Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Eleven giant pyres of tusks went up in smoke Saturday as Kenya torched its vast ivory stockpile in a grand gesture aimed at shocking the world into stopping the slaughter of elephants. Huge white clouds of smoke spiralled into the sky as the flames took …
Read More »Burundi crisis talks delayed again
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Long-stalled peace talks that many hope will solve a year-long crisis in Burundi have been delayed again, the opposition said Friday. Hundreds have been killed and a quarter of a million people have fled Burundi since President Pierre Nkurunziza’s controversial decision last April to run …
Read More »Death toll from poisoned sweets climbs to 33 in Pakistan
Multan, PAKISTAN | AFP | Some 33 people including five children have now died in central Pakistan after eating sweets accidentally tainted with insecticide, officials said Sunday. The mass poisoning occurred in the Karor Lal Esan area of Punjab province last month. “The death toll from poisonous sweets has risen …
Read More »Quebec thieves steal more than 180 beehives
Montreal, Canada | AFP | Thieves in Quebec have staged an unusual heist of something that’s becoming increasingly rare in North America these days: bees. Beekeeper Jean-Marc Labonte lost more than 180 beehives worth $160,000 earlier this week in what he says is a first for his family business. “It’s …
Read More »Obiang Nguema wins by 93.7%, turn out 93.7%
Malabo, Equatorial Guinea | AFP | Africa’s longest-serving leader, Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, extended his 36-year rule Thursday after being re-elected president with 93.7 percent of the vote, according to the provisional results of weekend elections. The results announced by the National Election Commission showed his two closest …
Read More »Trump vows ‘America first’ in fiery foreign policy speech
THANK YOU Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island! #MakeAmericaGreatAgain pic.twitter.com/MGKh77wQt8 — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2016 Washington, UNITED STATES | AFP | Republican White House frontrunner Donald Trump promised a top-to-bottom overhaul of US foreign policy Wednesday to put “America first” and make its allies pay up. …
Read More »Clinton all but secures nomination, Trump says he is ‘Presumptive nominee’
Washington, United States | AFP | Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were a giant step closer toward securing their parties’ presidential nominations with powerful wins in a string of primary wins in the US Northeast. Barring a dramatic turn of events, Clinton has now cleared the way to become the …
Read More »Will Machar bring peace?
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan said it hoped that the return of South Sudan rebel chief Riek Machar and his swearing in as vice-president on Tuesday would help bring peace to the war-torn country. South Sudan won independence from Sudan under a peace agreement in 2011 but the world’s …
Read More »Twitter stung by slow progress
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Twitter shares slid Tuesday after a quarterly update worsened investor fears that the one-to-many messaging service can win enough users to be a lucrative, mainstream hit. Twitter posted a loss for the first quarter of 2016 of $80 million, compared with a loss …
Read More »Bolivia president undergoes paternity test in scandal
La Paz, Bolivia | AFP | Bolivian President Evo Morales underwent a paternity test Monday to settle a dispute with an ex-girlfriend whose child he denies fathering, his lawyer said. In a case that has plunged the 56-year-old leader into scandal, Morales had claimed he fathered a child with her …
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