New York, United States | AFP | Streaming for the first time accounted for most recorded music revenue in the United States last year, bringing the industry its fastest growth in nearly 20 years, figures showed Thursday. While the breakneck expansion is welcome news for a long-beleaguered music industry, overall revenue …

Zurich, Switzerland | AFP | All football regions will see their World Cup slots increased when the tournament expands to 48 teams in 2026, with Africa the biggest winner, according to FIFA recommendations released Thursday. The plan to expand the competition beyond its current 32-team format, which is subject to …

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | AFP | The body of the assassinated half-brother of North Korea’s leader, which has been stored in a Malaysian morgue for more than six weeks, will be sent to Pyongyang under a deal announced Thursday. Kim Jong-Nam was poisoned with a lethal nerve agent in a brazen …

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said climate change was unstoppable and not caused by human activity as he urged countries to adapt to global warming. One day after visiting the Franz Josef Land archipelago in the Arctic, Putin claimed that icebergs had been melting …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Lloyd’s of London’s decision to open a European subsidiary was inevitable following the trigger of Brexit, with the only difficult choice being its location, chief executive Inga Beale told AFP Thursday. Lloyd’s, which insures against catastrophes such as earthquakes, shipwrecks and revolutions, announced it …

San Francisco, United States | AFP | Twitter on Thursday began rolling out changes to let people pack more into tweets, subtracting from the character count names of those being replied to in posts. The latest software modification at the one-to-many messaging service comes about a year after Twitter set out …

Accra, Ghana | AFP | A Ghanaian lawmaker was on Thursday found in contempt of parliament and ordered to apologise after claiming that a government minister bribed a committee to approve his appointment. National Democratic Congress (NDC) party MP Mahama Ayariga accused Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko of paying members of the …

Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff is leaving her post, a senior US official said Thursday, in a significant White House shake-up after a series of political setbacks. “Katie Walsh has accepted a position with an outside organization,” an official told AFP, signalling the …

Ghana’s gender minister causes storm over rape comments Accra, Ghana | AFP | Ghana’s new gender minister has warned schoolgirls that what they wear can attract rapists, sparking controversy and debate in a traditional but evolving society. Otiko Djaba told girls at a senior school in eastern Ghana they should …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | South Korea’s ousted president Park Geun-Hye was arrested early Friday over the corruption and abuse of power scandal that brought her down. The Seoul Central District Court issued a warrant to arrest Park on charges of bribery, abuse of authority, coercion, and leaking government …