Washington, United States | AFP | The US House of Representatives on Thursday easily approved a $36.5 billion disaster relief package for hurricane-affected communities like Puerto Rico, and for areas devastated by wildfires including those in California. The measure outlining “supplemental” disaster spending passed 353 to 69, with all votes in …
Read More »Global economy chiefs told to reform while going is good
Washington, United States | AFP | Finance chiefs from around the world were warned Thursday to get their houses in order while the global economy is strong and to be ready for possible shocks in the future. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine …
Read More »Zuma in trouble again, court clears way for graft prosecution
S.Africa court clears way for Zuma graft prosecution Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal ruled on Friday that President Jacob Zuma can face prosecution on almost 800 charges of corruption relating to a 1990s arms deal. Zuma had lodged a challenge at the court …
Read More »South Africa weighs reimposing graft charges on Zuma
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African court will rule Friday on a bid by President Jacob Zuma to fend off the reinstatement of almost 800 corruption charges related to a 1990s arms deal. Zuma lodged a challenge at the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein after a lower …
Read More »Paris wants to phase out diesel cars by 2024
Paris, France | AFP | Paris city authorities said Thursday they aimed to phase out the use of diesel cars by the time the French capital hosts the Olympics in 2024, and petrol cars by 2030. Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s office said the goals — which are more ambitious time-wise than a …
Read More »INDEPENDENT: Has Museveni become Uganda’s problem?
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT| These are the top stories in this week’s The Independent. COVER STORY Has Museveni become Uganda’s problem?: Experts reveal sectors suffering because of President. THE LAST WORD Africa’s real intellectual crisis: Why Museveni is not the cause of the problems of Uganda but rather their …
Read More »Pope to visit Myanmar as anti-Rohingya hatred seethes
Yangon, Myanmar | AFP | Pope Francis will push for peace during his visit to mainly-Buddhist Myanmar, a church official said Thursday, a trip that plunges the pontiff into the centre of a simmering religious conflict which has sparked an exodus of Muslim Rohingya. Myanmar’s western Rakhine state has been torn …
Read More »Spain marks national day with show of unity in Catalan crisis
Madrid, Spain | AFP | Spain celebrated its national day Thursday with a show of unity in the face of Catalan independence efforts, a day after the central government gave the region’s separatist leader a deadline to abandon his secession bid. The country is suffering its worst political crisis in a …
Read More »After 46 years, S.Africa rules police murdered apartheid opponent
Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | An anti-apartheid activist who died in police custody 46 years ago did not commit suicide but was murdered by officers, a South African court said Thursday in a historic ruling for campaigners. The court called for an officer involved in covering up the circumstances of …
Read More »Kaspersky in focus as US-Russia cyber-tensions rise
Washington, United States | AFP | The security software firm Kaspersky has become the focal point in an escalating conflict in cyberspace between the United States and Russia. The Russian-based company has been accused of being a vehicle for hackers to steal security secrets from the US National Security Agency, and …
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