WORLD

Frankfurt, Germany | AFP | German chemicals giant Bayer said Wednesday it had agreed to buy the controversial US seeds and pesticides firm Monsanto for $66 billion, in a deal that triggered immediate criticism from environmentalists. After a months-long pursuit, Bayer said its US peer had accepted an improved offer …

  The Hague, Netherlands | AFP |  Congolese former rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda on Wednesday again refused to attend his war crimes trial on the seventh day of a hunger strike which is posing a legal dilemma for international judges. Ntaganda is protesting his treatment in detention and has said …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Facebook, Twitter and news organizations including Agence France-Presse have joined a coalition of media and technology groups seeking to filter out online misinformation and improve news quality on social networks. First Draft News, which is backed by Google, announced Tuesday that some 20 news …

Paris, France | AFP | We all grow up to accept certain unassailable facts: water is wet, the Earth is round, and to produce a baby you need an egg and sperm. As it turns out, the last of these may turn out not to be true. On Tuesday, scientists …

Juba, South Sudan | AFP | A report commissioned by actor-activist George Clooney alleging massive corruption and war profiteering by leaders of South Sudan, the world’s newest nation, is “completely rubbish”, the government said Tuesday. A spokesman for President Salva Kiir said the report released in Washington at a high-profile …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Former and current US presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama join the campaign trail Tuesday for Hillary Clinton, standing in for the Democratic White House hopeful while she recovers from pneumonia. Clinton is set to return to the fray on Friday after several days …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden called on President Barack Obama to pardon him, saying in comments published Tuesday it had been morally “necessary” to shine a light on mass surveillance. The former intelligence contractor has spent three years in exile in Russia after initiating …

Washington, United States | AFP |  The co-founder of LinkedIn pledged Monday to donate up to $5 million to a crowdfunded charitable campaign for veterans if Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump releases his tax returns. Reid Hoffman, a founder of the professional social network and Silicon Valley entrepreneur, made the …

Washington, United States | AFP |  What happens if a candidate for the White House is forced to quit the race? Who steps up to fill their shoes? It’s a question suddenly in the spotlight Monday as Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton battles a case of pneumonia that left her feeling …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Hillary Clinton said Monday she was “feeling fine” a day after she fell ill with pneumonia, and that she was eager to jump back onto the campaign trail in her battle against Donald Trump. “I’m feeling fine and getting better,” Clinton posted on Twitter, …