Marseille, France | AFP | Poland 1 Northern Ireland 0 Germany 2 Ukraine 0 Wales 2 Slovakia 1 England 1 Russia 1 Russia captain Vasili Berezutski inflicted Euro 2016 heartache on England on Saturday after a day in which fan violence brought new shame on football. Gareth Bale’s cannon free …
Read More »Five arrested for training child to pretend he was president’s son
La Paz, Bolivia | AFP | Bolivia has arrested five people for allegedly coaching a boy to pretend he was President Evo Morales’ son, and paying his family, in a soap opera-style scandal that has riveted the country, officials said Saturday. “The boy was told his entire education would be …
Read More »MTN to pay $1.7 bn Nigeria telecoms fine
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African telecoms giant MTN said Friday it would pay a $1.7 billion fine to the Nigerian government in a “full and final settlement” over its failure to disconnect unregistered mobile phone users. The Johannesburg-based company said in a statement that “MTN Nigeria has …
Read More »Best quotes from Ali memorial service
Louisville, United States | AFP | The following are a selection of key quotes from Friday’s public memorial service honoring boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who died last week at age 74 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease: Soldier for humanity “Besides being a lot of fun to be around …
Read More »Muhammad Ali cheered in Louisville as world says goodbye
Louisville, United States | AFP | Thousands of people from the worlds of sports, entertainment, politics and Muhammad Ali’s native Louisville on Friday said farewell to the boxing legend hailed by Bill Clinton as a “universal soldier for our common humanity.” A poignant memorial service, which began with a Koranic …
Read More »UPDF confirms soldiers, MP held over Uganda ‘coup plot’
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | At least 30 people with suspected ties to a shadowy rebel outfit have been arrested in Uganda over an alleged plot to topple President Yoweri Museveni, the army said Friday. The detainees include serving soldiers and a senior opposition lawmaker and are “linked to a …
Read More »Japanese ‘naked restaurant’ to ban overweight diners
Japan’s first “naked restaurant” opens in Tokyo next month with draconian rules of entry — podgy prospective diners will be weighed and ejected if found to be too fat. Following the lead of establishments in London and Melbourne, “The Amrita” — Sanskrit for ‘immortality’ — also has strict age restrictions, …
Read More »West Africa marks end of deadly Ebola outbreak finally
Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Liberia said Thursday it was free of Ebola, meaning there are now no known cases in west Africa of the tropical virus that has left more than 11,300 people dead in the region since late 2013. Liberia was the country worst hit with more than …
Read More »Chadian troops ‘pour into Niger after Boko Haram attack’
Niamey, Niger | AFP | The first of an expected 2,000 troops from regional military powerhouse Chad began arriving in neighbouring Niger Wednesday, where Boko Haram insurgents inflicted heavy losses in the town of Bosso last week, a local security source said. Chad is a leading member of a multi-national …
Read More »LRA rebels kidnap dozens of civilians in DR Congo: UN
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Nearly 100 people have been kidnapped in northeast DR Congo during an attack blamed on Uganda’s rebel Lord’s Resistance Army, the United Nations said Wednesday. Lieutenant-Colonel Martin Amouzou Codjo, spokesman for the UN’s MONUSCO peace mission in DR Congo, said the suspected LRA members …
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