Washington, United States | AFP | US Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Friday ordered an investigation into allegations that the Obama administration undermined efforts to target Hezbollah drug trafficking. The announcement comes after Politico reported that Project Cassandra, a program targeting trafficking by Iran-backed Hezbollah that could have undermined the push …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | Real Madrid realistically need to end Barcelona’s 24-match unbeaten run to maintain hopes of retaining their La Liga title when Spanish football’s two behemoths meet in El Clasico on Saturday (1200GMT). Barca lead fourth-placed Madrid by 11 points at the top of the table, albeit Real …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | Cristiano Ronaldo trained alone on Thursday ahead of Real Madrid’s clash against Barcelona this weekend, after sustaining a knock to his calf during the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi. The Portugal star received rough treatment as he scored the winner in last Saturday’s 1-0 victory …

San Francisco, United States | AFP | Google’s parent company Alphabet on Thursday announced that Eric Schmidt will step down as chairman, remaining on the board but shifting into a role as a technical advisor. “In recent years, I’ve been spending a lot of my time on science and technology issues, …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | The Economist named France as its country of the year on Thursday, saying new President Emmanuel Macron had upset the odds to strike a victory for open societies and reform. The London-based weekly news magazine said the battle between open and closed visions of society …

San Francisco, United States | AFP | Apple on Thursday confirmed what some conspiracy theorists suspected, that it intentionally slows performance of older iPhones as batteries weaken from age. The admission played into concerns that Apple was stealthily nudging iPhone users to upgrade to newer models by letting them think it …

Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | The Swedish government proposed on Thursday a law that would make any involuntary sex rape, even without explicit threats or violence, after the country was rocked by the #MeToo campaign denouncing sexual harassment and assault. “The incidence of sexual offences is increasing in Sweden, with younger …

Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | Zimbabwe’s new leader on Thursday appealed to millions of nationals who fled economic decline and political turmoil to return home and help rebuild the nation following the fall of Robert Mugabe. Emmerson Mnangagwa, 75, took over from the long-time leader who resigned on November 21 …

Barcelona, Spain | AFP | Catalonia’s ousted separatist leader Carles Puigdemont saw his independence drive vindicated after he led the separatist bloc to a big win in a crucial election on Thursday from exile in Belgium. “The Spanish state has been defeated,” he told supporters in Brussels after his Together for …

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkey summoned a senior United Arab Emirates diplomat on Thursday to complain about a tweet by an Emirati minister that infuriated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, state media reported. The Emirates’ foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan this week retweeted a post on Twitter in …