Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s police on Thursday dismissed accusations by the election commission that officers were disrupting its activities ahead of a March 27 presidential run-off, bringing the force’s impartiality into question. Tensions are high ahead of the vote with a campaign marked by violent attacks …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | A top UN official on Thursday urged Liberia to implement the recommendations of a truth commission, dating back to 2009, which included prosecuting eight ex-warlords for alleged crimes against humanity. “Liberia is at a turning point”, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told a conference in Monrovia, …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Liberia’s president George Weah on Thursday denied breaking the law by firing the head of a government agency overseeing the mining and forestry sectors. The mining of iron ore and production of latex to make rubber constitute the bulk of Liberia’s exports, and are rare …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s government was facing growing questions on Thursday over who should foot the legal bills of former president Jacob Zuma as he fights numerous allegations of corruption. His successor President Cyril Ramaphosa appeared to endorse underwriting the mounting legal court costs of his …

Santiago, Chile | AFP | Alexis Sanchez confessed on Wednesday to having had a “rough” start at Manchester United where he’s scored only once in 10 matches since his lucrative move from Arsenal in January. The diminutive Chilean forward has been in the eye of the storm with a string of …

What to expect when, someday, thinking machines become so sophisticated that they will invent other machines COMMENT | KENNETH ROGOFF | Most economic forecasters have largely shrugged off recent advances in artificial intelligence (for example, the quantum leap demonstrated by DeepMind’s self-learning chess program last December), seeing little impact on longer-term …

Why a quarter-century after the end of the Cold War, we unexpectedly find ourselves in a second one COMMENT | RICHARD N. HAASS | The Cold War lasted four decades, in many ways both beginning and ending in Berlin. The good news is that it stayed cold largely because nuclear weapons …

Washington, United States | AFP |The United States imposed restrictions Wednesday on exports of US technical support to the South Sudanese oil industry, warning that it is fuelling the bloody civil war there. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said exporters will henceforth need a license to export, re-export or transfer …

Kampala, Uganda | MOTORING GURU | Do you know the best precautions to take and how to practice safe driving in the wet weather? Here are some tips can add on your list: Before driving: • Make sure all vehicle lights are working properly: headlights, tail lights, brake lights, signal lights, …

To judge the moral component of artistic expression,look not at the person who made it but at the work itself COMMENT | IAN BURUMA | Chuck Close is an American artist, famous for painting large portraits. Severely paralyzed, Close is confined to a wheelchair. Former models have accused him of asking …