South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar was sworn in as first vice president on Saturday, formally rejoining the government in the latest bid to bring peace to a nation ravaged by war. President Salva Kiir hailed the “official ending of war” and said peace was now “irreversible” as the new unity government was formed after […]

The Zambian government on Friday suspended an exercise to collect blood samples from citizens for an HIV assessment project after it received resistance from citizens. The Ministry of Health sent out its staff around some residential areas for a pilot phase assessment of the Zambia population-based HIV Impact Assessment Survey. But the health staff faced […]

A court in Kazakhstan on Friday sentenced three poachers to life in prison for beating to death a state ranger charged with protecting the endangered saiga antelope. In a high-profile case that shook the Central Asian nation, a group of poachers attacked two rangers on duty in January last year. One of the rangers, 52-year-old […]

With chronic face mask shortages in the midst of a virus outbreak, Hong Kongers have started making their own — with a pop-up production line and seamstresses churning them out on sewing machines. In one of the most densely populated cities on earth, face masks have become hot property as people scramble for protection against […]

Presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg, the multi-billionaire former mayor of New York, has shattered the record for campaign advertising, spending a staggering $364.3 million and counting, an ad tracker said Friday. The unprecedented amount recently surpassed the previous record spending by Barack Obama’s campaign during his entire 2012 re-election effort, Advertising Analytics reported. “Bloomberg surpassed Obama’s […]