NEWS ANALYSIS

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP |  Traffic jams on the snarled up roads of Nigeria’s megacity of Lagos are legendary, but a growing problem is also clogging up the waterways of Africa’s biggest city — water hyacinths. The spread of the invasive species of fast-growing plant is not only damaging transport links …

Madrid, Spain | AFP |  He only discovered Spain when he was 10, was picked by dictator Francisco Franco to succeed him but instead steered his country to democracy. On Sunday, former king Juan Carlos I retires from public life. “Such a long, full story, as if it were designed …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Steve Smith and David Warner will seek redemption on the biggest stage as they re-launch their one-day international careers for Australia against Afghanistan at the World Cup on Saturday. The star batsmen were both banned for a year for their roles in a ball-tampering scandal …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | Tottenham and Liverpool play for the biggest prize in club football on Saturday as the two Premier League teams go head-to-head in the Champions League final. Liverpool are aiming to win their sixth European Cup in Madrid while a surprise victory for Spurs would earn them …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis heads to Romania on Friday with a message of integration not just for its faith communities but for a post-election European Union, following nationalist gains. During the three-day trip to the mainly Orthodox country, which sits at the crossroads of Western and Eastern …

Beijing, China | AFP | A replica of the Palace of Versailles, medieval turrets, and spires rise across Huawei’s new campus in southern China, a monument to the telecom giant’s growing fortune — and the benefits of state aid. The fairytale-like facilities rest on land that was sold by the local …

  Madrid, Spain | AFP |  Alisson Becker became the world’s most expensive goalkeeper last summer just as Hugo Lloris was celebrating the peak of his professional career. While new signing Becker posed for pictures at Liverpool’s Melwood training ground, Lloris was still in the after-glow of the World Cup, five …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Hundreds of workers at Sudan’s banks and government offices, including the key oil ministry, went on strike for a second day Wednesday to demand the country’s ruling generals step down. The two-day strike, which one protest leader said was “90 percent successful”, aimed to pressure the …

Paris, France | AFP |  Fifty years ago at the Paris air show, France’s transport minister and Germany’s economy minister signed an agreement that would change aviation history. The year was 1969 and Europe needed a smaller, lighter and more cost-effective passenger aircraft than American rivals. Five years later, the A300B2 …

Cape Coast, Ghana | AFP | Abigal Aguanyi, a trader and mother in the West African nation of Ghana, knows first-hand how dangerous malaria can be — her two-year-old niece nearly died from it. So when she heard that a new vaccine was being rolled out against the disease, that across …