WORLD

New Delhi, India | AFP | India signed a deal Friday to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets for 7.9 billion euros ($8.8 billion), France’s biggest ever such sale, as it seeks to bolster its military against an increasingly assertive China. Defence experts say the aircraft, manufactured by France’s Dassault, will …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Two US lawmakers who are members of their respective intelligence committees said Thursday that a spate of recent cyber attacks suggests Russia is trying to disrupt the November election. “Based on briefings we have received, we have concluded that the Russian intelligence agencies are …

Washington, United States | AFP | Lester Holt knows how to manage pressure. He anchors the most-watched nightly news show on US television. But as moderator of the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump next Monday, the pressure could go through the roof. Democrat Clinton and Republican …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  Global conservationists and policymakers meet in South Africa from Saturday to chart a way forward in the fight against escalating wildlife trafficking that could drive some species to extinction. The plight of Africa’s rhino and elephants, targeted for their horns and tusks, is expected …

Charlotte, United States | AFP | The mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina appealed for calm Wednesday after a night of violent protests and looting sparked by the fatal police shooting of a black man said to have been armed with a handgun. Police said 16 officers and several demonstrators were …

San Francisco, United States | AFP |  Mark Zuckerberg and his wife on Wednesday pledged $3 billion over the next decade to efforts to prevent, cure or manage disease, aiming to use the Facebook founder’s fortune for innovative research. “This is a big goal,” Zuckerberg said at a San Francisco …

United Nations, United States | AFP | Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday demanded that the world find a new way to halt the threat from North Korea after the long-sanctioned regime’s nuclear and missile tests. Abe, addressing the UN General Assembly, said that calculations about North Korea needed …

United Nations, United States | AFP | US President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged countries to “welcome the stranger in our midst” at a summit that drew pledges from 50 countries to take in 360,000 refugees. Speaking at a US-led refugee summit at the United Nations, Obama praised Germany and …

Miami, United States | AFP | Last month was the hottest August in modern times and marked the 16th month in a row when global records for heat were shattered planet-wide, US authorities said Tuesday. The string of unusual heat across land and sea surfaces is “the longest such streak …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Former president George H.W. Bush plans to vote for Hillary Clinton in November, the niece of president John F. Kennedy wrote in a Facebook posting. “The President told me he’s voting for Hillary!!” read the caption of a picture Kathleen Kennedy Townsend posted on …