NEWS ANALYSIS

Berkeley Heights, United States | AFP |  President Donald Trump is on summer vacation. Just don’t call it that. “It’s never a vacation,” he said before leaving the White House last Friday for the 10-day non-vacation at his luxury golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. The former real estate dealer …

The Lambahraun lava field, Iceland | AFP |  To prepare for the next mission to Mars in 2020, NASA has taken to the lava fields of Iceland to get its new robotic space explorer ready for the job. With its black basalt sand, wind-swept dunes and craggy peaks, the Lambahraun …

Paris, France | AFP | A deadly explosion at a Russian testing site has focused attention on President Vladimir Putin’s bid to build a nuclear-powered missile that the Kremlin hopes would give Moscow the edge in a new arms race. Western experts have linked the blast at the Nyonoksa test site …

Monaca, United States | AFP |  President Donald Trump has seen the future and it is oil. And plastic. Where most environmental scientists and most US allies fear that overuse of fossil fuels is driving the planet into crisis, the US president spies only opportunity. In a speech on Tuesday to …

Cincinnati, United States | AFP | World number one Novak Djokovic got his US Open build up off to a smooth start with a straight-sets win in Cincinnati on Tuesday as back trouble forced Serena Williams to withdraw. Defending champion Djokovic double faulted three times as he dropped serve in the …

Madrid, Spain | AFP |  Zinedine Zidane returned to save Real Madrid and the time has come for results. In a packed-out press conference under the Santiago Bernabeu in March, the club’s president Florentino Perez delivered the grandest of re-introductions. “We need to start working on a glorious new era,” said …

Hong Kong, China | AFP | Violent protests are driving Hong Kong down a “path of no return”, the city’s leader warned Tuesday as its airport struggled to recover from an unprecedented shutdown triggered by a rally and authorities in Beijing sent more ominous signals that the unrest must end. The …

Bristol, United Kingdom | AFP | England coach Eddie Jones believes off-field problems will be part and parcel of his side’s Rugby World Cup campaign after his surprise move in leaving out centre Ben Te’o from his squad for Japan. The former rugby league star was the major omission when Jones …

Project finds most manufacturers in Uganda unaware of opportunities in efficient water use Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Uganda easily qualifies as one of the most “water secure” countries in Africa. In the south of the country you find Lake Victoria, Africa’s biggest freshwater lake while the world’s longest …

Gabes, Tunisia | AFP | As soon as the sun is up, people in southern Tunisia rush out to buy a glass or bottle of legmi, a coveted date palm drink that is too delicate to be sold far from the oasis. At 7:00 am, at the busy Ain Slam roundabout …