NEWS ANALYSIS

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  Serena Williams’s place among the legends of tennis is assured but her mission will not be accomplished unless she at least equals Margaret Court’s record haul of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. The 37-year-old American gets a third chance in a year to go …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  South African former president Jacob Zuma is due on Monday to make a much-anticipated appearance before an inquiry into alleged corruption after previous witnesses gave damning evidence against him. Zuma is accused of overseeing mass looting of state funds during his nine-year reign before …

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP |  Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa producer, earns just a fraction of the crop’s potential value and must process it domestically and develop its distribution to fully reap the benefits, a World Bank report said Thursday. Cocoa accounts for 40 percent of the West African …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  England face New Zealand in the World Cup final on Sunday knowing years of planning come down to a single day at Lord’s. When England exited the 2015 edition with an embarrassing defeat by Bangladesh, few were tipping them as potential champions in four …

Palermo, Italy | AFP |  The fate of an alleged people trafficking kingpin who insists he is a victim of mistaken identity hangs in the balance Friday, with a verdict expected in a trial against him in Italy. Eritrean national Medhanie Yehdego Mered is accused of being “the General” of …

Madrid, Spain | AFP |  With less than two weeks before a parliamentary vote on his investiture, Spain’s acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is struggling to win support from other parties to form a new government and avoid fresh elections. His Socialist party won 123 seats in early polls in April, …

Omo Forest, Nigeria | AFP |  The jungle was so thick that Emmanuel Olabode only found the elephants he was tracking when the great matriarch’s sniffing trunk reached out close enough to almost touch. “She flapped her ears, blocking us to guard her family, then left in peace,” recalls Olabode. “It …

Port Said, Egypt | AFP | When Mohamed Ghaly’s workshop was reduced to rubble in February, he could never imagine that a new cultural centre dedicated to an instrument with Pharaonic roots would thrive just months later. The semsemia, similar to a harp and made of beechwood with steel strings, is …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny’s decision to boycott the club’s pre-season tour over a contractual dispute is the latest blow in an unsettling summer for the Gunners. Facing a third consecutive season outside the Champions League, Arsenal are attempting to play catch up with their rivals …

Khunjerab , Pakistan | AFP |  Finishing nearly 5,000 metres above sea level after hundreds of kilometres winding past blackened glaciers and snow-capped peaks: a new Pakistani race presents a world-class challenge for cyclists — climbing towards the “Roof of the World”. The Tour de Khunjerab — its name a homage …