Doha, Qatar | AFP | Qatar has approved legislation allowing 100-percent ownership for foreign investors in most sectors of the economy in a bid to boost non-energy revenues, the government said on Thursday. The move comes at a time of political crisis in the Gulf, with Qatar under an economic and …

Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Somalia’s prime minister, Hassan Ali Khaire, fired three key ministers on Thursday after weeks of political conflict with opposition and clan leaders. Foreign Minister Yusuf Garad Omar, Trade Mminister Khadra Ahmed Duale and Interior Minister Abdi Farah Said all lost their jobs. No reason was …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s grand mufti has said that bitcoin is forbidden in Islam, warning the digital currency could be used for criminal purposes. Bitcoin, launched in 2009 and based on a peer-to-peer payment system, poses “high risks to individuals and states,” Shawqi Allam said in a published ruling. …

Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump said Thursday that high-level talks set for next week between North and South Korea are “a good thing,” while also seemingly taking credit for them. “With all of the failed ‘experts’ weighing in, does anybody really believe that talks and dialogue …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | At least 12 people were killed and 180 injured in South Africa on Thursday when a passenger train collided with a truck and burst into flames, an official said, as rescuers searched for survivors. Images showed a fire engulfing several passenger carriages that were …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Two climbers were killed abseiling on Cape Town’s Table Mountain on New Year’s Day, with hundreds of tourists stranded on the summit for hours during the rescue effort, South African officials said Tuesday. The victims were one Japanese man, whose wife survived, and a …

New York, United States | AFP | A teenage boy in the US state of New Jersey was in police custody Monday after being accused of gunning down his family on New Year’s Eve with a semiautomatic rifle, authorities said. Police were called to a home in the city of …

Paris, France | AFP | More than a quarter of Earth’s land surface will become “significantly” drier even if humanity manages to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius, the goal espoused in the Paris Agreement, scientists said on Monday. But if we contain average warming to 1.5 C (2.7 …

Sofia, Bulgaria | AFP | Bulgaria, the European Union’s poorest member state, on Monday took over the bloc’s six-month revolving presidency with the ongoing migrant crisis and Brexit among the top items on its agenda. “Bulgaria will take charge of the EU presidency at a key moment for the union …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli archaeologists unveiled on Monday a 2,700-year-old clay seal imprinted with images and Hebrew words that may have belonged to a biblical governor of Jerusalem. The round button-sized seal was found in a building in Jerusalem’s Old City near the Western Wall and dates back …