The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | Former army chief Philippe Mangou testified Monday for the first time against ex-Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo, who is on trial for crimes against humanity, accused of inciting a wave of post-electoral violence. Appearing for the prosecution at the International Criminal Court (ICC), Mangou sought to …
Read More »Dortmund out to ruin Ronaldo milestone
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Borussia Dortmund will aim to maintain their unbeaten record at home to Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday and spoil Cristiano Ronaldo’s 150th European appearance. Dortmund and title holders Real meet in the group stage for the second year running. The teams drew both …
Read More »Rejected Kenya vow to continue stadia project
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya, stripped this weekend of the right to stage the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN), have vowed to continue with a stadium construction project. Only one of four venues earmarked for the January 12/February 4 competition was ready, leading the CAF executive committee to dump the …
Read More »Swiss vote against plan to save pensions
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Swiss voters rejected on Sunday a divisive pension reform plan that the government proposed to address the needs of an ageing population. The final results showed 52.7 percent of voters said no to changes to the current system which would have raised women’s retirement age by …
Read More »Boko Haram displaced protest poor conditions in Nigeria camp
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Thousands of Nigerians uprooted from their homes by the Boko Haram insurgency hit the streets of Maiduguri Sunday in protest at food shortages and poor conditions in their refugee camp, demanding they be allowed to go home. More than 2.6 million people have been displaced …
Read More »Sudan student condemned to hang for killing of policeman
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | A court in Sudan on Sunday sentenced a university student to death after convicting him of killing a policeman during protests in the capital last year, a defence lawyer said. Asim Omer, who was studying at Khartoum University, was arrested in December 2016 and charged with …
Read More »Egypt jails 14 over deadly stadium stampede
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | An Egyptian court jailed two people for life on Sunday and 12 to between two and 10 years over violence that led to a deadly football stadium stampede in Cairo. At least 19 people died in the disaster after police fired tear gas at fans who …
Read More »US, N. Korea brinksmanship brings warning of ‘unpredictable nosedive’
Washington, United States | AFP | Spiking nuclear tensions between the United States and North Korea showed little sign of abating Sunday as Russia warned of a “very unpredictable nosedive” if Washington does not ease up on its fiery war of words with Pyongyang. US bombers and fighter escorts flew off …
Read More »Two more US Senators signal opposition to Obamacare overhaul
Washington, United States | AFP | Two Republican senators signalled strong opposition Sunday to their party’s latest bid to overhaul Obamacare, dealing a potentially fatal blow to one President Donald Trump’s top legislative goals. Senator Susan Collins of Maine said she cannot “envision a scenario” in which she would back the …
Read More »Dismay in Germany as hard-right marches into parliament
Berlin, Germany | AFP | The Alternative for Germany (AfD) Sunday became the first hard-right, openly anti-immigration party to enter parliament with so many seats since World War II, breaking a taboo despite calls to halt “the Nazis” in their tracks. Exit polls credited the AfD with around 13 percent of …
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