NEWS ANALYSIS

Algiers, Algeria | AFP | The party of ailing Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said Wednesday it supports protesters’ calls for change while backing his call for dialogue to overcome the country’s political crisis. The National Liberation Front (FLN)’s statement comes after cracks emerged within two other pillars of Bouteflika’s regime, key …

Brussels, Belgium | AFP | A dogged but isolated Prime Minister Theresa May headed back to Brussels on Thursday to beg for more time to deliver her Brexit plan, but EU leaders are likely to refuse her request for a three-month postponement. Instead, as the 28 heads of government meet for …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | The EU could approve Britain’s request for a short delay to Brexit but only if British MPs next week vote through the withdrawal deal they have twice rejected, European Council president Donald Tusk said Wednesday. “I believe a short extension will be possible but it …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Prime Minister Theresa May asked EU leaders Wednesday for a three-month delay to Brexit amid continued political deadlock in London, but Brussels warned the postponement carried “serious legal and political risks”. Exactly 1,000 days on from Britain’s seismic 2016 referendum vote to leave the European …

  Watamu, Kenya | AFP | Snake antivenoms have been around for 125 years, are effective and can be produced cheaply at scale. Yet Africa, with its abundance of deadly snakes, has an alarming shortage of the life-saving medicine. Experts and campaigners blame a combination of weak production capacity, feeble …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May faced a cabinet revolt if she asked the EU for a long delay to Brexit, media reports said Wednesday, even after she had warned MPs of such a possibility. Downing Street confirmed that May would be asking EU leaders meeting …

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | From bento boxes to individually wrapped bananas, plastic reigns supreme in Japan. But amid global concern about single-use waste, new legislation could help end the country’s love affair with plastic. The push comes ahead of the G20 summit, which Japan will host in Osaka in …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP |  A water crisis brewing between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over a contentious Nile dam could escalate into a conflict with “severe humanitarian consequences”, a think-tank said on Wednesday. Egypt, which relies almost totally on the Nile for irrigation and drinking water, fears the Grand Ethiopian …

Doha, Qatar | AFP | FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s plan to expand the Qatar World Cup to 48 teams and increase the number of host countries risks worsening existing Gulf diplomatic tensions, claim analysts. The ambitious expansion proposal — which Infantino has optimistically stated might help Middle East peace — could …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May held crisis talks with her ministers Tuesday after the speaker of parliament threatened to derail her EU withdrawal plan just 10 days before Brexit day, leaving her strategy in tatters. May is still hoping she can get the divorce agreement …