Washington, United States | AFP | With Barack Obama’s presidency coming to a close and US policy for Syria at an impasse, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has stepped up efforts to secure its ally Bashar al-Assad in power. US officials fear the Kremlin is racing to consolidate its gains in Syria …

Kampala, Uganda | AFP |  Michael O’HAGAN | Standing on a drab side-street next to an open sewer in the Ugandan capital Kampala, Brian Mugabi points to the site of his former family home and reflects on how much the game of chess has changed their lives. Ten years ago Mugabi …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP |  Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is selling two of his jets in a bid to cut costs as the West African country battles to overcome a recession. In a statement released late on Tuesday, presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said that Buhari is reducing the number of …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | An American woman was killed by a rock thrown in a town outside the Ethiopian capital, the US embassy said Wednesday, as anti-government anger sparked fresh protests after a deadly stampede. Protesters stoned the vehicle the woman was travelling in as demonstrations sprung up …

Berlin, Germany | AFP |  A medical charity scored a small victory Wednesday in its bid to break a US pharma giant’s hold on an eye-wateringly expensive Hepatitis C drug when a European body partially revoked the firm’s patent. Patient groups around the world have accused Gilead Sciences of charging …

ABOARD THE ASTRAL, Italy | AFP | The horror, terror and joy felt during perilous rescues of migrant boats have been captured in powerful new images published Wednesday, as the latest deadly episode in the Mediterranean fuelled calls for Europe to change tack on the crisis.   DEATH IN THE …

The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | A delegation from the world’s only permanent war crimes court is visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories this week, the chief prosecutor said Wednesday, against the backdrop of a probe into the 2014 Gaza war. The trip from Wednesday until October 10 will be …

Stockholm, Sweden | AFP |  A French, British and Dutch trio of scientists won the Nobel Chemistry Prize on Wednesday for developing the world’s smallest machines that may one day act as artificial muscles to power tiny robots or even prosthetic limbs. Jean-Pierre Sauvage of France, Fraser Stoddart of Britain …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda suffered friendly defeats on Tuesday as they warmed up for 2018 World Cup qualifiers this weekend. The Congolese lost 1-0 to Kenya at the Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa and the Ugandans fell 1-0 against Togo at the …

A political activist from Bunyoro Kitara Rodgers Kanti has asked the Constitutional Court to quash the appointment of Security Minister Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde, saying a previous conviction made him ineligible for cabinet. Kanti’s petition states that that Tumukunde was in 2012  convicted by the Makindye General Court Martial for a crime involving moral turpitude and …