WORLD

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev was sacked Tuesday and put under house arrest on suspicion of pocketing a two-million-dollar bribe in a deal involving state-controlled oil giant Rosneft. Ulyukayev is the highest ranking official detained over suspected corruption since President Vladimir Putin took power in …

New York, United States | AFP |  Donald Trump huddled with Vice president-elect Mike Pence on Tuesday to nail down their next round of cabinet appointments, amid reports of intense infighting over the key posts. The Republican billionaire drew a barrage of criticism over his pick of chief strategist: the …

Berlin, Germany | AFP |  Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel intends to stand for a fourth term in next September’s elections, a close political ally said Tuesday. “She will run for the post of chancellor,” Norbert Roettgen, a senior member of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, told US television channel …

Kathmandu, Nepal | AFP |  Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal called his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi Tuesday to find out how Nepalis could exchange Indian rupees they hold in the now banned denominations. The two countries share a long border and close cultural ties, and many Nepalis hold large …

Beijing, China | AFP |  Chinese state-run media lauded Donald Trump Tuesday after a phone call between him and President Xi Jinping, saying that the president-elect’s emergence could mark a “reshaping” of Sino-American relations. The pair spoke Monday, when Xi said that the two powers needed to co-operate and Trump’s …

Wajir, Kenya | AFP | Swaddled in colourful hijabs the women exchange puzzled looks and suppress embarrassed giggles. “You’re sure it’s halal?” asks one, peering at a collection of birth control pills, condoms and IUDs. Such everyday forms of contraception are little known and rarely seen in Kenya’s arid and …

Miami, United States | AFP |  West Nile virus may be three times more deadly than previously thought, because many deaths associated with the mosquito-borne virus occur years after the initial infection, researchers said Monday. The findings were based on a study of 4,144 people in Texas, and were presented …

The Hague, Netherlands | AFP |  US military forces and the CIA may have committed war crimes in Afghanistan through the “cruel and violent” interrogation of detainees mostly between 2003-2004, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday. There was a “reasonable basis to believe that, in the …

Rome, Italy | AFP | A veteran commander of the Islamic State group who was convicted in Italy of terrorist recruitment has been arrested in Sudan, an Italian lawmaker said Monday. Giacomo Stucchi, a senator who chairs the parliamentary committee that oversees Italy’s secret services, said Italian intelligence had played …

Moscow, Russia | AFP |  Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump spoke on the phone on Monday evening and agreed on the need to normalise ties between Washington and Moscow, the Kremlin said. The Kremlin also said that the two politicians agreed to “make provisions for a personal meeting.” …