ethnic cleansing” against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority could fuel a religious-based conflict that spreads beyond the country’s borders. “Myanmar faces a very serious crisis –- with a potentially severe impact on the …
Read More »South Africa’s ANC to hold emergency talks on Zuma’s future
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Senior members of South Africa’s ANC party were to hold an emergency meeting Monday to discuss whether Jacob Zuma should stay in office after the embattled president reportedly refused to resign. Zuma, whose tenure has been engulfed by corruption scandals, is due to deliver …
Read More »Anti-gay marriage lawmaker ahead in Costa Rica vote for next president
San José, Costa Rica | AFP | A conservative, evangelical lawmaker who fiercely opposes same-sex marriage emerged as the frontrunner to become Costa Rica’s next president, according to preliminary results from a first round election Sunday. Fabricio Alvarado of the right-wing National Restoration Party received 25 percent of the vote, …
Read More »Rome bans protests ahead of Erdogan talks with pope
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet Pope Francis on Monday, with a protest ban imposed in central Rome as feelings run high over Turkey’s offensive against Kurdish militia inside Syria. For the first such visit by a Turkish leader for 59 years, …
Read More »Bodies of 16 migrants recovered off Morocco coast
Nador, Morocco | AFP | Moroccan rescue services have recovered the bodies of 16 migrants off the coast of Spain’s enclave of Melilla, Moroccan and Spanish officials said Sunday. Three women were among the dead taken to a morgue in the Moroccan city of Nador, a medical official there told …
Read More »Israel begins telling African migrants to leave
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israel began warning thousands of African migrants Sunday that they must leave by the end of March, officials said, under a plan that could see them jailed if they refuse. On January 3, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced implementation of a plan to deport about …
Read More »Cameroon forces kill 4 civilians in restive anglophone west
Yaoundé, Cameroon | AFP | Cameroon security forces have killed four civilians in the country’s restive English-speaking west, local sources said Sunday. One person was shot dead late Saturday in Bamenda, the main regional town where he was enjoying a night out, his family said. “We were going home when …
Read More »US jobs engine gathers speed in January as wages rise
Washington, United States | AFP | US job creation accelerated in January, as the labor market continued to absorb workers at a robust pace, unemployment clung to a record low and wages moved higher, the government said in a key report Friday. And with a near 10-year record in wage …
Read More »Republican memo alleges Justice Dept, FBI abuse of power
Washington, United States | AFP | Republican legislators released Friday a highly contentious memo alleging that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice abused their powers to spy on President Donald Trump’s election campaign. – Key findings – Based on classified materials, the four-page memo claims that …
Read More »Apple overtakes Samsung in shrinking smartphone market: survey
Washington, United States | AFP | Apple overtook Samsung in the fourth quarter as the largest smartphone producer in a declining global market for handsets, research firm IDC said Friday. A survey by IDC showed Apple — which reported its quarterly data Thursday — led all vendors with 77.3 million …
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