Somali president names new military chief in security services revamp
Somalia on Thursday named a new military supreme commander, a deputy head of intelligence services and ahead of presidential security as part of a revamp of security forces to better tackle the Islamist militant threat.
Zimbabwe court to hear election challenge on August 22
The Zimbabwean opposition’s challenge against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s election victory will be heard in the constitutional court on August 22, the opposition leader’s spokesman said on his Twitter account on Thursday.
Mali president Keita wins landslide election; faces uphill struggle
Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won a landslide victory in a run-off against opposition rival Soumaila Cisse, the government said on Thursday, giving him a second term to try to turn back a surge in ethnic and Islamist militant violence.
Former Indian PM Vajpayee, the gentler face of Hindu nationalism, dies
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who ordered nuclear tests to make India a nuclear weapons power and traveled by bus to Pakistan in a grand diplomatic gesture, died on Thursday, the hospital where he was being treated said in a statement.
Poland’s president vetoes changes to election rules
Poland’s president said on Thursday he would veto a law proposed by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party that would benefit bigger parties, including the eurosceptic PiS and the main opposition grouping, in European Parliament elections next year.
Italy threatens action over bridge disaster, investors shun operator
Italy’s biggest toll-road operator came under heavy stock-market attack on Thursday and the government said it could impose a heavy fine or revoke its concession over a bridge collapse that killed at least 38 people.
German army study sees need for dozens more light helicopters: sources
The German military needs dozens of new light helicopters to cover shortfalls in flight hours for pilot training and carry out other missions, a new study completed by the German army found, according to sources familiar with the document.
Canada Hajj pilgrims, Saudi students face uncertainty due to diplomatic row
Canadian Muslims traveling to the Hajj pilgrimage face delays coming back due to a diplomatic dispute with Saudi Arabia that is also prompting thousands of students from the kingdom to scramble to sell their assets and return home to meet a month-end d…
Man jailed for hoax bomb call so he could catch UK flight to Los Angeles
A French man who was running late for his flight from London to Los Angeles tried to delay it by calling police to say there was a bomb on board.
Serbia turns to tech industry to fight economic stagnation
Serbia, a country that claims inventor Nikola Tesla as one of its most famous sons, is looking to technology to help lift itself out of decades of economic stagnation following the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
