Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso | AFP | Armed men attacked the French embassy in Burkina Faso and the country’s military headquarters on Friday before being repelled in a battle that left dozens dead or injured. A government source said 16 attackers and defenders died, while other sources reached by AFP from …
Read More »Arrests after Burundi president ‘roughed up’ on football field
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Two Burundi officials have been arrested after their town’s football team allegedly “roughed up” President Pierre Nkurunziza who was playing during a match with his personal team, legal sources and witnesses said Friday. A legal source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the administrator …
Read More »Buhari under pressure over Boko Haram abduction, attacks
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Another Boko Haram mass kidnapping has cast doubts on Nigeria’s claims to have virtually defeated the jihadists, putting the government under scrutiny as elections approach next year. Heavily armed Islamist militants abducted 110 girls from their school in Dapchi, in Yobe state, northeast Nigeria, on …
Read More »US accuses Russia of breaching treaties with ‘invincible’ weapons
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States has accused Moscow of openly breaching Cold War-era treaties by developing what Russian President Vladimir Putin called a new generation of “invincible” hypersonic weapons and submarines. Putin unveiled the new arsenal Thursday in a state of the nation address, challenging Washington …
Read More »Israel police grill Netanyahu on new fraud case
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli police arrived on Friday at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home where media reports said they were to question him for an eighth time over allegations of fraud and bribery. An AFP journalist saw police arriving at Netanyahu’s official Jerusalem residence in two vehicles at …
Read More »France, US ‘will not tolerate impunity’ on Syria chemical weapons
Paris, France | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron and his US counterpart Donald Trump vowed there would be “no impunity” in the event of further chemical weapons use in Syria in a telephone call Friday. The leaders also urged Russia to put “maximum pressure” on its ally Damascus to …
Read More »Tillerson to take first Africa trip next week
Washington, United States | AFP | US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will travel to Africa next week, the State department said Thursday, in his first visit to the continent since President Donald Trump entered office. Tillerson will travel to “N’Djamena, Chad; Djibouti, Djibouti; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Nairobi, Kenya; and …
Read More »Three aid workers killed in Boko Haram attack in Nigeria: UN
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Three aid workers were confirmed killed in a Boko Haram attack in northeast Nigeria, the UN said on Friday, in the latest violence to underscore the jihadists’ enduring threat. The world body and two security sources initially said four people were killed in the attack …
Read More »Syria regime strikes rebel enclave as aid trucks wait
Wafideen Checkpoint, Syria | AFP | Syrian and Russian forces kept up military pressure on rebel-held Eastern Ghouta Thursday as their controversial unilateral truce failed to yield a humanitarian breakthrough. More than 40 trucks loaded with aid were unable to reach the 400,000 people living in the battered enclave, prompting …
Read More »Trump tariffs fuel sell-off in steel and aluminium firms
Hong Kong, China | AFP | Steel and aluminium producers across Asia sank Friday on news of Donald Trump’s controversial tariffs, though some analysts said the long-term effects on the sector might not be as bad as thought. The president said Thursday he would slap levies of 25 percent on …
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