NEWS ANALYSIS

 London, United Kingdom | AFP | Manchester City have Premier League immortality in their sights as they start their title defence this weekend, but Liverpool’s burning desire to get their hands on the trophy will fuel a heavyweight battle for supremacy. In the blue corner, treble winners City are at the …

Washington, United States | AFP |  There might be life on the Moon after all: thousands of virtually indestructible creatures that can withstand extreme radiation, sizzling heat, the coldest temperatures of the universe, and decades without food. These terrifying-sounding beings aren’t aliens but instead microscopic Earthlings known as tardigrades, who likely …

Maputo, Mozambique | AFP |  Mozambique’s government and the ex-rebel group Renamo completed a long-awaited peace pact on Tuesday, inking a final deal aimed at ending years of conflict. President Filipe Nyusi and Renamo leader Ossufo Momade embraced after signing the landmark agreement at a ceremony in Maputo’s Peace Square …

Chongqing, China | AFP |  Children run around a small indoor pitch in southwest China, laughing, zigzagging between cones and tossing around a rugby ball — then one kid tears up when another fails to pass to him. “Pass it on, get up and stop crying,” coach Zhang Shuangyi instructs, with …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Veteran Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir ruled the northeast African country for three decades with an iron fist. Now Sudan is turning the page, ushering in a new era of civilian rule. A constitutional declaration, signed on Sunday between the ruling generals and the leaders of an …

Saint Petersburg, Russia | AFP | When LGBT activist Yelena Grigoryeva found her name on a hit list of a “gay-hunting” group, she did not appear to take the threat seriously. The group called itself “Pila”, meaning “saw”, after the series of Hollywood horror films of the same name, in which …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Will he, won’t he — and can he be stopped? Westminster is abuzz with talk of whether Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson will use an election to force through his Brexit plan. Many MPs are deeply opposed to his threat to take Britain out …

Shanghai, China | AFP |  China’s decision to let its currency weaken against the dollar on Monday sent global markets diving further into the red and provoked a Twitter tirade from US President Donald Trump. The deteriorating picture appeared to worsen as official Chinese media reported Beijing ceased purchases of …

Barcelona, Spain | AFP | A Spanish charity that saved 121 migrants in the Mediterranean last week vowed Monday to continue sea rescue operations, the latest NGO to defy moves by European nations to shut down a route exploited by trafficking gangs. Proactiva Open Arms founder Oscar Camps called on EU …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Relatives of people murdered by death squads in The Gambia expressed outrage on Monday over the release of three former hitmen, who said they committed dozens of assassinations ordered by ex-president Yahya Jammeh. The men, who were part of an unofficial paramilitary unit known as the …