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After beginning a strike one week ago, the United Auto Workers union has increased the number of plants affected by industrial action. Until now, workers have been striking at three sites, one each for Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. UAW leader Shawn Fain says that will be increased to 38 factories, all of them GM and Stellantis parts distribution centres. Ford has been spared of further disruption, with the union saying the company has made "important concessions".

This week in Across Africa, Georja Calvin-Smith speaks to Namibian President Hage Geingob ahead of his arrival in New York for the UN General Assembly. He shares his perspective on governance, the impact of Africa's first climate change summit and the role of the African Union in responding to regional upheaval.

Megan Rapinoe has ended her US national team career with a 2-0 win over South Africa in Chicago. The 38-year-old ends her stint as an international with 63 goals, 73 assists and 203 caps, along with two world cups. Rapinoe made her debut for her country in 2006, with only three players having longer spells playing for the United States. "It has been such an honor to be able to wear this shirt, play with all these players and live out my childhood dream. I know that I mean a lot to the game.

Grammy-winning artist Usher will headline the halftime show at the 2024 Super Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada, the National Football League (NFL), Apple Music and label Roc Nation announced on Sunday. The 58th Super Bowl is scheduled to take place at Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11, 2024.

Philippines and Chinese vessels face off in the South China Sea, marking the latest in a series of confrontations over competing territorial claims in the important maritime passageway.

The White House is warning of severe economic consequences if Congress fails to pass a funding bill by an October 1 deadline. Far-right House Republicans are demanding deep spending cuts that are almost certain to be rejected by the Democratic-controlled Senate. Also in this edition: France asks its energy firms to sell fuel at cost, and Germany looks to semiconductor production to revive its flagging industrial sector.

A year ago, Giorgia Meloni's radical right-wing Brothers of Italy party was the biggest winner in Italian parliamentary elections. What has she achieved in her first year in office?

The French president said military cooperation with the West African nation would end and France's soldiers stationed there would return home by the end of the year.

The UN chief has called it an epidemic of coups. In Africa, since 2020, military officers have seized power, or attempted to do so, in numerous sub-Saharan countries. Just in the last two and a half months, soldiers in Gabon announced a takeover of power, while in Niger, members of the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum and announced that they were seizing power.

In Nigeria, the first West African comic art exhibition is opening eyes, hearts and minds to a new way of looking at heroes.

Fentanyl addiction is a scourge that's sweeping the United States. This dangerous synthetic opioid, 50 times stronger than heroin, is imported from Mexico by drug cartels. With the arrival of fentanyl, the cartels no longer needed to grow opium or rely on rural communities to produce it. Fentanyl is lightweight, discreet and easy to produce and transport. It can be passed off as a harmless pill, which explains the high number of deaths from overdoses.