Volunteers, including tourists, pick up waste as they take part in a desert cleaning campaign during the Nomads Festival in Mhamid El-Ghizlane in Morocco’s southern Sahara desert on April 12, 2025. [AFP] It may be the gateway to the vast Sahara Desert, but that does not mean it’s free of that modern scourge of the environment, the rubbish humanity discards. In southern Morocco, volunteers are hunting for waste embedded in the sand, and they do not have to look far. Bottles, plastic bags — “there are all kinds”, noted one helper who has joined the initiative cleaning up the…
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China’s President Xi Jinping (R) and Kenya’s President William Ruto shake hands during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on April 24, 2025. [AFP] China and Kenya agreed on Thursday to boost ties to a new level and oppose trade barriers, following talks between President Xi Jinping and his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto in Beijing. Relations between Beijing and Nairobi will be upgraded to a “China-Kenya community with a shared future for the new era”, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported after the two leaders met during Ruto’s state visit. Africa is vital to…
Visitors, pilgrims and the faithful walk next to the coffin as they pay their respects to late Pope Francis inside St Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican, on April 24, 2025. [AFP] Thousands of people gathered Thursday for a glimpse of Pope Francis’s body on the second day of public tributes, after St Peter’s Basilica stayed open almost all night to accomodate the crowds. With waiting times reaching four hours to enter the basilica, some 48,600 people had already filtered past the Catholic leader’s red-lined wooden coffin by Thursday morning, the Vatican announced. The lying in state began on Wednesday and…
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan speaks as Google celebrates the 20th anniversary of first video uploaded to YouTube, in San Bruno, California, on April 23, 2025. [AFP] YouTube on Wednesday celebrated more than 20 billion videos being uploaded to the platform since the first clip debuted two decades ago. The online video-sharing platform has evolved from a dinner party lark into a modern lifestyle staple poised to overtake US cable television in paid viewership. PayPal colleagues Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim conceived YouTube in 2005, reportedly during a dinner party. The domain YouTube.com launched on Valentine’s Day that year.…
Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni paying her respects to Pope Francis at St Peter’s basilica in The Vatican on April 25, 2025. [AFP] Huge crowds were expected at St Peter’s Basilica today for a glimpse of Pope Francis’s body on the second day of public tributes ahead of the Catholic leader’s weekend burial. Close to 20,000 people filtered past the Argentine’s open, red-lined wooden coffin in the first few hours of the lying in state on Wednesday, the Vatican said. Many more were predicted ahead of Saturday’s funeral. Italy is preparing a massive security operation for the funeral in…
A man displays freshly collected Damascenas (Damask) roses, used to produce rose water and oil, at a farm in Saudi Arabia’s western city of Taif, on April 9, 2025. Every spring, roses bloom in Taif, transforming pockets of the kingdom’s vast desert landscape into fragrant pink patches. And for one month in April, they produce essential oil that is used in perfumes. [AFP] After decades spent pruning thorny bushes and working arduous harvests, Khalaf Allah al-Talhi has perfected the art of capturing the fragrant aroma of the desert rose in a bottle. “I love roses and take care of them…
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier and IMF Research Department Deputy Director Petya Brooks in Washington, DC. April 22, 2025. [AFP] Donald Trump’s tariff plans have increased the risks to public finances, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday, warning countries to get their spending plans under control and prepare for “sharper” trade-offs. The US president’s on-again, off-again introduction of levies against top trading partners has sent market volatility soaring and unnerved investors, who are attempting to chart a path through the increased uncertainty. Over the past six months, “global economic prospects have significantly deteriorated, and risks to the economic output…
People attend a special mass for Pope Francis in St. Patrick’s Cathedral on April 22, 2025, in New York City. Pope Francis passed away in the early morning hours of April 21st at the age of 88. [AFP] Tens of thousands of mourners began saying their last goodbyes to Pope Francis at St Peter’s Basilica Wednesday, as the body of the late Argentine pontiff began three days of lying in state. By mid-afternoon, the wait to enter St Peter’s Basilica was about three hours, as the long line of pilgrims and tourists wishing to pass by the pontiff’s open coffin…
Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina and France’s President Emmanuel Macron at the Presidential Palace in Antananarivo on April 23, 2025. [AFP] France and Madagascar announced Wednesday they would strengthen economic cooperation through several ambitious projects, including a major hydroelectric dam, as President Emmanuel Macron kicked off a two-day state visit to the Indian Ocean island. The visit, the first official trip by a French president in 20 years, is intended to strengthen bilateral ties and consolidate France’s presence in the Indian Ocean despite ongoing colonial-era disputes. Macron announced after talks with President Andry Rajoelina that several agreements would be concluded during…
Catholic priests file past a photo of Pope Francis during a mass to pay tribute to the late Pope Francis at St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral in Cape Town on April 23, 2025. [AFP] Tears mixed with smiles as a dense crowd flocked to the requiem mass for the pope at Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Wednesday. “He gave us hope, and we will keep that hope with us forever even in this situation in Palestine”, said Na’ma Tarsha, a retiree from the Mount of Olives in east Jerusalem, a part of the city occupied and annexed by Israel…
Pallbearers carry the coffin of late Pope Francis during the procession of the late Pope’s coffin from the chapel of Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica, in The Vatican. [AFP] Tens of thousands of mourners began saying their last goodbyes to Pope Francis at St Peter’s Basilica Wednesday, as the body of the late Argentine pontiff began three days of lying in state. A long line of pilgrims and tourists stretched across the sprawling St Peter’s Square before the doors opened at 11:00 am (0900 GMT), when the public were allowed inside to file past the open coffin. “I came…
Pope Francis shaking hands with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI funeral mass at St Peter’s square in the Vatican.[AFP] Many world leaders have announced they will travel to Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday, which is expected to draw a huge crowd in the square in front of St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Here is a list of the expected VIP guests. Americas — US President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, will attend. Trump said in a social media post: “We look forward to being there!” — President Javier Milei of Argentina, where…
A screen displaying the Meta logo and the European flag. Picture taken on April 27, 2023. [AFP] The EU on Wednesday slapped Apple and Meta with 700 million euros in fines for breaking digital competition rules, risking the wrath of US President Donald Trump. The penalties threaten to cause more tension in the already fraught relationship between the bloc and Trump, as the two sides discuss a deal to avoid his sweeping tariffs on the EU. The European Commission fined Apple 500 million euros ($570 million) after concluding the company prevented developers from steering customers outside its App Store to access…
The body of Pope Francis is being blessed inside St. Peter’s Basilica on April 23, 2025. [AFP] Pope Francis, who died this week at age 88 of a stroke at the Vatican, will be buried on Saturday. World leaders and worshippers will be present at his funeral before a conclave of cardinals is convened to elect a successor. Here’s what we know about the processes leading up to the election of a new pope. Lying in state Francis’s body was taken on Wednesday morning to lie in state in St Peter’s Basilica, where mourners were able from 11:00 am (0900…
Pope Francis’s open coffin began its procession to Saint Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday, accompanied by dozens of red-robed cardinals and Swiss Guards. To the ringing of St Peter’s bells, the coffin left the Casa Santa Marta, the modest residence where Francis lived and died, on the shoulders of pallbearers and was carried slowly towards the basilica. Eight Swiss Guards carrying staffs walked beside the open wooden coffin as it passed through St Peter’s Square, which was filled with tens of thousands of onlookers. Priests decked out in choir dress and others in cassocks made up the long procession, some with candles…
A photo of late Pope Francis is displayed in a catholic church in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on April 22, 2025.[AFP] Pope Francis’s coffin will be transferred to St Peter’s Basilica Wednesday for three days of lying in state, with scores of Catholics and well-wishers expected to pay their respects to the beloved spiritual leader before he is laid to rest. The body of the Argentine pope, who died on Monday aged 88 after a stroke, will remain there until his funeral on Saturday in the majestic Baroque plaza in front of the basilica. Francis died in the Casa…
The World Health Organisation chief said Tuesday that operations and jobs would be slashed as US funding cuts had left the UN agency with a budget hole of several hundred million dollars. “The sudden drop in income has left us with a large salary gap and no choice but to reduce the scale of our work and workforce,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told member states, according to a transcript of his remarks. The United Nations health agency has been bracing for President Donald Trump’s planned full withdrawal of the United States — by far its largest donor — next January. The…
