Montego Bay, Jamaica | AFP | Jamaica has declared a state of emergency in the island’s second city Montego Bay, where authorities are battling to stem a wave of killings. Tourists have been urged to remain in their resorts following the declaration by Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Thursday, resulting …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize as a champion of women’s rights, is stepping down after making history as Africa’s first elected female president in Liberia. Taking the reins of a nation that had just emerged from a civil war leaving …

Beijing, China | AFP | For years China was the world’s top destination for recyclable trash, but a ban on certain imports has left nations scrambling to find new dumping grounds for growing piles of garbage. The decision was announced in July and came into force on January 1, giving companies …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez and Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan were to undergo medicals on Sunday as their swap deal neared completion, reports said. Britain’s Mirror newspaper said Sanchez was due to arrive in Manchester with agent Fernando Felicevich, with a medical scheduled for …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal are ready to go on a sustained winning streak after finally blocking out the distractions of a turbulent transfer window. Arsenal ended a five-match winless run by thrashing Crystal Palace 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. Four goals in …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | An Australian man experienced the fright of his life recently after a venomous snake scaled his car window as he drove home. Ted Ogier said he spotted the black, red-bellied snake slithering alongside his car from the hood of his car. It wrapped itself around …

Liverpool, United Kingdom | AFP | Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has insisted he has not given a second thought to his team’s 18-match unbeaten run ahead of their trip to Swansea City on Monday. Klopp’s side have been in imperious form recently, and ended Premier League leaders Manchester City’s hopes of …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Democratic mega-donor and billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer has bought every member of Congress a copy of Michael Wolff’s controversial book `Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House’. The book portrays Trump as a Republican candidate who did not actually expect to win the presidency …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Buoyed by rising stock markets and commodity prices, Africa’s billionaires are collectively wealthier than a year ago. The 23 billionaires that Forbes found in Africa – up from 21 billionaires last year — are worth a combined $75.4 billion, compared to $70 billion in January …

Washington, United States | AFP | With the US government in shutdown, the Senate convened a rare emergency session Saturday to negotiate a way out of a crisis that has marred the anniversary of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. Hours after a marathon session Friday failed to produce agreement on a …