NEWS ANALYSIS

Hong Kong, China | AFP |  Brunei on Wednesday introduced harsh new sharia laws — including death by stoning for adultery and gay sex — despite a storm of global criticism from rights groups. Although most Muslim nations incorporate elements of sharia law in their legal systems, very few carry …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Flag-waving Algerians celebrated the resignation of ailing leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika after two decades in power, but vowed to keep protesting to demand sweeping change to the country’s whole political system. The 82-year-old president ceded power in the face of massive street demonstrations that have shaken the …

Udier, South Sudan | AFP |  Chol Deng, her husband and five children sit, exhausted, under a tree, having journeyed back to South Sudan five years after fleeing their corpse-strewn hometown Malakal. Encouraged by a six-month lull in fighting as a peace deal holds for the first time since 2015, …

Paris, France | AFP | The rapid spread of e-cigarette use among young teenagers has not slowed the decline in smoking in the same age group, much less reversed it, according to a new study. Nor has vaping caused 13-to-15 year olds canvassed in Britain to see tobacco use in …

Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner faced little scrutiny on his way to becoming one of America’s most powerful people. But now a row over White House security clearances is pushing the president’s publicity-shy favorite into unwelcome limelight. Unlike his can’t-get-enough-exposure father-in-law, Kushner is a discreet …

  Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | The houses along the quiet tree-lined street look just like the normal homes found all across the Rwandan capital. But behind the walls of the three adjoining villas in Kigali are the headquarters of a global operation involving investigators and prosecutors who are working …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP |  Algeria’s ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned on Tuesday, nearly six weeks after the start of unprecedented protests sparked by his bid for a fifth term. His resignation, announced by state television, came shortly after the army demanded the start of impeachment against him. Here is …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algeria’s ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned on Tuesday, nearly six weeks after the start of unprecedented protests sparked by his bid for a fifth term. His resignation, announced by state television, came shortly after the army demanded the start of impeachment against him. Here is a …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | The spectacular assassination of the North Korean leader’s half-brother — smeared in the face with a banned nerve agent — made headlines around the world but two years later its organisers have escaped accountability, analysts say. Malaysian prosecutors dropped a murder charge Monday against …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP |  Abdelaziz Bouteflika is Algeria’s longest-serving president and a veteran of the independence struggle who has held on to power for some 20 years despite ill health. The 82-year-old survived the Arab Spring uprisings that toppled other leaders in the region. But after weeks of demonstrations …