619 posts with foreign

The Gambia has suspended permission for rallies and other public political events after clashes broke out between supporters of President Adama Barrow and those of the former regime of Yahya Jammeh. “The office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP)...

President of Dangote Industries Alhaji Aliko Dangote remains Africa’s richest with a net worth of $12.2billion, according to Forbes. This is an increase of $100 million from his worth when the assessment was done by the influential magazine last year....

North Korea is to send a delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games taking place in South Korea in February, officials from the South said. The breakthrough announcement came as the countries met for their first high-level talks in more than two years,...

Lawyers for Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanayhu, tried to stop the broadcast of an embarrassing audiotape in which Netanyahu’s son Yair suggested his father helped push through a $20bn deal to the benefit of a gas tycoon. The recording of the...

Women in Saudi Arabia would be allowed this month to attend football matches for the first time in the conservative kingdom, authorities said on Monday. The three fixtures are scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Jan. 18, the statement added without further...

Germany’s beleaguered chancellor has returned to the negotiating table on Sunday with politicians from the Social Democratic party (SPD) and representatives of her Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), to stave off the end of “Merkelism”...

The number of pupils penalised for cheating during GCSE and A-level exams rose sharply last year, mostly as a result of mobile phones being smuggled into exam halls. Ofqual, the exam regulator for England, said the most common category of malpractice...

Saudi Arabia says it has intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the country by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The Saudi statement came just hours after the Yemeni group claimed to have launched the attack. State-owned TV channel Al Ekhbariya reported on...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un could be laying a trap for the US and the South with his apparent olive branches towards Seoul, analysts say, warning that Pyongyang’s ultimate goal is to divide their 70-year alliance. In his New Year speech, Kim said...

A North Korean Hwasong-12 missile test that failed in flight crashed and caused considerable damage to a complex in the city of Tokchon in April of last year. An online magazine The Diplomat said though the failure of the launch was reported at the time,...

The United States imposed sanctions Thursday on five Iranian companies it alleges are working on part of the Islamic republic’s illegal ballistic missile program. “These sanctions target key entities involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program, which...

With criticism yet to settle in some quarters over what has been dubbed out of shape statue for great footballers like Cristiano Ronaldo and Diego Maradona, a sculptor has unveiled a statue of Michael Essien which has been described as the worst of them...

Ethiopia's prime minister has unveiled the release of all political prisoners and the closure of a notorious detention centre which allegedly used torture to extract confessions. Hailemariam Desalegn told a press conference charges would also be dropped...

US President Donald Trump has boasted that his nuclear button is "much bigger" and "more powerful" than North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's. Mr Trump's tweet is the latest contribution to an increasingly personalised feud between the nuclear-armed leaders....

The mayor of New York City has announced plans to install 1,500 steel street barriers to prevent vehicle attacks. Bill de Blasio said the protective barriers were part of a $50m (£37m) investment in security infrastructure. The move comes after two vehicle...

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has signed into law the controversial age limit Bill that removed presidential age caps, paving the way for him to serve a sixth term in office. The new law also extends the life of the current Parliament by two years...

Israel set a higher threshold on Tuesday for any future vote on ceding parts of Jerusalem to the Palestinians. The amendment passed by the Israeli parliament to existing legislation raised from 61 to 80 the number of votes that would be required in the...

Value Added Tax (VAT) has been introduced in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for the first time. The 5% levy is being applied to the majority of goods and services. Gulf states have long attracted foreign workers with the promise of tax-free...

Security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo have killed at least seven people at a protest calling for President Joseph Kabila to step down, UN peacekepers say. Under a deal reached a year ago, Mr Kabila was due to step down by the end of 2017....

California has become the largest state in the US to legalise recreational cannabis use. As of 1 January 2018, adults aged over 21 can possess up to an ounce (28 grams) of the drug and can grow up to six marijuana plants at home. Opponents say the law...

Back to Zimbabwe's political space, there is an overwhelming need to appraising the underlying motives behind the supposed military takeover or threat that led to the voluntary resignation of age-long President Robert Mugabe against the backdrop of turnouts...

North Korea has eventually agreed to give up its nuclear programme but with a condition that the United States and its allies should stop blackmailing it. The country’s official Korean Central News Agency took the oft-repeated stance on Saturday as it...

Israel has formally notified the UN’s culture and education body of its withdrawal from the organisation, two months after it announced it would follow the US by walking out over resolutions critical of the Jewish state. In a statement UNESCO chief Audrey...

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has appointed Vice President, Retired Gen. Constantino Chiwenga as the country’s defence minister. Acting Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Justin Mupamhanga, said in a statement on Friday that Mnangagwa...

United States President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was “very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea” and that such moves would prevent “a friendly solution” to the crisis over Pyongyang’s nuclear program. China earlier on...