NEWS ANALYSIS

Athens, Greece | AFP |  “Once my taxes are paid, at the end of the day I have 20 or 25 euros left in my pocket,” lamented Greek hairdresser Babis Toumbanos. Like him, there are many entrepreneurs in the country who want the new conservative government that emerged from the July …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Serena Williams delivered a stinging rebuke to fellow tennis legend Billie Jean King who said she should focus on tennis and stop behaving like a celebrity and fighting for equality. King — who was no stranger to fighting for equality for women players when she …

Paris, France | AFP |  With the wind rushing through their hair, they zip past on bikes, electric scooters and mono-wheels, effortlessly passing lines of hot-and-bothered drivers stuck in the endless Paris traffic. In the French capital, the new mobility revolution has caught on fast, with locals and tourists embracing …

Munich, Germany | AFP |  Organisers of this year’s Gay Pride week in Munich have a group of rather wild partners — penguins, giraffes and lions at the city zoo where tours are being run about same-sex love in the animal kingdom. The Munich zoo has joined Pride week with …

Avignon, France | AFP |  The reality of her homeland’s lurch to the far right has seen artists branded as leftists and criminals, laments Brazilian director Christiane Jatahy, who only wishes her theatre piece on migration were actually a fiction. The documentary-style work by the 51-year-old Rio-born Jatahy is loosely based …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  Serena Williams’s place among the legends of tennis is assured but her mission will not be accomplished unless she at least equals Margaret Court’s record haul of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. The 37-year-old American gets a third chance in a year to go …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  South African former president Jacob Zuma is due on Monday to make a much-anticipated appearance before an inquiry into alleged corruption after previous witnesses gave damning evidence against him. Zuma is accused of overseeing mass looting of state funds during his nine-year reign before …

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP |  Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa producer, earns just a fraction of the crop’s potential value and must process it domestically and develop its distribution to fully reap the benefits, a World Bank report said Thursday. Cocoa accounts for 40 percent of the West African …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  England face New Zealand in the World Cup final on Sunday knowing years of planning come down to a single day at Lord’s. When England exited the 2015 edition with an embarrassing defeat by Bangladesh, few were tipping them as potential champions in four …

Palermo, Italy | AFP |  The fate of an alleged people trafficking kingpin who insists he is a victim of mistaken identity hangs in the balance Friday, with a verdict expected in a trial against him in Italy. Eritrean national Medhanie Yehdego Mered is accused of being “the General” of …