Washington, United States | AFP | The US Supreme Court on Wednesday offered at least a temporary reprieve to a Texas death row inmate, agreeing that racial bias affected his sentence after a psychologist testified he was more likely to commit future crimes because he is black. The guilt of …

Paris, France | AFP | By 2030 life expectancy for South Korean women could top nine decades, an average lifespan long thought to be out of reach, researchers said Wednesday. South Korea is not only the first country in the world where women may live past 90 on average, it …

Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | Donald Trump’s controversial statements linking immigration and crime in Sweden, a country idealised by some for its liberal values, have sparked the nation to weigh the successes and failures of its integration policy. Two days after the US president’s baffling remarks on Saturday in Florida, …

Blantyre, Malawi | AFP |  Malawi’s President Peter Mutharika on Wednesday fired the country’s agriculture minister who is alleged to have profited from a $35 million deal to import maize from Zambia. George Chaponda, seen as a close ally and potential successor of Mutharika, was dismissed from his post a …

Paris, France | AFP | The assassination of the North Korean leader’s half-brother saw Kim Jong-Nam collapse shortly after two women shoved a cloth in his face. He died before reaching hospital. But what toxin could have acted so fast? Pierre Champy, a chemist at the French National Centre for …

New York, United States | AFP |  Hip-hop icon Jay Z is the first rapper chosen for the Songwriters Hall of Fame, heading a class of inductees that also features Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and R&B crooner Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, the group said Wednesday. The 47-year-old Jay Z, who …

Kampala, Uganda | AFP |  The inauguration of Uganda’s first gold refinery sparked concern Wednesday over the possibility of dirty minerals from regional conflict zones making their way into the country. Transparency International’s Peter Wandera told AFP the country’s failure to regulate the mineral sector meant there were “high chances” …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Africa wants 10 places in the 48-nation World Cup from 2026, FIFA president Gianni Infantino was told in Johannesburg Wednesday. The Swiss-Italian was attending a two-day meeting of African national football association presidents behind closed doors. “All associations back an expanded World Cup and …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  A woman will become Britain’s most senior police officer for the first time, the government announced on Wednesday, a controversial move due to her involvement in a fatal London shooting. Cressida Dick, 56, will succeed Bernard Hogan-Howe as commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police, returning …

United Nations, United States | AFP |  UN aid agencies need $4.4 billion in emergency funding to address famine in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday. More than 20 million people face starvation in the four countries and action is needed now to avert …