Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump on Friday praised an former aide accused of battery, amid a scandal that called into question the president’s judgment and tainted his chief of staff John Kelly and long-time aide Hope Hicks. Allegations against ousted staff secretary Rob Porter prompted a litany of …
Read More »Chad vows no more pay cuts under austerity drive
N’Djamena, Chad | AFP | Chad’s finance minister says the country will not impose further cuts on civil servants’ pay this year, after strikes and protests erupted over one of the most unpopular measures in an austerity programme. “There won’t be further cuts this year,” the finance and budget minister, Abdoulaye …
Read More »DR Congo sees 10% levy on ‘strategic metals’
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The world’s biggest producer of cobalt, a key ingredient in modern batteries, plans a five-fold increase in tax on the commodity as part of an overhaul of its mining laws, industrial sources said Friday. The Democratic Republic of Congo would impose a tax of 10 …
Read More »Zimbabwe opposition quarrel as leader lies in hospital
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s main opposition was embroiled in a power struggle on Friday over who is in charge of the party months before key elections, as leader Morgan Tsvangirai receives cancer treatment in hospital. Two vice presidents of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party clashed openly over …
Read More »Pastor convicted for spraying followers with insecticide
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African court on Friday convicted a self-styled prophet who sprayed his followers in the face with domestic insect killer as a supposed cure for illness. Lethebo Rabalago was found guilty on five charges of grievous assault and contravening chemicals laws for using “Doom”, …
Read More »Cameroon’s army denies alleged atrocities in restive anglophone regions
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | The Cameroonian army on Friday denied its troops were responsible for alleged atrocities against separatists in English-speaking regions after unverified footage apparently involving soldiers was posted online. “These accusations of atrocities are dreamt up. We are victims of disinformation and fake news,” army spokesman Colonel Didier …
Read More »Church vows to keep pressure on DR Congo’s Kabila
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo’s powerful Catholic church vowed Friday to maintain pressure on President Joseph Kabila to step down, at a highly-charged mass for people killed in a protest march last month. “The march of Christians will not stop,” Abbot Francois Luyeye said to …
Read More »Norway’s Olympians shell-shocked as they’re sent 15,000 eggs
Pyeongchang, South Korea | AFP | You had one job! Norwegian chefs hoping to buy 1,500 eggs to feed hungry Olympic athletes have had their dinner plans scrambled after a mix-up with a grocery order. Norway’s army of nutritional experts were left shell-shocked in Pyeongchang when a lorry delivered 15,000 …
Read More »Virtual reality may reduce paranoia in psychotics: study
Paris, France | AFP | Virtual reality-based therapy combined with standard treatment reduced paranoia and anxiety in people with psychotic disorders, scientists reported Friday. In clinical trials involving 116 patients in the Netherlands, virtual reality exercises led to less fraught social interactions, a team wrote in The Lancet Psychiatry. More …
Read More »‘Special moment’ as Coutinho opens Barcelona account in Cup win
Madrid, Spain | AFP | Philippe Coutinho came off the bench to score his first goal for Barcelona in a 2-0 win at Valencia on Thursday that saw his new club ease into another Copa del Rey final. Coutinho broke the deadlock in the 49th minute of the semi-final, second …
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