Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Irene Akinyi Odinga has lead poisoning. With no money for treatment, the young mother of two stares death in the face. “I feel very bad,” the 25-year-old tells AFP on the sidelines of a UN pollution conference, shivering in a thick jacket in the warm Kenyan …
Read More »Trump Jerusalem move puts region in ‘ring of fire’: Erdogan
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday lashed out at his US counterpart Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, saying it would put the region in a “ring of fire”. “Taking this type of step puts the world, especially the region, …
Read More »Putin to seek new term as Russia president
Moscow, Russia | AFP | President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said he would seek a new six-year term in March elections, a move that would make him the longest-serving Russian leader since Joseph Stalin. Putin, who has run Russia both as president and prime minister for the past 18 years, …
Read More »Time names sexual abuse ‘Silence Breakers’ as Person of the Year
New York, United States | AFP | Time magazine named as Person of the Year Wednesday “the silence breakers” who triggered a national reckoning by revealing the pervasiveness of sexual harassment, assault and abuse in US life. President Donald Trump was runner-up in the prestigious ranking, ahead of his Chinese …
Read More »UK Catholic school master convicted of sex abuse
London, United Kingdom | AFP | A former master at a top British Catholic school was convicted Wednesday of raping and sexual abusing boys in crimes dating back to the 1970s. Andrew Soper, 74, fled to Kosovo in 2011 to avoid prosecution over charges he molested boys at St Benedict’s …
Read More »US-Israeli relations since 1948
Washington, United States | AFP | A recap of key developments in Israeli-US relations, after President Donald Trump on Wednesday recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in a major break with his predecessors. – Recognition, despite divergences – On May 14, 1948, David Ben Gurion founds the Jewish state of Israel, …
Read More »Tillerson plans Africa trip for early 2018
Ramstein, Germany | AFP | Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met US military officers on Wednesday to prepare for a trip to better coordinate American security and diplomatic strategy in Africa. Tillerson plans to make the trip in the first quarter of 2018, the State Department said, after he dismissed …
Read More »Netanyahu hails Trump’s Jerusalem declaration as ‘historic’
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on Wednesday as “historic” and a “courageous and just decision”. Netanyahu also pledged no change to the status quo at Jerusalem’s highly sensitive holy sites in the city sacred to …
Read More »France’s Macron says Trump’s Jerusalem move ‘regrettable’
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday branded as “regrettable” his US counterpart Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, calling for efforts to “avoid violence at all costs”. Addressing a press conference during a state visit to Algeria, Macron affirmed “the attachment of …
Read More »World’s nations adopt plan ‘towards a pollution-free planet’
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | The world’s nations vowed Wednesday to curb plastic and chemical contamination of the air, soil, rivers and oceans, calling for a steep change in how goods are produced and consumed. Government envoys issued a political declaration outlining the path to “a pollution-free planet” at the third …
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