NEWS ANALYSIS

Kingston, Jamaica | AFP |   They don’t have tons of money, sponsors or flashy practice facilities but they didn’t let that stop them: Jamaica’s ‘Reggae Girlz’, the women’s national football team that did not even exist a few years ago, are heading to France to do battle for the World …

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Forced out of the Copa America by injury, star striker Neymar faces an uncertain playing future in Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil where he is engulfed in an alleged rape scandal. Neymar vehemently denies the accusation, which has dominated headlines and dogged Brazil’s preparations for …

Brasília, Brazil | AFP |  Brazil’s Copa America preparations suffered a huge injury scare on Wednesday after striker Neymar limped off the field as the Selecao beat Qatar 2-0 in a friendly. A distraught-looking Neymar was seen covering his face with his hands as he sat on the bench after …

Franceville, Gabon | AFP |  He died a decade ago, but residents of Franceville in southeast Gabon hark back with deep nostalgia to the rule of former president Omar Bongo. His heyday was a time of seemingly endless oil wealth and optimism. But the river of dollars has dried up and …

Caen, France | AFP |  World leaders including President Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron will attend ceremonies Thursday on the beaches of Normandy, where 75 years ago Allied troops landed to push Nazi forces out of France. At a time of increasing international discord, the leaders will …

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP |  Brazilians for the first time late Wednesday heard from the woman who says that football superstar Neymar sexually assaulted her at a Paris hotel. Extracts of a televised interview with Najila Trindade Mendes de Souza, the alleged victim, aired just one hour before Neymar …

Brumunddal, Norway | AFP | Baby minks, their skin still smooth and furless, snuggle up against one another under a pile of hay, letting out the occasional squeal: this sight will soon be a thing of the past at Norway’s fur farms. The Norwegian parliament is due this month to adopt …

Berlin, Germany | AFP | The man believed to be post-war Germany’s worst serial killer was known to colleagues as a “nice guy” who did little to arouse suspicion until well into his murder spree. A court in the northern city of Oldenburg sentenced Niels Hoegel, 42, a heavy-set, second-generation caregiver, …

Paris, France | AFP |  The last time French President Emmanuel Macron hosted Donald Trump in France, it turned into a diplomatic fiasco which underlined how once warm relations between the men had chilled to the point of freezing. As the two men prepare to hold talks on Thursday on …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudanese protest leaders on Wednesday turned down an offer by the ruling military council for talks and demanded justice for a crackdown that doctors said has left 108 people dead. Security forces moved in to brutally disperse a protest sit-in on Monday. The Rapid Support Forces, …