NEWS ANALYSIS

OURTZAGH, Morocco | AFP |  Beautiful handcrafted pottery made by Mama Aicha rarely sells in Morocco anymore, but thanks to social media her ancient techniques are drawing students from around the world to the foothills of the Rif mountains. “When I heard about the workshop on Instagram, I signed up immediately …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP |  William Troost-Ekong’s late winner sent Nigeria through to the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday after a tense 2-1 victory over South Africa in Cairo. Samuel Chukwueze fired the Super Eagles ahead in the first half in front of a healthy, largely pro-Nigerian …

Silverstone, United Kingdom | AFP |  Lewis Hamilton is aiming to bounce back from a rare weekend of disappointment by winning his home British Grand Prix for a record sixth time this weekend — and in front of the biggest crowd at the historic Silverstone circuit in nearly three decades. …

Beirut, Lebanon | AFP |  Syria’s eight-year war has seen the Damascus regime lose control of key oil fields and caused state hydrocarbon revenues to plummet by billions of dollars. Weak production has forced President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to import oil, but Western sanctions on Damascus and Tehran are hampering incoming …

Wiesbaden, Germany | AFP | An Iraqi man faces his verdict in Germany Wednesday over the rape and murder of a teenage girl that fuelled far-right protests against a mass influx of mostly Muslim migrants. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and other extremists have seized on the brutal killing of …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Can Lagos hold back the waves? Sprawled around a lagoon, Nigeria’s frenetic economic capital faces a threat from the Atlantic on its doorstep. The ocean has pounded the soft, sandy shoreline on a timescale far surpassing human history — but now its waves spell a major …

Manila, Philippines | AFP |  Long before Lito Ramirez was one of the Philippines’ first homegrown rugby stars he was a six-year-old orphan addicted to sniffing glue, who survived on trash and begging. If there was any luck in his hellish world, it was that the brand of glue he and …

Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP | Four years of planning will be put on the line for England when they face holders Australia in a blockbuster Cricket World Cup semi-final at Edgbaston on Thursday. England’s woeful first-round exit at the 2015 edition prompted a complete rethink of their approach to one-day …

Al-Rimela, Sudan | AFP |  Amidst mounds of sand capped by hand-written signs naming the dead, Khadom embraces the tomb of her son, one of the more than 200 killed in Sudan’s months-long turmoil. It was an April morning when a freshly-shaven Al-Moez drank his tea before heading out to the …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The long, loud nights of Kinshasa’s street life are set to be shortened by the new governor of DR Congo’s unruly capital, as part of a city-wide crusade against “dirtiness”. In less than a month, the bars spilling out on to the city’s highways and …