Washington, United States | AFP | Linda Brown, who was at the center of the landmark 1950s court battle leading to the desegregation of US public schools, died on Monday at age 75. The US Supreme Court ruling on the Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954 was a …

Niamey, Niger | AFP | Four leading opposition and rights figures are being held in Niger prisons following a banned weekend demonstration that turned violent in the capital Niamey, media reports said Tuesday. They were among 23 people arrested after the protest Sunday against new taxes degenerated into clashes between …

United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Security Council on Tuesday unanimously backed a resolution that tasks the peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo with helping to prepare elections and avoid deadly violence. France presented the measure that renews the mandate for MONUSCO, the UN’s biggest …

Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The European Union has given Facebook two weeks to answer questions raised by the scandal over personal data harvested from the social network, according to extracts of a letter obtained by AFP on Tuesday. The letter EU’s justice commissioner Vera Jourova sent Facebook’s chief operating officer …

Buenos Aires, Argentina | AFP | Argentina captain Lionel Messi admitted Monday that his generation has a score to settle at the World Cup in Russia after a series of agonising near misses in major tournaments. “The debt we owe is to ourselves, not to the people. We always give …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Ronald Koeman claimed his first win in charge of the Netherlands national team as the Dutch cruised to a comfortable 3-0 friendly victory over an uninspired Portugal in Geneva on Monday. The three-time World Cup runners-up have failed to qualify for this year’s finals in …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Raheem Sterling has vowed to finally emulate his blistering Manchester City form in an England shirt as the electric winger eyes redemption at the World Cup. Sterling’s last taste of a major international tournament was a bitter one, but the forthcoming World Cup in …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Eight prominent columnists working for Kenya’s biggest media group quit Tuesday over what they said was increased meddling by government and a loss of media freedom at its outlets. The columnists include George Kegoro, executive director of the Kenyan Human Rights Commission; Lynne Muthoni Wanyeki, …

Alexandra, South Africa | AFP | Self-testing kits and vending machines distributing prescription drugs are two ways that HIV treatment is being automated to reduce stigma in South Africa, home of the world’s biggest HIV epidemic. With 7.1 million people living with HIV in the country, removing human intervention is …

Paris, France | AFP | Feeling lonely contributes less to the risk of cardiovascular disease than recent research suggests, scientists said Tuesday, but social isolation really does up the odds of dying after a heart attack or stroke. The alleged link between loneliness and heart disease essentially disappears once other …