NEWS ANALYSIS

Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump is proposing a congressional ban on late-term abortions as he seeks to expand his conservative support ahead of the 2020 election. In a State of the Union speech that had been billed as promoting unity, Trump seized upon one of the most …

San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook on Thursday announced it had restructured its team devoted to products or features designed to increase the social network’s appeal to younger generations. Nascent projects such as a “LOL” platform for funny memes were taken off the board at the “youth team,” which …

  Nantes, France | AFP | He was born in Argentina, made his name in France but lost his life over the English Channel on his way to play for a Welsh club. On Thursday, it was confirmed that a body recovered by British investigators from the submerged wreckage of …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | The second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has raised hopes for the longest ceasefire in history to be replaced by a peace treaty. Seoul and Pyongyang remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended with …

  Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s upcoming presidential elections are the sixth to be held since civilian rule was restored in 1999 and the first to involve voters with no experience of military government. AFP spoke to some first-time voters in Africa’s most populous country to find out what …

Italian leaders irk Paris by backing the Yellow Jackets and denouncing French colonialism ANALYSIS | Hannah Roberts |  The 5Star Movement’s attempt to blame migrant deaths in the Mediterranean on Paris says more about the dire state of the Italian ruling coalition than the French colonial legacy in Africa. Paris was …

Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Britain and the EU agreed Thursday to hold more talks to try to avoid a no-deal Brexit, after a “robust” meeting between Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker. A joint statement issued after the talks in Brussels said Juncker had again warned that  November’s withdrawal agreement …

Washington, United States | AFP | Smartphone use has become the norm in most developed nations, while many emerging economies are showing sharp gains, a global survey showed Tuesday. The Pew Research Center report found strong majorities of adults using smartphones in the world’s wealthier countries, led by 95 percent …

Raub, Malaysia | AFP | Soaring demand for durians in China is being blamed for a new wave of deforestation in Malaysia with environmentalists warning vast amounts of jungle is being cleared to make way for massive plantations of the spiky, pungent fruit. Grown across tropical Southeast Asia, the durian is …

Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | “When I decided to come back, my friends took me for a fool,” recounts Clement Ndotizo, who spent a decade in France before returning to settle in his native Central African Republic, one of the world’s least-developed and most dangerous countries. But a “fool”, …