NEWS ANALYSIS

New York, United States | AFP | A documentary on pedophilia accusations against Michael Jackson has left some fans grappling with the late superstar’s tarnished legacy — but among his outraged superfans, protecting it is all that matters. Celebrity fandom has morphed into a vicious online tool, with superfan gangs — Beyonce’s Beyhive, Justin Bieber’s …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | The leader of an Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram may have been replaced, sources say, against a backdrop of speculation as to his fate — and the group’s future direction. Three sources with deep knowledge of the group said they had been told in recent days that the Islamic …

Paris, France | AFP | For just the second time ever a HIV patient is in sustained remission from the virus in what was hailed by experts Tuesday as proof that the AIDS-causing condition could one day be curable. Ten years almost to the day since the first confirmed case of an HIV-infected person being …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Manchester United’s solitary defeat 16 games in to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s caretaker reign in charge against Paris Saint-Germain exposed the gulf the English giants still have to bridge to become a European powerhouse once more. But that the Red Devils travel to Paris on Wednesday trailing only 2-0 from …

Paris, France | AFP | A nude drawing that bears a striking resemblance to the “Mona Lisa” was done in Leonardo da Vinci’s studio and may be the work of the master himself, a French museum said Monday. Experts at the Louvre in Paris, where the world’s biggest collection of Leonardo’s work is held, have …

Caracas, Venezuela | AFP | Juan Guaido proudly calls himself a “survivor,” and he proved just that in defying the threat of arrest to make a triumphant return to Venezuela on Monday. Since stunning the world on January 23 when issuing a direct challenge to Nicolas Maduro’s authority by declaring himself acting president, Guaido has …

Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Internet giant Google on Monday urged the European Parliament to resist approving a planned overhaul of the bloc’s online copyright law that the company said would hurt Europe for “decades to come”. European lawmakers could vote as soon as next week on the landmark legislation that is intended to modernise …

Transparency International’s CPI 2018 tracks link between corruption and lack of citizen engagement Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | When Transparency International released its 2018 global corruption perceptions index on Jan.29, it found one damning indictment: corruption is flourishing more in countries where democratic foundations are weak. While releasing the …

Washington, United States | AFP | With Britain deadlocked on negotiating its divorce from the European Union, an unexpected side-front is emerging — the US Congress. Conservatives who pushed the June 2016 referendum that ended in the shock decision to leave the 28-member bloc dangled the prospect of a free trade agreement with the United …

Melbourne, Australia | AFP | A man is set to sue convicted Australian Cardinal George Pell over child sex abuse allegations, reports said Monday, days after state prosecutors dropped his criminal case against the disgraced cleric. Pell — the most senior Catholic clergyman to be found guilty of child sex abuse — is currently in …