World

Former South African president Jacob Zuma arrives at the state commission that is probing wide-ranging allegations of corruption in government and state-owned companies in Johannesburg on July 16, 2019. – Zuma dismissed multiple graft allegations against him, telling a judicial inquiry he was the victim of conspiracies, years of “character assassination” and plots to kill him. In an often rambling monologue, Zuma accused unnamed foreign intelligence agencies and spies of working against him and added: “I have survived attempts to kill me.” Zuma testified at the inquiry in Johannesburg into the so-called “state capture” scandal after previous witnesses gave damning…

(FILES) In this file photo taken on January 17, 2020, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva speaks in Washington, DC. – The global coronavirus pandemic is causing an economic crisis unlike any in the past century and will require a massive response to ensure recovery, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said on april 9, 2020. The warnings about the damage inflicted by the virus already were stark, but Georgieva warned that the world should brace for “the worst economic fallout since the Great Depression.” (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) The global economy faces a hard road…

FILE PHOTO: Sign directs voters to a polling station on Election Day in Tucson, Arizona, U.S. November 3, 2020. REUTERS/Cheney Orr Arizona’s top election officer on Wednesday denounced violent threats against her family and staff over vote results which flipped the western US state Democratic for the first time in decades. Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, whose Phoenix home has been visited by protesters, said threats and “continued intimidation tactics will not prevent me from performing the duties I swore an oath to do.” As secretary of state, Hobbs is the person who has to certify by November 30 the…

PHOTO: WIKIPEDIA Australia’s top general said Thursday there was credible evidence that his special forces unlawfully killed 39 unarmed civilians and prisoners during the war in Afghanistan, referring the matter to a special war crimes prosecutor. Receiving damning findings of a years-long investigation into military misconduct in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell said a “destructive” culture of impunity among elite troops led to a string of alleged murders and cover-ups spanning almost a decade. “Some patrols took the law into their own hands, rules were broken, stories concocted, lies told and prisoners killed,”…

The internet giant said Wednesday it would be partnering with commercial banks and credit unions starting next year to allow users to manage mobile-based accounts through the Google Pay platform, in the latest move by tech giants into consumer finance. “People do almost everything on their phones today, but for many, the way they save, pay and engage with their bank has remained unchanged,” said Caesar Sengupta, vice president of Google Payments. “That’s why we’re working with trusted financial institutions to create Plex, a new mobile-first bank account integrated into Google Pay.” The Plex Accounts for US consumers will be…

Zambia on Wednesday said it had deliberately withheld paying $42.5 million towards its foreign debt as it is about to be officially declared Africa’s first economy to default during the coronavirus pandemic. The copper-rich country failed to make an interest payment on a eurobond, a dollar-denominated bond placed with international investors, which was due on Friday. Failure to honour its obligations could see it officially declared in default in coming days. But central bank governor Christopher Mvunga said the non-payment was an intentional move. “It’s not that we could not pay, just that if we pay one creditor then we…

Pro-democracy protesters hold up the three-finger salute during an anti-government rally in Bangkok on November 18, 2020. (Photo by Mladen ANTONOV / AFP) Thousands of democracy activists gathered in downtown Bangkok Wednesday for a second day of protest, after six people were shot during violent clashes, as lawmakers voted on possible constitutional reforms. Thailand has been rocked by months of protests demanding changes to the constitution, the removal of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha — and even changes to the untouchable monarchy. But Tuesday saw the most violent confrontations since the movement began in July, as police used tear gas and…

US President Donald Trump arrives to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on October 14, 2020. – Trumps travels to Des Moines, Iowa, for a Make America Great” rally. (Photo by Alex Edelman / AFP) Donald Trump on Tuesday fired the US government’s top election security official, who had rejected the president’s unsubstantiated claims of “massive” fraud in the vote he lost to Joe Biden. Trump announced on Twitter the termination “effective immediately” of Chris Krebs, who led the agency that jointly declared “the November 3rd election was the most secure in American history.” The US…

Peru’s congressman Francisco Sagasti speaks after being chosen as Peru’s interim President at the Congress in Lima, on November 16, 2020. – Peru’s Congress on Monday chose a 76-year-old former World Bank official as the South American country’s new president — the third in a rollercoaster week of political upheaval. (Photo by Luka GONZALES / AFP) Peru’s Congress on Monday chose a 76-year-old former World Bank official as the South American country’s new president — the third in a rollercoaster week of political upheaval. Francisco Sagasti was elected as lawmakers met to try to move on from a crippling political…