WORLD

Beijing, China | AFP | The mayhem of China’s Cultural Revolution will never be repeated, state-run media said Tuesday, breaking their silence after the 50th anniversary of its start saw little state-sanctioned discussion. May 16 marked half a century since the 1966 internal Communist party declaration of the movement, which …

Berlin, Germany | AFP | Try looking for a free wi-fi connection in the cafe down the street in Germany and, more likely than not, there isn’t one. Forget about looking for open connections in parks or at key monuments. They just don’t exist. In an age when almost everyone …

Verbania, Italy | AFP | As a young woman in the roaring 1920s, the world’s oldest living person loved to go singing and dancing. Now 116-year-old Italian Emma Morano’s next challenge is to see in the 2020s and become the oldest human being on record. The last known surviving child …

She is the last known person in the world born in the 19th century. She was a teenager during World War I and her life spans three centuries.   World’s oldest person dies in New York City, aged 116 https://t.co/L3dDLYSYEQ pic.twitter.com/QMNXdCur3A — BigFurHat (@BigFurHat) May 13, 2016 New York, United States …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis said Thursday he would set up a commission to study the possibility of women entering the Catholic clergy, in his latest potentially historic opening on a vexed issue for the Church. In apparently off-the-cuff remarks the 79-year-old pontiff promised to examine …

Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | For the digital revolution to succeed, Africa must improve public access to electricity, delegates at the World Economic Forum on Africa said as they met for a second day in Kigali. Plugging households in to the grid remains a major challenge on this continent where …

Brasília, Brazil | AFP | Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was suspended Thursday to face impeachment, ceding power to her vice-president-turned-enemy Michel Temer in a political earthquake ending 13 years of leftist rule over Latin America’s biggest nation. A nearly 22-hour debate in the Senate closed with an overwhelming 55-22 vote …

Davao, Philippines | AFP | Incendiary Philippine politician Rodrigo Duterte vowed Tuesday a relentless crackdown on crime after claiming a landslide presidential victory built on foul-mouthed populist tirades that exposed deep voter anger at the establishment. The 71-year-old firebrand stormed to victory in Monday’s election, securing an insurmountable lead of …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | US company Freeport-McMoRan said Monday it was selling control in the Tenke Fungurume copper mine in DR Congo to China Molybdenum, giving the Chinese company a strong foothold in the country’s rich copper and cobalt reserves. Freeport-McMoRan will offload its 70 percent stake in …

Fort McMurray, Canada | AFP | Wildfires that ravaged a vast area of western Canada’s Alberta province now are threatening a neighboring region, authorities said Sunday, as the inferno — which doubled in sized in the space of a day — continued its advance. The ruthless blaze, fanned by high …