by Felix Onuah and Liz Lee BEIJING/LAGOS -China vowed to encourage its more “powerful” companies to invest in Nigeria, which in turn said it was open to Chinese companies building factories and developing its energy and mineral resources, after the two nations’ leaders met in Beijing. China welcomed Nigeria to its e-commerce and logistics sector and said it wanted to help the West African nation’s economy “diversify and flourish”, according to a joint statement released after President Xi Jinping and his Nigerian counterpart Bola Tinubu met on Tuesday. They held talks ahead of a summit of 50 African nations in…

by Brian Slodysko and Dan Merica WASHINGTON — Italo Medelius was leading a volunteer drive to put Cornel West on North Carolina’s presidential ballot last spring when he received an unexpected call from a man named Paul who said he wanted to help. Though Medelius, co-chairman of West’s “Justice for All Party,” welcomed the assistance, the offer would complicate his life, provoking threats and drawing him into a state election board investigation of the motivations, backgrounds and suspect tactics of his new allies. His is not an isolated case. Across the country, a network of Republican political operatives, lawyers and…

by Dyepkazah Shibayan ABUJA, Nigeria — At least 10 protesters in Nigeria including a British citizen faced a possible death penalty on Monday after being charged with treason over their participation in recent demonstrations against the country’s worst-in-a-generation economic crisis. The protesters were arraigned in the capital, Abuja, and accused of acting “with intent to destabilize Nigeria … and intimidate the president” during the protests. They pleaded not guilty and will remain in prison until a Sept. 11 bail hearing. A British citizen was named among suspects still at large. The British High Commission did not immediately respond to a…

by Jef Amy ATLANTA — Georgia voters are likely to be able to choose from six candidates for president after Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Thursday put Cornel West and Claudia De la Cruz back on the ballot and ruled that the Green Party’s Jill Stein had qualified by another route. Raffensperger, an elected Republican, overruled findings made last week by an administrative law judge that removed West and De la Cruz. West is running as an independent. De la Cruz is the nominee of the Party for Socialism and Liberation but has qualified as an independent in Georgia.…

by Gabriela Sa Pessoa SAO PAULO — The blocking of social media platform X in Brazil divided users and politicians over the legitimacy of the ban, and many Brazilians on Saturday had difficulty and doubts over navigating other social media in its absence. The shutdown of Elon Musk’s platform started early Saturday, making it largely inaccessible on both the web and through mobile apps after the billionaire refused to name a legal representative to the country, missing a deadline imposed by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The blockade marks an escalation in a monthslong feud between Musk and de…

by Zeke Miller and Colleen Long SAVANNAH, Ga. — Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday defended shifting away from some of her more liberal positions in her first major television interview of her presidential campaign, but insisted her “values have not changed” even as she is “seeking consensus.” Sitting with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris was asked specifically about her reversals on banning fracking and decriminalizing illegal border crossings, positions she took during her last run for president. She confirmed she does not want to ban fracking, an energy extraction process key to the economy of swing-state…

by Olivia Diaz Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is suing the North Carolina State Board of Elections in a last-ditch attempt to get his name removed the state’s ballot ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The lawsuit filed in Wake County Superior Court Friday says the board’s denial of his request to remove his name as a third-party presidential candidate violated state election law and his right to free speech, according to The News & Observer and WRAL. “With November election looming and ballot deadlines fast-approaching, Kennedy has no choice but to turn to this Court for immediate relief,” the lawsuit…

by Howard Fendrich NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic did not go easy on himself when assessing the listless way he performed from the start of the U.S. Open, pointing to his sloppy serving as the main reason the defense of his 2023 title surprisingly ended in the third round. “I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played, honestly,” Djokovic said, just after midnight as Friday turned to Saturday. “Serving — by far — the worst ever.” With 14 double-faults, raising his tournament total to 32, Djokovic bowed out with a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 loss to…

NEW YORK — Coco Gauff was not aware that she’d lost five consecutive matches against opponents ranked in the top 50. She was not sure exactly how many points in a row she’d dropped — 11, it turns out — to give away the first set against Elina Svitolina in the U.S. Open’s third round on Friday. Here, then, is what was entirely clear to Gauff at that moment: “I needed a reset.” So before the second set, the 20-year-old from Florida went to the bathroom, changed part of her outfit and splashed water on her face. Then Gauff went…

by Barbara Ortutay, Gabriela SA Pessoa and David Biller SAO PAULO — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Friday ordered the suspension of Elon Musk’s social media giant X in Brazil after the tech billionaire refused to name a legal representative in the country, according to a copy of his decision. The move further escalates the monthslong feud between the two men over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation. Justice Alexandre de Moraes had warned Musk on Wednesday night that X could be blocked in Brazil if he failed to comply with his order to name a representative, and established…