Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Thursday took wealthy nations to task over unequal healthcare and systems which increasingly penalise all but the very wealthy. Healthcare is a particularly hot-button issue in the United States, where President Donald Trump has been fighting to scrap the Affordable Care …

Paris, France | AFP | Guinea on Thursday won pledges in aid worth $20 billion to fund a five-year development plan at a meeting in Paris with banks, private players and governments. The mineral-rich West African nation is slowly emerging from the Ebola crisis and low commodity price shocks that adversely …

Washington, United States | AFP | Approximately 3,000 additional American troops have now deployed to Afghanistan under President Donald Trump’s revised strategy for the war-torn country, the Pentagon said Thursday. The Pentagon had previously put the number of US forces in Afghanistan at about 11,000 but Trump in August authorized an …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | The US embassy in Liberia on Thursday expressed “confidence in the integrity” of first-round voting in the country’s presidential election, urging political leaders to allow a “timely conclusion” of the vote. A second round of voting to choose a successor to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was …

Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump credited China’s President Xi Jinping Thursday with the release of three UCLA basketball players who had been held on suspicion of shoplifting. The three had apologized and thanked Trump for asking Xi to intervene in their case Wednesday on their return …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Somalia and Sudan have pulled out of next month’s CECAFA Challenge Cup in Kenya, reducing the field to only 10 teams from the central, northern and southern African zones. Organisers of the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) tournament said Somalia, which has …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Three US college basketball players detained in China for shoplifting publicly apologized Wednesday and thanked President Donald Trump for helping secure their release. Trump had personally asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to intervene to free UCLA’s LiAngelo Ball — the younger brother of Los …

Bold designs, technology rule the high rises Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A pair of 30-metre spiraling ramps provide access to the multi-functional car park in Amsterdam. RAI Amsterdam’s car park is the most recent in a spate of boldly designed car parks. Others include a Belgian hospital car park …

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Lebanon’s premier Saad Hariri will travel to France “in the coming days”, a French presidential source said Wednesday, after Beirut accused Saudi Arabia of detaining him following his shock resignation. International pressure has been mounting for Hariri to return to Beirut after his prolonged stay …

Washington, United States | AFP | The United States expressed concern on Wednesday over the political crisis in Zimbabwe, where the military has apparently placed President Robert Mugabe under house arrest. A State Department official said the US embassy in Harare has been closed to the public as a safety precaution …