NEWS ANALYSIS

Tokyo, Japan | AFP |  For Japanese breakdancer Shigeyuki Nakarai, the prospect of winning a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics has become something of an obsession. The proposal by Paris organisers in February to include the street dance lit a fire under the 17-year-old, aka Shigekix, who took bronze …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | This week’s latest Brexit-fuelled collapse in the troubled pound is a boon for tourists and multinationals — but spells trouble for the purchasing power of UK households. Sterling tumbled Tuesday to two-year lows against the euro and dollar, plagued with concern that Britain will crash …

Washington, United States | AFP |  When Barack Obama was elected as America’s first black president in 2008, many believed it was a watershed moment for a country bearing the scars of slavery. Just over a decade later, as the 2020 presidential campaign heats up, the divisive issue of race …

New York, United States | AFP |  A contrarian businessman with a penchant for fashion and a boyish smile, rapper A$AP Rocky has risen out of poverty in Harlem to become one of contemporary hip hop’s VIPs in the past decade. Now the 30-year-old artist faces trial on Tuesday, as …

Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump’s choice of a lawmaker with limited experience to oversee the massive US intelligence community has sparked concerns over the possible politicization of crucial national security decisions. Trump announced the nomination Sunday of Republican Representative John Ratcliffe to replace Dan Coats as Director …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | More than 2,000 South Korean soccer fans will sue a sports agency after superstar Cristiano Ronaldo stayed on the bench when his Juventus side played a friendly in Seoul last week, a law firm said Monday. The star Portuguese striker did not play a single second of the match …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya suffered international embarrassment in 2016 when a string of doping scandals brought the country famed for its distance runners within a whisker of disqualification from the Rio Olympics. “It was a time when Kenya faced an enormous challenge in terms of the very integrity of …

Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump branded African-American civil rights activist Al Sharpton a “con man” on Monday, sparking further charges of racism following his recent tirades against prominent black lawmakers. The attack followed a weekend during which Trump drew fire for targeting Elijah Cummings, a Democratic …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Four Sudanese school students were among five demonstrators shot dead Monday during a rally against shortages of bread and fuel, a day before protest leaders and ruling generals are set to hold new talks on the country’s transition. Authorities announced a night-time curfew in four towns …

Only developed countries including the US, China, India, some in Europe and South America have well–established gene banks Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | For the recent decades, Africa’s indigenous animals such as the East Africa’s sinewy Ankole cattle; a product of the centuries of selection for traits adapted to …