London, United Kingdom | AFP | Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal’s turbulent January hasn’t affected his desire to remain in charge of the troubled Premier League club beyond this season. Wenger’s side head into Saturday’s clash with Crystal Palace in crisis with their star forward Alexis Sanchez preparing to join Manchester …

Manila, Philippines | AFP | Facebook has emerged as the top site for wildlife trafficking in the Philippines, a watchdog said Friday, with thousands of endangered crocodiles, snakes and turtles illegally traded in just three months. Monitoring network TRAFFIC said Facebook had not done enough to shut down the trade, …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain is set to send helicopters to bolster a key French counter-terrorism operation in Mali in a package of measures to be agreed at a summit near London on Thursday. The commitment will come as Prime Minister Theresa May meets French President Emmanuel Macron …

Shanghai, China | AFP | Internet titans Google and Tencent on Friday signalled possible future collaboration on developing new technologies as the US and Chinese firms announced a long-term patent-sharing agreement. The companies gave no details on the scope or nature of the potential cooperation but said in a joint …

Washington, United States | AFP | South Africa’s central bank chief Lesetja Kganyago will take over as chair of the International Monetary Fund’s policy advisory committee, the IMF announced Thursday. Kganyago, who has served as governor of the South African Reserve Bank since late 2014, takes on a three-year post …

Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP | Manchester City plan to give Pep Guardiola a belated birthday present when the leaders try to bounce back from their first Premier League defeat in more than nine months against Newcastle on Saturday. City boss Guardiola, who turned 47 on Thursday, watched as his …

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | At the age of 39, Didier Drogba is in the twilight years of a glittering football career that has spanned two decades and six countries and brought him a harvest of trophies. Such moments are typically occasions of nostalgia, even sadness, for many ageing …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Leading Zimbabwe opposition figure Roy Bennett, one of long-time president Robert Mugabe’s most outspoken critics, has died in a helicopter crash in a remote area of the US state of New Mexico, authorities said Thursday. He was 60. Bennett was killed along with …

Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP | Germany’s Volkswagen said Wednesday it sold a record number of vehicles in 2017, putting it on track to hold on to the title of world’s largest carmaker two years after its “dieselgate” emissions scandal. Some 10.74 million vehicles from VW or its subsidiaries …

Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has rejected opposition claims that one of its activists died in custody after being tortured, and that some 200 of their number are under arrest. In an interview late Tuesday with French radio station RFI and France 24 television, …