Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s presidential election that has been postponed, will feature more than 70 candidates but it is ultimately expected to be a head-to-head between just two men. – Muhammadu Buhari (All Progressives Congress) – Buhari’s landmark 2015 election victory over Goodluck Jonathan was the first time …
Read More »Governments ponder what to do with returning jihadists
Paris, France | AFP | The imminent fall of the Islamic State’s caliphate in Iraq and Syria has left many countries grappling with what to do with jihadists who want to return. Several hundred foreign jihadists are being detained by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main fighters on the …
Read More »Conservative commentators cast a spell on Trump
Washington, United States | AFP | He holds no official government position but has been called US President Donald Trump’s “shadow” chief of staff. Fox News commentator Sean Hannity is one of several conservative media personalities who exert enormous influence over the president. Their clout has been on display as …
Read More »Fact-check: Does Amazon pay ‘$0’ in taxes?
Washington, United States | AFP | A tweet by a popular US Congresswoman spotlighted a report about US tech behemoth Amazon’s tax burden for the past two years. While the company paid no US federal income tax, it reported “cash taxes paid” of $1.2 billion last year and $957 million in …
Read More »Logistical problems force Nigeria election delay
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s electoral watchdog on Saturday postponed presidential and parliamentary elections for one week, just hours before polls were due to open. The two main political parties swiftly condemned the move and accused each other of orchestrating the delay as a way of manipulating the vote. …
Read More »War kills over 100,000 babies a year: Save the children
Munich, Germany | AFP | At least 100,000 babies die every year because of armed conflict and its impact, from hunger to denial of aid, Save the Children International said on Friday. In the 10 worst-hit countries, a conservative estimate of 550,000 infants died as a result of fighting between 2013 …
Read More »Airbus A380, the Concorde: technical feats, commercial flops
Paris, France | AFP | The scratching of the superjumbo jet Airbus A380 echoes the sad fate of the supersonic Concorde, another feat of aviation technology that turned out to be a commercial flop. – Concorde, supersonic speeds – The inaugural commercial flight on January 21, 1976 of Concorde, the world’s …
Read More »Global energy demand to soar one third by 2040: BP
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Global energy demand will surge by a third over the next two decades on advancing prosperity, but Indian demand growth will eclipse that of flagging giant China, Britain’s BP forecast Thursday. “The demand for energy is set to increase significantly driven by increases in prosperity …
Read More »Face tattoos: a trend that is here to stay?
New York, United States | AFP | Face tattoos, once limited to only a very small group of people, have gained new popularity thanks to today’s rappers — but some artists are reluctant to make such a permanent change to a client’s appearance. In New York’s East Village, some of …
Read More »Mission complete: NASA announces demise of Opportunity rover
Washington, United States | AFP | During 14 years of intrepid exploration across Mars, it advanced human knowledge by confirming that water once flowed on the red planet — but NASA’s Opportunity rover has analyzed its last soil sample. The robot has been missing since the US space agency lost …
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