Washington, United States | AFP | Video games have been linked to real-world violence, US President Donald Trump told gaming industry leaders in a meeting Thursday after a school shooting last month reignited a national debate over guns. The talks between Trump and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) trade group …
Read More »Russia eyes Zimbabwe’s diamonds and platinum
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday met with Zimbabwe’s new President Emmerson Mnangagwa and discussed possible military co-operation as well as plans to boost economic ties. Lavrov, who is on a tour of Africa, is the first high-profile Russian official to visit Zimbabwe since veteran …
Read More »Sierra Leone election chief calls for ‘patience’ amid tension
Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s election chief called for patience on Thursday as ballots from its general election are counted, with tensions high after a police raid on an opposition leader’s home. More than 3.1 million Sierra Leoneans were eligible to cast their ballots for a new president, …
Read More »‘Panic’ as Mugabe appears to back new Zimbabwe opposition
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Zimbabwe’s ex-leader Robert Mugabe sent shockwaves through the party he dominated for decades when he posed with the retired general who will take on the ruling ZANU-PF in this year’s election. Mugabe grinned broadly in the posed photo, standing beside brigadier general Ambrose Mutinhiri, …
Read More »FARC withdrawing from Colombian presidential race
Bogota, Colombia | AFP | Colombia’s FARC said Thursday it is pulling out of the country’s presidential race after its candidate, 59-year-old ex-guerrilla leader Rodrigo “Timochenko” Londono, suffered a heart attack. Ivan Marquez, a senate candidate and senior member of the political party formed by the former Revolutionary Armed Forces …
Read More »World Bank hopes Trump ‘careful’ on tariffs
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The chief executive of the World Bank urged US President Donald Trump on Thursday to be “careful” before imposing steel and aluminium tariffs and weigh up possible effects on global trade. Kristalina Georgieva said Trump should assess the “implications” before going ahead with a plan …
Read More »UN envoy warns of risk of violence in DR Congo
United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN envoy for the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday warned of a risk of violence as the country heads toward elections in December. DR Congo is in the grip of a “shocking” humanitarian crisis with 4.5 million people in need of …
Read More »Counting begins in Sierra Leone as opposition residence raided
Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Counting began on Wednesday in Sierra Leone following a general election, as the residence of an opposition leader was raided by police. Polls closed at 5 pm as expected for the West African nation’s 3.1 million voters, who were choosing a new president, parliament and …
Read More »Trump denies porn star affair allegation: White House
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump denies allegations he had an affair with a porn star more than a decade ago and paid for her silence, the White House said Wednesday. “The president has denied the allegations against him,” press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters. “The president …
Read More »Netanyahu accuses police of pressuring witnesses in graft cases
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has used a video posted online Wednesday to accuse police of pressuring witnesses to “smear” him as corruption investigations against him intensify. In his first direct reaction since the announcement that his ex-aide Nir Hefetz would testify against him, Netanyahu …
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