Washington, United States | AFP | IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde urged global leaders Wednesday not to reject international trade as policy shifts by Washington and London force resets on major global commercial treaties. Lagarde admitted that the rapid lowering of trade barriers in recent decades had caused significant dislocation, including …

San José, United States | AFP | Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday unveiled a new Oculus virtual reality headset untethered from computers as part of a vision to bring the new technology to the masses. Oculus Go headsets will be priced at $199 when they begin shipping early next year, …

Barcelona, Spain | AFP | Barcelona must remain in Spain’s La Liga, club general director Oscar Grau said on Wednesday following the signing by Catalan leaders of a declaration of independence. “The budgets are based on participation in La Liga. I think that La Liga and Barca must continue together,” Grau …

Rome, Italy | AFP | Two prisoners who were invited to meet Pope Francis for lunch on his recent visit to Bologna took advantage of the occasion to escape, local media reports said Wednesday. The two men, who were being held in a rehabilitation facility for drug addicts and prisoners, were …

Allada, BENIN | AFP | From his chair in the middle of a pile of pineapples, Jean-Xavier Satola supervises cutting and packaging, as Benin — Africa’s fourth-biggest exporter of the fruit — starts trading again after an eight-month self-imposed absence. The fields of Allada in southern Benin are a hive of …

Kano, NIGERIA | AFP | Three hundred Boko Haram suspects were officially remanded in custody in Nigeria on Tuesday, as hearings got under way in the first mass trials linked to the Islamist insurgency. The media has been banned on security grounds from attending proceedings at four civilian courts set up …

The Bugatti Chiron shifts from 0-400kph in just 42 seconds Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Cristiano Ronaldo has a new car in his already stunning collection. The latest addition to his collection is a Bugatti Chiron. The Real Madrid football star shelled out $3 million (Approx.Shs11 billion or over half …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | “Time for an interview? I have a lot of time at the moment,” said Owino Onyango, sweating as he stepped out of his blacksmith’s shop in Nairobi to talk business, and politics. “Business goes with politics: if politics go down, business also goes down”, said the …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Liberians turned out in force on Tuesday to choose a successor to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, in a contest set to complete the country’s first democratic transition of power in more than 70 years. A calm day of ballot casting with long lines across the nation …

Lome, Togo | AFP | The Togo government on Tuesday announced a ban on all midweek marches, hours after the opposition announced plans for a rally next week in a campaign aimed at forcing out President Faure Gnassingbe. From Monday to Friday “all marches are banned. People can meet in a …