WORLD

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Blessing wanted to believe the advert on Facebook that promised “a cure for AIDS”. Infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), she felt the ad was her only hope — so against her better judgement, she clicked on the link. The 30-year-old Nigerian had created …

Paris, France | AFP | “It’s magic,” said Francois, smiling. “Every time I take a pill I think about the people who aren’t so lucky as to have this option.” Taking a drug normally prescribed to treat AIDS as a way to shield against the deadly disease — known as …

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s half-brother was carrying a VX ‘antidote’ when he was assassinated with the deadly nerve agent in a stunning Cold War-style hit, a lawyer said Friday. Kim Jong-Nam had 12 tablets of Atropine in his backpack when he was attacked, said …

Paris, France | AFP |  Ahead of World AIDS Day on Friday, here is a snapshot in numbers, based on UN data, of the deadly disease which was identified in the early 1980s. – 17 seconds – Roughly 1.8 million people worldwide contracted the virus that causes AIDS in 2016. …

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | A summit gathering European and African leaders from more than 80 countries drew to a close Thursday with plans for the immediate evacuation of some 3,800 African migrants stranded in Libya. Wrapping up the summit in the Ivorian capital, a top African Union official said …

Oslo, Norway | AFP | Breaking with tradition, nearly all ambassadors of the world’s nuclear powers will not attend this year’s Nobel Peace Prize ceremony which honours efforts to ban atomic weapons, the Nobel Institute said Thursday. Russia and Israel will be the only exceptions, with their ambassadors due to …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | The British government sought Thursday to play down an extraordinary row with US President Donald Trump after he castigated Prime Minister Theresa May for rebuking him over anti-Muslim tweets, even as individual politicians expressed outrage. Plunging headlong into a high-profile spat with one of America’s …

United Nations, United States | AFP | The United States warned North Korea’s leadership will be “utterly destroyed” if war breaks out but its call for nations to cut ties with Pyongyang was rejected by Moscow while Beijing sidestepped talk of an oil embargo. Washington urged tough action at an emergency …

The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | Dutch prosecutors are investigating how a Bosnian Croat war criminal managed to dramatically take his own life Wednesday, apparently after drinking poison he had smuggled into a UN court, in scenes that were broadcast live. In shocking footage beamed around the world, Slobodan Praljak drank …

Yangon, Myanmar | AFP | Pope Francis on Thursday wraps up a visit to Myanmar defined by his decision not to address the Rohingya crisis in public, and flies to Bangladesh, where huge numbers of refugees from the Muslim minority languish in refugee camps. Christians make up less than 0.5 percent …