COTONOU, Benin (AP) – Voters in Benin will vote Sunday to elect a new president as outgoing leader Patrice Talon steps down after a decade in power with a mixed legacy of economic growth, but also a growing jihadi insurgency in the north and a clamp down on the opposition and critics.
Stocks drifted mostly lower on Wall Street and oil prices slipped ahead of planned U.S.-Iran talks following a shaky ceasefire agreement. The S&P 500 fell 0.1% Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%. Trading remained choppy ahead of high-level talks between negotiators from Iran and the U.S.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) – The Masters got started beneath whispy white clouds and a bright blue spring sky Thursday when Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson once again struck the ceremonial tee shots down the first fairway at Augusta National.
WASHINGTON (AP) – In 2011, President Barack Obama declared it was time for America to leave behind the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and “pivot” to Asia to counter the rise of China.
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (AP) – Tanzania ‘s President Samia Suluhu Hassan, whose motorcades are reportedly among the largest in Africa, is cutting down on the number of official and luxury vehicles as part of measures to save fuel as oil prices rise.
BANGKOK (AP) – China said Sunday it would resume some ties it had suspended with Taiwan such as direct flights and imports of Taiwanese aquaculture products following a visit by the Beijing-friendly opposition leader of the self-ruled island.
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) – Several soldiers were killed during an attempt to raid a military base in northeastern Nigeria early Thursday, the country’s military said. The attack occurred in Benisheikh in Borno state, army spokesman Michael Onoja said in a statement, but it was repelled.
Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) – Hundreds of workers, union members and opposition supporters marched in Senegal’s capital Dakar on Wednesday to protest what they say are broken government promises and a worsening cost-of-living, as the country is plagued by a severe debt crisis.