Weah sworn in as Liberian president George Weah, the former international soccer star who won the presidency of Liberia last month, promised a crackdown* on endemic corruption as he was sworn on January 22 in the country’s first peaceful change of power in seven decades. Thousands of exuberant supporters and regional presidents and dignitaries* crammed into a stadium in the capital, Monrovia, to watch as Weah, who rose from the city’s slums to become one of Africa’s greatest soccer players, took the oath* of office. Abe says to attend PyeongChang Olympics Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would attend the PyeongChang Olympics in South Korea, after reports he would not attend due to a dispute over “comfort women” forced to work in Japan’s wartime military brothels*. Japan and South Korea share a bitter history that includes Japan’s 1910-45 colonization* of the peninsula* and the “comfort women” issue is especially touchy. Abe said he wanted to meet Moon during the visit to convey Japan’s stance that it cannot accept Seoul’s call for more steps to help the “comfort women,” as they are euphemistically* known. 14 killed in Brazil nightclub shootout At least 14 people were killed in an early Saturday shootout* at a nightclub in Fortaleza, in northeastern Brazil, officials said. Seven of the victims were identified: three men, two women and two teenagers. Local newspaper O Povo reported eight women and six men were killed. Saudi billionaire prince released Saudi Arabian billionaire* Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the kingdom’s top international businessmen, was released from detention* on January 20, more than two months after he was taken into custody* in a sweeping* crackdown on corruption. His release came hours after he said in an interview at Riyadh’s opulent* Ritz-Carlton hotel that he expected to be cleared of any wrongdoing* and be freed within days. 10 Westerners charged in Cambodia A sex-charged crash of cultures has landed 10 Westerners in jail in Cambodia. Cambodian prosecutors* charged 10 foreigners on January 21 with producing “pornographic*” pictures after they were arrested at a party in Siem Reap town, near the country’s famed Angkor Wat temple complex. Police said they raided a rented villa on January 25 and found people “dancing pornographically.” (SD-Agencies) | 