An Indian Army personnel stops vehicles for inspection near Pahalgam, south of Srinagar, on April 22, 2025, following an attack. [AFP] At least 26 people were killed Tuesday in Indian-administered Kashmir when gunmen opened fire on tourists, security sources told AFP, in the insurgency-hit region’s deadliest attack on civilians since 2000. Prime Minister Narendra Modi decried the “heinous act” in the summer retreat of Pahalgam, pledging the attackers “will be brought to justice”. The killings come a day after Modi met in New Delhi with US Vice President JD Vance, who is on a four-day tour of India with…
In Silicon Valley, they talk about “moving fast and breaking things.” In Washington, these days, they call it Elon Musk doing his job. The one thing even Musk, the richest human alive, is not allowed to obtain under the US Constitution is the presidency, because he was not born in the United States. But when Donald Trump charged him with downsizing the entire government, Musk scored a good second best. The South African-born 53-year-old’s official title is the non-descript “special government employee.” In reality, he is one of the most powerful individuals in the country. As Trump’s top financial supporter during…
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers a press conference in Kyiv on April 22, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [AFP] Ukraine is ready to hold direct peace talks with Russia but only after a ceasefire is in place, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday amid new US pressure to end the three-year-old conflict. US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff is to go to Moscow this week, the White House said, and a US envoy was to take part in new talks with European officials in London on Wednesday. US media reports have said US President Donald Trump has proposed accepting…
US President Donald Trump speaks to the press after signing a proclamation renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America aboard Air Force One, as it flies over the Gulf enroute to New Orleans, Louisiana on Febrary 09, 2025. [AFP] A judge on Tuesday ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to restore funding to Voice of America and other US-funded media, saying its abrupt shutdown of the outlets broke the law. The federal judge in Washington agreed to a request led by the outlets’ employees for a preliminary injunction, a temporary order as a court examines the legal…
US President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order after delivering remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an event in the Rose Garden entitled “Make America Wealthy Again” at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 2, 2025. [AFP] In his California laboratory, Ralph Keeling examines a graph created from data his father began collecting that keeps a record of the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. After 67 years, the fate of this “major indicator of climate change” is uncertain under President Donald Trump’s administration. The United States “needs this information, there’s no doubt about it,” the…
US President Donald Trump kisses first lady Melania Trump after being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States in the Rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington, on January 20, 2025. [AFP] First Lady Melania Trump, relatively out of public view during her husband’s first term, has been even more off-grid this time around. In the first 100 days since Donald Trump returned to office, the first lady has appeared at only a handful of public events. It is unclear how many days she has even spent in Washington. Trump’s other family members have similarly been…
Members of the “Guerreros Buscadores” collective pray in an abandoned house used to sell drugs after finding human remains in the Oblatos neighborhood, during a search for their missing relatives in Guadalajara, Jalisco state, Mexico, on April 19, 2025. [AFP] When Rubi Cruz recognised her husband’s belongings among personal items found at a suspected Mexican drug cartel training camp, she feared the worst — that he had become a victim of forced recruitment. The discovery of bones, shoes and clothing at a ranch in the western state of Jalisco has shone a spotlight on the ruthless tactics of violent criminal…
Since his return to the White House, President Donald Trump has turned US foreign policy upside down, sent shock waves through the financial markets and turned the Oval Office into one “happening” after another. [AFP] Since his return to the White House, President Donald Trump has turned US foreign policy upside down, sent shock waves through the financial markets and turned the Oval Office into one “happening” after another. Here are 10 of the key moments in the first 100 days of his second term as president: January 20: a flurry of decrees Trump signs a record 26 decrees on…
