AFP Top News

Georgia to partially recount votes in disputed poll

Georgia’s central election commission said it will partially recount ballots Tuesday, after opposition parties denounced the weekend parliamentary election as “stolen”. US President Joe Biden added his voice to Western critics of the election, saying he was “deeply alarmed” by democratic “backsliding” in the Caucasus country and that the vote was marred by “voter intimidation and coercion”.Earlier, …

Georgia to partially recount votes in disputed poll Read More »

Russia claims Ukraine mining hub as concern rises over N.Korean troops

Moscow said Tuesday it had seized the mining hub of Selydove in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv announced a fresh mobilisation drive and sounded the alarm over North Korea’s expanding military cooperation with Russia.The Kremlin’s forces have been advancing rapidly across the sprawling eastern front where exhausted and outgunned Ukrainian troops are having to cede ground, appealing for …

Russia claims Ukraine mining hub as concern rises over N.Korean troops Read More »

Scores jailed in Belgium drug smuggling mega-trial

A Belgian court jailed scores of people Tuesday in one of the country’s biggest ever drug trials, with ringleaders sentenced to up to 17 years behind bars.More than 120 defendants from Belgium, Albania, Colombia and North Africa were accused of having participated in a multinational cocaine and cannabis trafficking enterprise after investigators cracked encrypted messaging apps.Judges …

Scores jailed in Belgium drug smuggling mega-trial Read More »

Spanish press slam ‘masquerade’ of Real’s Ballon d’Or boycott

Spanish media said Tuesday that Real Madrid had cheapened themselves by boycotting the Ballon d’Or ceremony, with even the normally loyal Marca weighing in while Spain’s national coach admitted it was “not good for football”.European champions Real announced their decision to skip Monday night’s gala ceremony in Paris just hours before it took place after …

Spanish press slam ‘masquerade’ of Real’s Ballon d’Or boycott Read More »

Sexual violence on ‘staggering’ scale in Sudan civil war: UN probe

Rape is widespread in Sudan’s civil war, a United Nations investigation said Tuesday, accusing paramilitaries especially of committing sexual violence on a “staggering” scale.Children are not spared the abuse, with women and girls being abducted for sexual slavery, the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan said in a new report.”There is no safe place …

Sexual violence on ‘staggering’ scale in Sudan civil war: UN probe Read More »

Dozens jailed in Belgium drug smuggling mega-trial

A Belgian court jailed dozens of people Tuesday in one of the country’s biggest ever drug trials, with ringleaders sentenced to up to 17 years behind bars.More than 120 defendants from Belgium, Albania, Colombia and North Africa were accused of having participated in a multinational cocaine and cannabis trafficking enterprise after investigators cracked encrypted messaging apps.Judges …

Dozens jailed in Belgium drug smuggling mega-trial Read More »