San Francisco, United States | AFP | Former Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick appeared tense and tentative as he took the witness stand Tuesday seeking to counter allegations that his company stole autonomous driving secrets from former Google car unit Waymo. A key witness in the blockbuster trade secrets case, Kalanick …
Read More »Trump eyes military parade to showcase US might
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump has asked for a large-scale military parade, the White House said Tuesday, an unconventional move that would showcase American muscle and underscore his role as commander-in-chief. Trump — who has toyed with the idea of a parade in Washington since …
Read More »African migrants in Israel opt for jail over deportation
Holot Detention Centre, Israel | AFP | At a detention centre in Israel’s Negev desert, African migrants facing deportation say they would rather be imprisoned than sent to a country they know nothing about. “I won’t go there,” Abda Ishmael, a 28-year-old Eritrean, said in excellent Hebrew outside Holot, an …
Read More »Thousands of Yemen dialysis patients risk dying: ICRC
Sanaa, Yemen | AFP | Thousands of Yemenis suffering from kidney failure risk dying unless dialysis centres in the war-torn country receive more supplies and their staff are paid, the Red Cross said Tuesday. Yemen’s health sector has been devastated by three years of war between the Saudi-supported government and …
Read More »UN chief takes aim at Burundi leader’s bid to extend rule
United Nations, United States | AFP | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is sharply criticizing a bid by Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza to make changes to the constitution that could see him hold onto power for another decade or more, according to a report obtained by AFP on Tuesday. Guterres said …
Read More »Mali ordered to pay 39m euros to military supplier
Bamako, Mali | AFP | Mali’s Supreme Court has ordered the government to pay more than $48 million to a local military equipment firm, in a legal battle dating back to 2014 triggered by corruption allegations. The World Bank and IMF froze aid to Mali that year over state dealings …
Read More »Nigeria lassa fever death toll now 31: health minister
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Thirty-one people have died from Lassa fever in Nigeria since the start of this year, the health minister said, with cases of the viral disease recorded across the country. Isaac Adewole told reporters in Abuja on Monday that the outbreak was currently “active in 15 …
Read More »UN says probing suspected chemical weapons use in Syria
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | United Nations war crimes investigators on Tuesday said they were investigating fresh reports that chemical weapons were being used in rebel-held zones in war-ravaged Syria. The UN Commission of Inquiry on the human rights situation in Syria voiced alarm that it had received “multiple reports …
Read More »Death sentence for man convicted of Somalia’s deadliest bombing
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | A Somali military court on Tuesday sentenced a man to death after finding him guilty of carrying out an October truck bombing that killed over 500 people, the deadliest attack in the nation’s history. Colonel Hassan Ali Shute found 23-year-old Hassan Adan Isaq guilty of …
Read More »Kenya govt critic in court amid crackdown
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A Kenyan government critic appeared in court Tuesday to face charges related to the mock inauguration of the “people’s president” Raila Odinga, as the authorities barred 14 opposition leaders from leaving the country. Protestors and police clashed in the opposition’s stronghold of western Kenya, and …
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