Philippine Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David touches a portrait of Pope Francis after a mass at the Manila Cathedral in Manila on April 22, 2025. [AFP] Cardinals were meeting Tuesday to set the date for Pope Francis’s funeral, as world leaders from US President Donald Trump to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said they would attend to honour the Catholic leader. The first so-called “general congregation”, called following the death on Monday of Francis, 88, signals the start of a centuries-old tradition that culminates in the election by cardinals of a new pontiff within three weeks. The first images of the Argentine pontiff…
A photo of the late Pope Francis is displayed at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne in Melbourne on April 22, 2025. [AFP] Pope Francis looked visibly drained when he drove around St Peter’s Square in his popemobile on Easter Sunday, cheered by a rapt crowd in what became his final public appearance. Aged 88 and weakened by five weeks battling double pneumonia in the hospital, some in the Vatican suspect the head of the Catholic Church knew that his strength was abandoning him. Among Catholics gathered outside the Vatican on Monday to pray after the death of Francis was…
A priest prays near a portrait of late Pope Francis at the Caridad del Cobre church in Havana on April 21, 2025. [AFP] The death of Pope Francis silences arguably the most powerful moral voice on the world stage critical of Donald Trump, with the pontiff taking the lead against the US president’s mass deportations of migrants. When Trump first ran for president in 2016, Francis was unsparing on Trump’s signature promise to build a wall to seal off Mexico, telling reporters, “Anyone, whoever he is, who only wants to build walls and not bridges is not a Christian.”…
Bishop of Dallas Kevin Joseph Farrell walks after kneeling before Pope Francis to pledge allegiance and become cardinal, on November 19, 2016 during a consistory at Peter’s basilica. [AFP] With Pope Francis’s death, the immediate running of the Vatican is now in the hands of one cardinal, Dublin-born Cardinal Kevin Farrell. Known as the Camerlengo, and appointed by the pope, it is he who will lead meetings to determine the date of Francis’s funeral, and supervise other organisational tasks, culminating in the Conclave to elect the next pope. On Monday evening, Farrell was due to preside over the rite that…
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth looks on as he attends the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House on April 21, 2025, in Washington, DC. [AFP] President Donald Trump stood behind his controversial Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, on Monday despite a new scandal over his reported use of the messaging app Signal to discuss US strikes on Yemen with his wife and others. “He’s doing a great job,” Trump said, dismissing the reports as “just fake news.” US media reported that Hegseth used Signal to talk about the air strikes against Yemen’s Huthi…
Pope Francis in an open coffin during the rite of the Confirmation of the Death of the Pontiff at the Chapel of Santa Marta in the Vatican, on April 21, 2025. [AFP] Vatican City, Holy See Key quotes from Pope Francis’s papacy: – Humility -“Pray for me” – pronounced at the end of every speech, because, he once explained, “I am a sinner too.” His first tweet and first post on Instagram were versions of the mantra. – The poor -“How I would like a poor church for the poor” – setting the tone for his pontificate, three days after his…
Pope Francis in an open coffin during the rite of the Confirmation of the Death of the Pontiff at the Chapel of Santa Marta in the Vatican, on April 21, 2025. [AFP] Vatican City, Holy See Key quotes from Pope Francis’s papacy: – Humility -“Pray for me” – pronounced at the end of every speech, because, he once explained, “I am a sinner too.” His first tweet and first post on Instagram were versions of the mantra. – The poor -“How I would like a poor church for the poor” – setting the tone for his pontificate, three days after his…
This handout image courtesy of Maxar Technologies released on April 17, 2025, shows smoke billowing and burned buildings in the Zamzam camp near the besieged Darfur city of El-Fasher. [AFP] Paramilitary shelling of Sudan’s besieged city of El-Fasher, in the western region of Darfur, has killed more than 30 civilians and wounded dozens more, activists said on Monday. The attack, which took place on Sunday, involved “heavy artillery shelling” and targeted the city’s residential neighbourhoods, said the local resistance committee, one of hundreds of volunteer groups coordinating aid across Sudan. Since April 2023, the war between the army and…
