Myanmar's military chief said Friday the junta is open to negotiations with ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to end the crisis sparked by its coup after her trials in a junta-run court have concluded.. But she was denied a meeting with Suu Kyi, and rights groups said they had little optimism her visit would persuade the military to end its bloody crackdown and engage in dialogue with opponents of its coup.
Sri Lanka's deposed former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa is seeking to return home from his exile in Thailand and has asked his successor to guarantee his safety, his party announced Friday.. "Basil Rajapaksa requested the president to make arrangements for the former president to return home," the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party said in a statement.
The World Health Organization said Friday that two existing treatments dramatically reduced deaths from Ebola and should be given to people of all ages suffering from the often-fatal haemorrhagic disease. . Ebola is an often-fatal viral haemorrhagic fever that was first identified in central Africa in 1976.
Prosecutors on Friday urged Malaysia's highest court to uphold former prime minister Najib Razak's 12-year jail sentence for corruption as they wrapped up their case, saying his "dishonesty has been established".. - 'Dishonesty established' - Najib "had failed to cast any reasonable doubt on the prosecution case and therefore... should be convicted", government prosecutor V Sithambaram told a five-judge panel Friday as he wrapped up the case for the government.
Wildfires which killed at least 38 people and left a trail of destruction in northeastern Algeria this week have now been contained, a civil defence official told AFP on Friday.. "Nobody came to help us, neither the fire service nor anyone else," he told AFP. Fires last year killed at least 90 people and seared 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of forest and farmland in the country's north.
South Africa's largest ethnic group, the Zulus, will on Saturday crown a new king following a year of feuding over who should ascend to the throne of the country's most influential traditional monarchy.. Although the title of king does not bestow executive power, Zulu monarchs wield great moral influence over more than 11 million Zulus, who make up nearly a fifth of South Africa's population.
UN chief Antonio Guterres was expected in war-scarred southern Ukraine's main port of Odessa on Friday, a day after he said Turkey and Ukraine hoped to scale up their landmark grain export deal with Russia.. Guterres is expected to head to Turkey after Odessa to visit the Joint Coordination Centre, the body tasked with overseeing the accord.
A controversial decision to dissolve Vanuatu's parliament looked set to be challenged in court, as opponents accused the country's embattled prime minister of illegally dodging a Friday vote of no confidence.. Hours before a parliamentary vote that could have brought down Prime Minister Bob Loughman's government, he engineered parliament to be dissolved, triggering elections two years earlier than expected.
Prosecutors on Friday urged Malaysia's highest court to uphold former prime minister Najib Razak's 12-year jail sentence for corruption, saying his "dishonesty has been established".. He was sentenced to 12 years in jail in July 2020, though he has not been sent to prison while the appeals process plays out.
A Shanghai court said Friday it has sentenced Chinese-Canadian tycoon Xiao Jianhua to 13 years in prison for financial crimes.. Xiao was found guilty of "illegally absorbing public deposits... (and) illegal use of funds", the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court said in a statement.
