United Nations, UNITED STATES | AFP | A record 175 countries, including the world’s top polluters China and the United States, signed the Paris climate deal Friday, boosting hopes of quick action on combating global warming. French President Francois Hollande was the first leader to put his signature to the …

Malabo, Equatorial Guinea | AFP | Africa’s longest-serving ruler, Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, looks set to win a fresh seven-year term Sunday that could also see him nail the all-time record for African leaders, living or dead. After almost 37 years at the helm of the tiny oil-rich …

Juba, South Sudan | AFP | In a country awash with guns, a faltering peace deal aimed at ending over two years of intense civil war in South Sudan came down to a dispute over just two dozen weapons. The issue, while apparently minor, reflects the huge mistrust between the …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya on Friday approved a new anti-doping law which the east African track giant hopes will lift the threat of their exclusion from the Rio Olympics. President Uhuru Kenyatta signed the legislation well ahead of a May 2 deadline imposed by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). …

Leicester, United Kingdom | AFP | Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri finally conceded on Friday that his top-of-the table side can win the Premier League title. The Italian manager has spent the entire campaign downplaying the Foxes’ remarkable ascent, initially declaring the aim was 40 points before adjusting his targets …

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea | AFP | Equatorial Guinea’s tough President Teodoro Obiang Nguema seized power almost 37 years ago from a feared and ruthless uncle and has steered the tiny but now oil-rich nation with an iron glove. Already Africa’s longest-serving leader, the 73-year-old looks set to win a fresh …

Major General Levi Karuhanga, the Uganda Military Court Martial Chairman is dead. Congestive heart failure is believed to be the cause of his death. The court martial boss passed on days after he’d returned from an Indian Hospital. He had been rushed to India in a critical condition with stomach …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Pop icon Prince, whose pioneering brand of danceable funk made him one of the most influential figures in music, died Thursday at his compound in Minnesota. He was 57. The announcement came just a week after the enigmatic Grammy and Oscar winner — …

ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece | AFP | The Olympic flame was lit Thursday in an ancient temple in one country in crisis and solemnly sent off carrying international hopes that Brazil’s political paralysis will not taint the Rio Games that start in barely 100 days. As the flame was kindled in …

Juba, South Sudan | AFP | The giants dance barefoot in circles, strips of leopard print skirt flapping, before one lunges in to topple his opponent and thump him down on the grass. There is a wild roar of support from hundreds of supporters crammed into the national football stadium …