Candles light in front of a portrait of Pope Francis at the Catholic Church of St. Catherine in Saint Petersburg on April 21, 2025. Pope Francis, leader of the Catholic Church since March 2013, died on Monday aged 88. (Photo by Olga MALTSEVA / AFP) During his 12 years as head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis was a voice for compassion and peace, reformed the Vatican government and took action against clerical child abuse. Here are some of the main achievements of the Argentine pontiff and the opposition he faced — and what he left undone. Battle against sex…
Pope Francis’s funeral set for Saturday, Vatican announces. [AFP] Pope Francis’s funeral will be held on Saturday, the Vatican announced Tuesday, as world leaders from US President Donald Trump to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said they would attend to honour the Catholic leader. The Argentine pontiff, 88, died on Monday from a stroke, less than a month after returning home from five weeks in hospital battling double pneumonia. His funeral, which is expected to draw huge crowds, will take place at 10:00 am (0800 GMT) on Saturday in the square in front of St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Francis’s coffin…
US President Donald Trump takes questions during a briefing about the mid-air crash between American Airlines flight 5342 and a military helicopter in Washington, in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. [AFP] In his second term, Trump has tested the rule of law, a vital and fundamental pillar of American democracy, as never before. At times, he has appeared to push the country to the brink of a constitutional crisis, flirting with open defiance of the judiciary, pushing for the abolition of long-standing rights like birthright citizenship and suggesting…
Haitian soldiers patrol during a protest against insecurity in Port-au-Prince on April 16, 2025. [AFP] Haiti, where rampant gang violence has surged in recent weeks, is approaching a “point of no return” leading to “total chaos,” the UN special representative to the troubled Caribbean nation warned Monday. “As gang violence continues to spread to new areas of the country, Haitians experience growing levels of vulnerability and increasing scepticism about the ability of the state to respond to their needs,” Maria Isabel Salvador told the UN Security Council. “Haiti could face chaos,” she said, adding that international aid was desperately…
US President Donald Trump attends the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House on April 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. [AFP] For eight decades, the United States has built a global order around its interests and values. In 100 days, Donald Trump has torn it down. The United States remains, by most measures, the world’s most powerful country and Trump has vowed to strengthen it further by aggressively promoting domestic business and ramping up military spending. But the Republican billionaire offers a far more unilateralist vision than any modern US president. Reviving views long…
US President Donald Trump attends the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House on April 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. [AFP] For eight decades, the United States has built a global order around its interests and values. In 100 days, Donald Trump has torn it down. The United States remains, by most measures, the world’s most powerful country and Trump has vowed to strengthen it further by aggressively promoting domestic business and ramping up military spending. But the Republican billionaire offers a far more unilateralist vision than any modern US president. Reviving views long…
A family prays in front of a grave of a fallen Ukrainian soldier at the Lychakiv Military Cemetery on Easter Sunday in Lviv, on April 20, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [AFP[ Many Ukrainians felt let down by a 30-hour Easter truce announced by Russia, even if some welcomed a brief lull in fighting after more than three years of war. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops Saturday afternoon to “stop all hostilities” for the duration of the religious holiday. While both sides reported a dip in fighting, they accused each other of hundreds of violations…
A man holding a white rose stands at St Peter’s square following the death of Pope Francis in the Vatican on April 21, 2025. Pope Francis died on April 21, 2025 aged 88, a day after making a much hoped-for appearance at Saint Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday, the Vatican said in a statement. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP) The death of Pope Francis on Monday sets in motion centuries-old traditions which will culminate in the election by cardinals of a new pontiff — but with a few changes. Here is how the process unfolds: Sede Vacante The Catholic…
Worshippers pay their respects to the late Pope Francis at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne on April 22, 2025. [AFP] President Donald Trump and his White House predecessor, Joe Biden, led the way in paying respects from the United States to Pope Francis, who died Monday at 88. Trump, who had a sometimes thorny relationship with Francis, said in a social media post Monday that he would travel to Rome with First Lady Melania Trump to attend the funeral. A date for the funeral has not yet been announced, and it was not immediately clear if Trump’s Rome visit…
