WORLD

Beijing, China | AFP |  Twitter’s manager for China, whose appointment just eight months ago sparked controversy, has announced her resignation but welcomed the growing number of Chinese advertisers even though the service is blocked by Beijing. Kathy Chen, appointed in April as general manager for the China region comprising …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Queen Elizabeth II missed a New Year’s Day church service on Sunday because of a lingering “heavy cold” that also forced her to stay at home on Christmas Day, Buckingham Palace said. The 90-year-old, the world’s longest reigning monarch, is however continuing to receive …

Paris, France | AFP | ATHLETICS “There you go. I’m the greatest.” – Usain Bolt on securing his ‘triple triple’ of 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay golds at the Rio Olympics “I have to make a new bucket list now. I’ve achieved all I wanted to in track and field.” …

New York, United States | AFP | An attack that killed 39 revelers in an Istanbul nightclub overshadowed New Year celebrations around the world to ring in 2017. The massacre stoked fears that large crowds of people cramming into major cities could present a target for violent extremists. Festivities in …

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Thirty-nine people, including many foreigners, were killed when a gunman reportedly dressed as Santa Claus stormed an Istanbul nightclub as revellers were celebrating the New Year, the latest carnage to rock Turkey after a bloody 2016. The assailant shot dead a policeman and a civilian …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps towered over the 2016 Rio Games, capping an era of sustained excellence that promises to reverberate through the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and beyond. From Beijing in 2008 through London 2012 and, finally, in Rio, Bolt and Phelps captivated …

Sydney, Australia | AFP |  Australia rang in the new year Sunday with a spectacular fireworks display in Sydney, sending rainbow-coloured showers into the night sky and defying the global terror attacks that cast a pall over 2016. Around 1.5 million people packed Australia’s biggest city to watch as the …

Sydney, Australia | AFP | Global terror attacks have cast a pall over 2016 but Australia was Saturday set to defy the threats and ring in the New Year with bumper crowds gathering to watch a firework extravaganza on Sydney’s glittering harbour. 2016 has seen repeated bloodshed, most recently a …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | Inspired by Leicester City’s incredible Premier League success, underdogs also shone on the international stage in 2016 as Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal stunned hosts France to the European championships in a tournament also lit up by debutants Wales and Iceland. Ronaldo capped his stellar career with …

Paris, France | AFP |  From legendary British singer David Bowie to Cuban leader Fidel Castro and American boxer Muhammad Ali, here are some of the notable figures who died in 2016. – January – – 10: DAVID BOWIE, 69, legendary British singer and musician who died of cancer two …