Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Arab countries viewed Israel as an “indispensable ally” fighting Iran and the Islamic State group. That evaluation, he told Brazil’s Globo TV during a visit to Rio, has caused “a revolution in relations with the Arab …

Paris, France | AFP | The players in France’s football team which last year won the World Cup, on Tuesday were awarded the the Legion of Honour in the new year’s honours list. The 23 players, including star strikers Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann, each received France’s top medal for …

Washington, United States | AFP | US Strategic Command apologized Monday for a joke in “bad taste” after tweeting it was ready to drop something “much bigger” than the traditional Times Square crystal ball at New Year. In a message posted, and later deleted, on Twitter, the military force that …

Bangkok, Thailand | AFP | A Thai man who felt slighted by his in-laws shot dead six family members including his two young children at a New Year’s Eve party before turning the gun on himself, police said Tuesday. The mass shooting took place 10 minutes after midnight as Sucheep …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa introduced its first minimum wage on Tuesday, with President Cyril Ramaphosa saying millions of workers would be better paid as he readies for a tricky election in May with the national economy struggling for growth. Trade unions have been split over whether …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Leading western powers on Tuesday called on the Democratic Republic of Congo to restore internet access, which operators say was cut on government orders a day earlier following presidential elections. They also backed a request by the main Congolese election monitoring organisations to have …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir ordered authorities Tuesday to set up a committee to investigate violence during anti-government protests, even as a range of political groups called for a “new regime” in the country. At least 19 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in protests …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Arsenal responded to their thrashing by Liverpool in the best possible manner reeling off a routine 4-1 humbling of struggling Fulham in their Premier League clash on Tuesday. Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka had set Arsenal on their way with his fourth goal of the …

Tehran, Iran | AFP | A regional boss of Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB has been fired after inadvertently letting a Jackie Chan sex scene slip through its tight censorship rules, local media reported on Monday. Viewers on Iran’s Kish Island were shocked when their local TV station showed the martial …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A former finance minister of Mozambique, who approved secret loans that plunged the country into a crisis, has been arrested in South Africa awaiting extradition to the United States, police said Monday. Manuel Chang, 63, was “arrested on Saturday for… USA extradition”, national police …