Four people have been charged in an investigation into suspected bribery at the European Parliament by a Gulf state – reportedly Qatar. Greek MEP and European Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili was among those previously arrested in the case. Prosecutors suspect the Gulf state tried to influence parliament decisions with donations of money or gifts. […]
Ten months after she left the US to play basketball in Russia, WNBA star Brittney Griner has landed in her home state of Texas. Griner was jailed for carrying cannabis oil at a Moscow airport in February, and was exchanged for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout on Thursday. The pair were seen crossing on the […]
Saudi Arabia and China have reaffirmed their cooperation on the global oil market and the principle of non-interference in internal affairs during a visit aimed at deepening strategic relations, at a time when Washington’s ties with Riyadh appear increasingly frayed. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Saudi King Salman signed a series of strategic deals, including one […]
The Biden administration hopes to use a gathering of 50 African delegations in Washington “to uplift and empower African institutions, citizens and nations” through discussions about challenges such as health, democracy, governance, investment, development, climate change and more, senior administration officials said Thursday. Participants in next week’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit will spend three days in […]
The World Health Organization reports COVID-19 cases are continuing their downward spiral in Africa but warns the pandemic is not over and nations must remain vigilant. Following a recent four-week resurgence of COVID-19, cases and deaths once again are dropping in Africa. Since this month-long spike ended on November 20, the World Health Organization has […]
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed at a summit this week to establish a regional peacekeeping force to fight terrorism and restore democracy after military coups. The ECOWAS standby force will be led by chiefs of defense staff of member nations, with the stated aim of addressing terrorism and coup attempts among […]
The killing of a Pakistani investigative journalist in Kenya was a “planned assassination”, a team of Pakistani investigators has said in a report released on Wednesday. Arshad Sharif, who was critical of Pakistan’s powerful army, was killed when police shot at his car on the outskirts of the Kenyan capital Nairobi in late October. Nairobi police later expressed […]
After a blaze of publicity and controversy, Netflix’s Harry & Meghan series is beginning on Thursday with three episodes. It promises to reveal the inside story of how the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down from royal duties. Trailers refer to a “war against Meghan”, with Prince Harry speaking of the “leaking and… planting […]
Peru has a female president for the first time, after ex-president Pedro Castillo was impeached – hours after he tried to dissolve parliament. Dina Boluarte – previously the vice-president – was sworn in after a dramatic day in Lima on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Mr Castillo had said he was replacing Congress with an […]
Vladimir Putin has said the threat of a nuclear war was rising, but insisted Russia had not “gone mad” and would not use its nuclear weapons first. The Russian president insisted that his country would only use weapons of mass destruction in response to an attack. Speaking at Russia’s annual human rights council meeting, he […]
