Washington, United States | AFP |The Pentagon is confident it can protect the United States against an incoming North Korean rocket, an official said Wednesday following Pyongyang’s first successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Tuesday’s launch saw North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un fire a new type of missile from …
Read More »Three officers die in fierce Shabaab raid on Kenyan police camp
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Three policemen were killed Wednesday in seven hours of fighting with suspected Shabaab militants who attacked their post in southeastern Kenya, police said. Regional police chief Akello Odhiambo said the attackers raided the Pandanguo Police Camp in the coastal Lamu region. “They razed a police camp …
Read More »US, S. Korea send North missile warning after ICBM test
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | South Korea and the United States fired off missiles Wednesday simulating a precision strike against North Korea’s leadership, in response to a landmark ICBM test described by Kim Jong-Un as a gift to “American bastards”. Tuesday’s launch — acknowledged as an intercontinental ballistic missile by …
Read More »Tanzanian MP arrested for insulting ‘problematic’ Magufuli
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A female Tanzanian MP has been arrested for allegedly insulting President John Magufuli, who is seen as increasingly authoritarian and unwilling to brook any dissent. The outspoken lawmaker, Halima Mdee, 39, from the main opposition Chadema party, was arrested on Tuesday, a day after she held a …
Read More »Modi, Netanyahu seek to deepen ties on first visit by an Indian PM
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday on the first ever visit by an Indian premier to Israel as they sought to deepen ties beyond high-priced defence deals. The two leaders presented a series of agreements between India and Israel for cooperation on …
Read More »AU chair questions US stance on African peacekeeping
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP |The African Union’s new chair Moussa Faki Mahamat on Wednesday questioned US commitment to fighting terrorism on the continent after it blocked efforts to get UN funding for an anti-jihadist force in the Sahel. “This is a specific case of a certain number of African …
Read More »S.Africa’s Zuma tries to quell high-risk succession battle
Soweto, South Africa | AFP |South African President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday sought to calm an increasingly fractious battle to succeed him that is threatening to split the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party. Zuma, who has been hit by corruption scandals and his country’s poor economic performance, will step …
Read More »Football: Five facts on new Arsenal striker Lacazette
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Five facts on French international striker Alexandre Lacazette, after he signed for English Premier League side Arsenal on Wednesday for a club-record fee that could rise to 60 million euros ($68m, £52.56m) from Ligue 1 outfit Lyon: Falls foul of Lyon faithful Lacazette may have …
Read More »Calls for clarity over Nigeria’s absent president
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | The president of Africa’s most populous nation was last seen in public two months ago and since the start of 2017, he’s been outside the country more than in it. Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari left for London on May 7 to receive medical treatment for an undisclosed …
Read More »COMMENT: The real side of fake news
With advertising revenues declining, media organisations are increasingly desperate for clicks |Steven Rosenbaum| Today’s digital devices and social networks deliver so much information that even the savviest consumer cannot evaluate all of it. We seem to be living in a version of Aldous Huxley’s `Brave New World’, where truth is …
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