Month: July 2018

Armed separatists fighting for creation of an English-speaking state in Cameroon opened fire on the country’s defense minister and defense chief Friday.  Neither official was hurt but at least 10 people were killed in the attack in the English-speaking southwest region, where the minister was visiting to encourage his troops fighting the separatists. Military spokesperson …

Read more “Separatists Target Cameroon’s Defense Minister, Defense Chief”

When Kefyalew Tefera emerged from Ethiopia’s Kaliti Prison last month after 12 years of confinement, it was in a wheelchair — with both of his legs missing, but with an overwhelming sense of gratitude intact. “What kept me going were her dedicated visits, love and care, and words of encouragement that I would one day …

Read more “Ethiopian Lost His Legs in Prison, Rebuilds Life as Free Man”

A deadly bomb blast hit a politician’s convoy as it headed to an election rally in the northwestern city of Bannu on July 13. The politician, Akram Khan Durrani, said afterwards that the authorities had warned him about potential security threats. …

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has condemned prominent Tajik journalist Hairullo Mirsaidov’s financial-crimes conviction and 12-year prison sentence. …

Opposition supporters have stormed a police camp in Zimbabwe where officers were voting ahead of this month’s historic election without election officials present. The chaotic scenes circulating on social media have alarmed some in a country whose new president has pledged to break with the past of elections marked by allegations of fraud and violence. …

Read more “Opposition Storms Zimbabwe Police Post Amid Early Voting”

U.S. President Donald Trump has said the relationship with Britain was “very, very strong,” even though he has publicly criticized Prime Minister Theresa May’s strategy to leave the European Union. …

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was found not guilty of obstruction of justice on Thursday, in one of several cases against the jailed politician.  The decision is not entirely surprising since the prosecutors’ office had, in the end, asked the judge to acquit da Silva, saying it had not found evidence that …

Read more “Brazil’s Lula Found Not Guilty of Obstruction of Justice”

Rights watchdog calls out Iran after a man was flogged for drinking as a teen some 10 years ago. …

A look at the best news photos from around the world. …

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili has told RFE/RL that his country can “commit to joining [NATO] today,” saying that his country has “fulfilled basically every requirement” needed to become a member of the alliance. …

Is your dorm room stifling hot? That might impact your memory. New research shows that heat can affect even healthy young adults intellectually, with worse cognitive performance observed in students who slept in a non-air-conditioned room during a heat wave. Researchers from Harvard University recruited 24 students who slept with air-conditioning and 20 who slept …

Read more “Not Spared From Heat Wave Effects: College Students”

NATO’s deployment of additional resources to the Baltic region despite Russia’s opposition was a “necessary step” based on Moscow’s “aggressive actions,” the Western military alliance’s supreme commander says. …

The rise of robots in manufacturing in Southeast Asia is likely to fuel modern slavery as workers who end up unemployed thanks to automation face abuses competing for a shrinking pool of low-paid jobs in a “race to the bottom,” analysts said Thursday. Drastic job losses because of the growth of automation in the region, …

Read more “Analysts: More Robots, Greater Risk of Slavery in Asia”

The Senate voted along party lines Wednesday to confirm a lawyer who briefly represented a Russian bank with ties to the Kremlin to head the Justice Department’s criminal division. The confirmation of Brian Benczkowski came two days after Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee urged President Donald Trump to pull his nomination, saying Benczkowski’s lack …

Read more “Senate Confirms Pick for Justice Department Criminal Division Chief”

Plans to launch the first NASA astronauts since 2011 to the International Space Station from the United States look set to be delayed due to incomplete safety measures and accountability holes in the agency’s commercial crew program, according to a federal report released on Wednesday. SpaceX and Boeing Co are the two main contractors selected …

Read more “NASA Commercial Crew Program for Space Station Faces Delays, Report Says”