Blantyre, Malawi | AFP | Malawi’s former agriculture minister was Wednesday arrested and charged with graft for allegedly profiting in a $35-million maize import deal from neighbouring Zambia, officials said. George Chaponda has been battling against graft allegations following the controversial purchase of 100,000 tonnes of maize in July 2016. Malawi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau …
Read More »Uber driver dies after car torched in South Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African Uber driver whose car was torched five weeks ago died of his injuries on Monday, the company said, after an attack allegedly involving rival metre-taxi drivers. The man was parked on a street in the capital Pretoria at night when …
Read More »MtGox CEO says ‘not guilty’ at missing Bitcoin trial in Japan
Tokyo, Japan | AFP |Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of collapsed Bitcoin exchange MtGox, denied wrongdoing Tuesday as his trial got under way in Tokyo on charges linked to the disappearance of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of the virtual currency. The French national — once the high-flying head …
Read More »UK parliament cuts e-mail access after cyberattack
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain’s parliament shut down external access to e-mail accounts on Saturday following a cyberattack. Parliamentary authorities described the attack as “sustained and determined”, in an email sent to lawmakers and published by the Daily Telegraph. “Earlier this morning we discovered unusual activity and evidence …
Read More »Trump finally makes call for unity after lawmaker shot
Washington, United States | AFP | A grave Donald Trump called on Americans to unify after the shooting of a Republican lawmaker and three other people Wednesday at a baseball field, striking a notably less partisan tone in response to his first major domestic crisis. From the Diplomatic Room of …
Read More »Anti-Trump gunman attacks US lawmakers, dies in shootout
Alexandria, United States | AFP | A rifle-wielding critic of President Donald Trump opened fire Wednesday on US lawmakers practicing for a charity baseball game, seriously wounding a top Republican congressman and three others before he was killed by police. The 66-year-old gunman was identified as James T. Hodgkinson of …
Read More »Attack on US lawmakers: what we know
Washington, United States | AFP | A rifle-toting US man opened fire Wednesday at about two dozen Republican lawmakers and staff holding a baseball practice ahead of a charity game, wounding a top congressman and at least three others. The shooter — identified as 66-year-old James Hodgkinson, an apparent supporter …
Read More »Jury in Cosby trial to deliberate for third day after failing to reach a verdict
Norristown, United States | AFP | The US jury presiding over the Bill Cosby trial will deliberate for a third day Wednesday after failing to reach a verdict on whether the disgraced cultural icon drugged and sexually assaulted a woman 13 years ago. The 79-year-old legendary entertainer, once loved by …
Read More »Cosby won’t testify, defense rests in sex assault trial
Norristown, United States | AFP | Disgraced US comedian Bill Cosby confirmed in court Monday that he would not testify at his sexual assault trial as the defense called just one witness before resting their case. In one of America’s biggest celebrity trials in years, the 79-year-old pioneering black comedian …
Read More »Mozambique warns of ritual attacks against bald people
Maputo, Mozambique | AFP | Police in Mozambique Tuesday warned that bald people could be the targets of ritual attacks, after the brutal killing of two men whose body parts were to be used in witchcraft. The two bald men, one of whom was found with his head cut off …
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