Bamako, Mali | AFP | Malian and Burkinabe soldiers have killed, tortured and disappeared civilians while trying to root out jihadists in central Mali, Human Rights Watch said Friday. “Mali and Burkina Faso military operations to counter the growing presence of Islamist armed groups in central Mali have resulted in …

Berlin, Germany | AFP | Germany dismissed on Friday Poland’s threat to demand new talks over World War II reparations from Berlin, saying the issue had already been settled in 1953. “Poland made a binding decision in August 1953… to relinquish demands for further war reparations,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert said, …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | The likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona may soon play competitive La Liga games in China or the United States, Spanish league president Javier Tebas revealed on Friday. Tebas suggested the staging of La Liga games abroad from next season would help Spanish soccer compete …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Portugal midfielder Adrien Silva has been unable to train and remains in limbo as Leicester City bid to sort out his future, manager Craig Shakespeare said on Friday. The 2015/16 Premier League champions agreed a deal with Sporting Lisbon for the 28-year-old on August 31, …

Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh | AFP | Some 270,000 refugees have fled Myanmar’s violence-wracked Rakhine state and entered Bangladesh in the last fortnight, most from the Muslim Rohingya minority, the United Nations said Friday. “An estimated 270,000 refugees arrived in Bangladesh in the last two weeks,” said Vivian Tan, a spokeswoman for …

Havana, Cuba | AFP | A helicopter has lifted six dolphins to safety from an aquarium on a Cuban islet threatened by the approach of Hurricane Irma, Cuban authorities said Friday. Wrapped in moist towels, the six male dolphins from the “Cable Esqui” center on Cayo Guillermo were placed on …

Mumbai, India | AFP | A 13-year-old rape survivor who was allowed to terminate a late pregnancy by India’s Supreme Court has given birth to a pre-term baby boy, a doctor said Friday. The teenager was 32 weeks pregnant, well beyond India’s 20-week legal limit after which terminations are only allowed …

Port Harcourt, Nigeria | AFP | Gunmen kidnapped 19 bus passengers near Nigeria’s southern oil hub, Port Harcourt, police said on Friday, in the latest of a series of abductions in recent weeks. Rivers state police spokesman Nnamdi Omoni said the attack happened on Thursday and that police had so far …

Islamabad, Pakistan | AFP | Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday inaugurated the country’s fifth nuclear power plant, developed in collaboration with China amid hopes that his government could end chronic power shortages this year. Pakistan is one of the few developing countries pursuing atomic energy in the wake …

Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP | Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola personally made sure Raheem Sterling would not be allowed to join Arsenal in a swap deal for Alexis Sanchez, he revealed on Friday. The two clubs spent transfer deadline day locked in talks over City’s desire to sign Sanchez, only …