WORLD

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday told Brussels Airlines to reduce by nearly half the number of its weekly flights to Kinshasa, in a ramping up of tensions with its former colonial power Belgium. The move comes after Belgian and EU officials condemned a …

Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Uganda is investigating allegations of widespread fraud in its refugee aid programme, a government official said Monday, as the UN also raised concerns over human trafficking in Ugandan camps. “The office of the prime minister has received reports alleging that there could have been acts …

Berlin, Germany | AFP | Talks between the top German parties on forming a new government for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s fourth term spilled into overtime Monday but confidence appeared to be growing they would strike a deal. More than four months after Germany’s general election, marathon weekend negotiations failed to yield …

Beijing, China | AFP | Japanese automaker Nissan Motor and its Chinese joint venture partner announced on Monday a $9.5 billion investment plan in China to increase annual sales by one million vehicles and boost electric car production. Dongfeng Motor Company is the latest Sino-foreign car company to splash out …

Jakarta, Indonesia | AFP | The UN human rights chief warned Monday that possible acts of “genocide and ethnic cleansing” against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority could fuel a religious-based conflict that spreads beyond the country’s borders. “Myanmar faces a very serious crisis –- with a potentially severe impact on the …

San José, Costa Rica | AFP | A conservative, evangelical lawmaker who fiercely opposes same-sex marriage emerged as the frontrunner to become Costa Rica’s next president, according to preliminary results from a first round election Sunday. Fabricio Alvarado of the right-wing National Restoration Party received 25 percent of the vote, …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | A South Korean appeals court on Monday upheld Samsung heir Lee Jae-Yong’s bribery conviction but cut his prison sentence to a suspended term, ordering his immediate release. Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, the world’s biggest smartphone and memory chip maker, was convicted of bribery …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet Pope Francis on Monday, with a protest ban imposed in central Rome as feelings run high over Turkey’s offensive against Kurdish militia inside Syria. For the first such visit by a Turkish leader for 59 years, …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israel began warning thousands of African migrants Sunday that they must leave by the end of March, officials said, under a plan that could see them jailed if they refuse. On January 3, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced implementation of a plan to deport about …

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkey has information concerning the source of an anti-tank missile that killed five Turkish soldiers in Syria but it is too early to announce its country of origin, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday. The soldiers were killed on Saturday in a strike on a …