WORLD

Windsor, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain celebrates Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday on Thursday, with her eldest son Prince Charles paying tribute in a special radio broadcast and Prime Minister David Cameron leading a parliamentary homage. The sovereign, who last year overtook her great-great grandmother queen Victoria to become …

Rome, Italy | AFP | The UN refugee agency said on Wednesday it feared around 500 migrants from Africa had drowned in the Mediterranean after witnesses said their overcrowded boat sank. UNHCR spokeswoman Carlotta Sami said in a statement sent to AFP that survivors from Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt …

San Francisco, United States | AFP | US telecoms giant Verizon has emerged as a leading contender to take over struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo as other big names reportedly drop out, US financial media said ahead of quarterly results Tuesday that are expected to show the portal suffering a further …

April 18 5.00am Uganda time Brazil lawmakers give green light to Rousseff impeachment trial Brasília, Brazil | AFP | Brazilian lawmakers on Sunday authorized impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff in a rowdy, circus-like showdown that plunged Latin America’s biggest country into profound political crisis. Opposition deputies in the lower …

Washington, United States | AFP | Nine Yemeni inmates have been transferred from Guantanamo Bay to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said on Saturday, bringing the controversial military prison’s remaining population down to 80. It is the largest transfer from the facility since 10 Yemenis were sent to Oman in January …

Lesbos, Greece | AFP | Declaring “we are all migrants,” Pope Francis on Saturday brought a message of hope to thousands of people facing expulsion from Greece as he slammed the world community for failing to end the wars fueling the crisis. In an emotional visit that saw people kneeling …

Washington, United States | AFP | The US Army is commissioning 22 women as infantry and armor officers under historic new rules allowing females to serve in ground combat roles, USA Today reported Friday. Defense Secretary Ash Carter in December announced a sweeping directive to open all military occupations to …

Bamako, Mali | AFP Mali and the European Union agreed Friday to combat immigration into Europe by financing projects to fight its causes and promote legal migration, according to a joint statement released on Friday. Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, began a …

Basel, Switzerland | AFP Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter told AFP Friday he “is available” to appear as a witness at a United States trial into mass corruption in world football. “Yes. When they need me to defend FIFA, I will be available,” Blatter said, when asked if he would …

Moscow, Russia | AFP Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday acknowledged the accuracy of the Panama Papers revelations, but claimed funds had been spent on musical instruments as he blamed the leak on the United States. The Papers revealed that Putin’s associates, notably cellist Sergei Roldugin, “secretly shuffled as much …