Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe officially dissolved parliament Thursday, effectively kicking off a national election campaign where he faces an unexpected and formidable challenge from the popular governor of Tokyo. Members of the lower house raised their arms and shouted “Banzai” three times — the Japanese …

Maungdaw, Myanmar | AFP | Rohingya militants on Wednesday denied the Myanmar army’s allegations that they had massacred scores of Hindu villagers, whose bodies soldiers displayed to the press after exhuming them from mass graves in northern Rakhine state. Major clashes between the army and the Muslim insurgents erupted last month, …

Accra, Ghana | AFP | Hundreds of Togolese nationals have fled to neighbouring Ghana to escape reprisals after a wave of anti-government protests, a Ghanaian official said on Wednesday. Paddy Tetteh, from the Ghana Refugee Board, said the first batch arrived last Wednesday and although numbers had since fallen, more were …

Washington, United States | AFP | The global threat posed by the Islamic State group has not been diminished by its battlefield defeats in Iraq and Syria, US counter terrorism chief Nick Rasmussen warned Wednesday. Rasmussen told the Senate Homeland Security Committee that he expects the Islamic State group, after losing …

Washington, United States | AFP | A majority of US voters believe Donald Trump is not fit to be president and only 36 percent approve of the job he is doing in the White House, according to a poll released Wednesday. Americans were deeply divided by party, gender and race on …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Cameroon on Wednesday denied allegations by a human rights group that it had forcibly returned about 100,000 Nigerian refugees in breach of international agreements, putting them in danger from Boko Haram Islamists. Human Rights Watch said Nigerians who had sought refuge across the border because of …

Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump denied stoking racial tensions Monday, insisting his charged comments that prompted a wave of symbolic protests by NFL players were about patriotism not race. After a volley of verbal attacks on black athletes led players across the country to kneel during …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean activist pastor Evan Mawarire pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of trying to overthrow President Robert Mugabe’s government, a day after he was detained over an offending post on social media. Mawarire responded “not guilty” when the two charges of subverting a constitutional government …

The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | Former army chief Philippe Mangou testified Monday for the first time against ex-Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo, who is on trial for crimes against humanity, accused of inciting a wave of post-electoral violence. Appearing for the prosecution at the International Criminal Court (ICC), Mangou sought to …

Berlin, Germany | AFP | Borussia Dortmund will aim to maintain their unbeaten record at home to Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday and spoil Cristiano Ronaldo’s 150th European appearance. Dortmund and title holders Real meet in the group stage for the second year running. The teams drew both …