Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the southwest Syria ceasefire agreed by Russia and the US since it would enable Iran to solidify its presence there, an official said Monday. The July 9 accord creating a de-escalation zone in the Daraa, Quneitra and Sweida regions includes …

Brazzaville, Congo | AFP | Voters went to the polls in legislative elections in the oil-rich Republic of Congo on Sunday, the first since a violence-marred presidential poll last year which returned Denis Sassou Nguesso to power. The first round of polling to elect National Assembly members as well as local …

Brussels, Belgium | AFP |Britain and the European Union launch a new round of fraught Brexit negotiations Monday with Brussels pressing weakened British Prime Minister Theresa May to quickly set out her divorce strategy. Brexit minister David Davis travels to Brussels to meet Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, for …

Washington, United States | AFP | Mike Pence is the loyal wingman, the ever-discreet figure who rises above the Washington fray. But as the Russia scandal encroaches ever further on Donald Trump’s White House, the vice president is also walking a political tightrope. The 58-year-old former governor of Indiana is currently …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | South Africa completed a clean sweep in the boy’s sprints to top the medals table for the first time at the World Under-18 athletics championships in Nairobi on Sunday. South Africa, fifth in 1999 and 2005, amassed ten medals including five golds over the five-day championships. …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | A Spanish-led European police investigation has broken up an organised crime group that allegedly sold horsemeat across Europe that was “not suitable” for human consumption, officials said Sunday. Police in Spain arrested 65 people suspected of crimes including animal abuse, document forgery, public health violations, money …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A strikingly toxic campaign ad was unleashed online in Kenya just weeks before national elections — a potentially explosive move in a country where politics and ethnicity are closely aligned. The 90-second video, shot in moody monochrome, presented a dystopia in which Raila Odinga, the leading …

Netanyahu, Rivlin hold rare joint greeting for Rwandan president in Jerusalem |Greer Fay Cashman| He didn’t do it when U.S. President Donald Trump met with President Reuven Rivlin in June; nor did he do it when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with President Rivlin in early July. But when …

MTN has reportedly agreed to settle a fine of US$8.5m (about R114m) with the Rwandan government after negotiations over the fine broke down. The fine was imposed on the Rwandan subsidiary of the Johannesburg-headquartered and JSE-listed mobile telecommunications group after it allegedly failed to comply with a regulatory directive precluding …

East Rutherford, United States | AFP |India’s biggest Bollywood stars led a triumphant celebration of dance, music and fashion at the International Indian Film Academy awards Saturday, cheered by thousands of ecstatic fans just outside New York. The five-hour show at an American football stadium in New Jersey, where the …