Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has fathered another child, reports said Tuesday, after his wife dropped out of the public eye for several months. First lady Ri Sol-Ju delivered the couple’s third child in February, the Yonhap news agency reported Tuesday, citing South Korean …
Read More »North Korea does it again, fires ballistic missile over Japan
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | Nuclear-armed North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan on Tuesday in a major escalation that triggered global alarm and a furious response from the government in Tokyo. A visibly unsettled Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said it was an “unprecedented, serious and …
Read More »NRM’s Akello takes Kaabong seat
Kampala, Uganda | GODFREY SSALI | The National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Rose-Lilly Akello has been declared the winner of the Kaabong Woman Member of Parliament seat. Akello was declared the winner of Monday’s by-election by the returning officer for Kaabong District Sarah Iyolu after garnering 21,814 votes out of 43,965 …
Read More »51 bankers, businessmen on trial in Vietnam for fraud
Hanoi, Vietnam | AFP | A former banking magnate and 50 others went on trial in Vietnam Monday over a multi-million dollar fraud at a major private bank, as the communist nation cracks down on corruption in the sector. Authorities have vowed to clean up an industry plagued by favouritism …
Read More »Nigeria seizes $21 million from ex-oil minister
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | A Nigerian court seized $21 million on Monday from bank accounts linked to a former oil minister accused of corruption as investigators continue to claw back her fortune. Federal high court judge Abdulazeez Anka ordered the immediate forfeiture of 7.6 billion naira ($21 million, 17.9 …
Read More »Kenya’s Supreme Court begins hearing election challenge
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Judges at Kenya’s Supreme Court on Monday began hearing an opposition petition challenging the result of the August 8 presidential election. The seven judges have until September 1 to rule in the case in which opposition leader Raila Odinga alleges computer hacking and fraud handed …
Read More »Israel finalises deal for 17 more F-35 stealth fighters
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israel has finalised a deal to purchase 17 more F-35 stealth fighters in addition to 33 of the ultra-high-tech jets already ordered, the defence ministry said Sunday. Israel has already taken delivery of five of the jets, made by US-based Lockheed Martin and the most …
Read More »Kenya bans plastic bags in bid to fight pollution
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A ban on plastic bags came into force in Kenya on Monday in a bid to slow pollution, with offenders liable to jail time or hefty fines. The ban on the use, manufacture and importation of plastic carrier bags was carried through after the …
Read More »Merkel ‘out of touch’, says challenger as vote nears
Berlin, Germany | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel is “aloof” and “out of touch”, her main challenger Martin Schulz said Sunday, stepping up his attacks as he seeks to turn around a flagging campaign ahead of next month’s general election. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader said Merkel …
Read More »DR Congo temporarily bans import of key consumer goods
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Authorities have banned imports of several popular consumer products in the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo for six months to fight smuggling, Trade Minister Jean-Lucien Busa said Monday. “We have decided on the temporary restriction of imports in the western part of …
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