Pope Francis’s funeral set for Saturday, Vatican announces. [AFP] Pope Francis’s funeral will be held on Saturday, the Vatican announced Tuesday, as world leaders from US President Donald Trump to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said they would attend to honour the Catholic leader. The Argentine pontiff, 88, died on Monday from a stroke, less than a month after returning home from five weeks in hospital battling double pneumonia. His funeral, which is expected to draw huge crowds, will take place at 10:00 am (0800 GMT) on Saturday in the square in front of St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Francis’s coffin…
Aerial view of the obelisk illuminated with the image of late Pope Francis in Buenos Aires on April 21, 2025. [AFP] At the school in Buenos Aires where he started his religious journey at the young age of 5, the nuns remember the boy who would later become Pope Francis as “mischievous.” A boisterous child, he played football with his friends in the courtyard and sprinted up and down the marble stairs. “They say he was rather mischievous,” recounted Teresa Rovira, a teacher at the Nuestra Señora de la Misericordia kindergarten where then-Jorge Bergoglio enrolled in the early 1940s.…
US President Donald Trump speaks to the press before signing a proclamation renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America aboard Air Force One enroute to New Orleans, Louisiana on Febrary 09, 2025. [AFP] With lawsuits and tirades about “the enemy of the people” Donald Trump has launched a frontal assault on the mainstream media, while empowering conservative bloggers and podcasters to get his radical agenda across. The president has stepped up his long-established hostility towards TV news channels like CNN and newspapers such as The New York Times, but even the respected Associated Press news agency…
A demonstrator holds a sing in Harvard Square after a rally was held against President Donald Trump’s attacks on Harvard University at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts on April 17, 2025. [AFP] Harvard sued US President Donald Trump’s administration Monday in a sharp escalation of the fight between the prestigious university and the Republican, who has threatened its funding and sought to impose outside political supervision. Trump has sought to bring several prestigious universities to heel over claims they tolerated campus anti-Semitism, threatening their budgets, tax-exempt status and the enrollment of foreign students, but Harvard has refused to bow.…
A general view shows St Peter’s basilica a day after the death of Pope Francis, in The Vatican on April 22, 2025.[AFP] The Vatican, headquarters of the Catholic Church, is the smallest state in the world, with its own newspaper, national anthem in Latin and supreme leader — the pope. Some 900 people live within its ancient walls, from the pontiff himself to red-hatted cardinals, nuns, priests, diplomats, and lay people such as gardeners, cooks and cleaners. At its gates stand Swiss Guards, members of the oldest army in the world — famous for its blue, red and yellow striped…
This photo taken on April 21, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis in his open coffin during the rite of the Confirmation of the Death of the Pontiff at the Chapel of Santa Marta in The Vatican. [AFP] Cardinals will meet Tuesday to decide the date for Pope Francis’s funeral, starting a process that will culminate in the election of a new Catholic leader within three weeks. Francis, the head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, died at his home in the Vatican on Monday, aged 88, after suffering a stroke. He had been recovering from double pneumonia…
This photo taken on April 21, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis in his open coffin during the rite of the Confirmation of the Death of the Pontiff at the Chapel of Santa Marta in The Vatican. [AFP] Cardinals will meet Tuesday to decide the date for Pope Francis’s funeral, starting a process that will culminate in the election of a new Catholic leader within three weeks. Francis, the head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, died at his home in the Vatican on Monday, aged 88, after suffering a stroke. He had been recovering from double pneumonia…
A general view shows St Peter’s basilica a day after the death of Pope Francis, in The Vatican on April 22, 2025.[AFP] The Vatican, headquarters of the Catholic Church, is the smallest state in the world, with its own newspaper, national anthem in Latin and supreme leader — the pope. Some 900 people live within its ancient walls, from the pontiff himself to red-hatted cardinals, nuns, priests, diplomats, and lay people such as gardeners, cooks and cleaners. At its gates stand Swiss Guards, members of the oldest army in the world — famous for its blue, red and yellow striped…
Bishop of Dallas Kevin Joseph Farrell walks after kneeling before Pope Francis to pledge allegiance and become cardinal, on November 19, 2016 during a consistory at Peter’s basilica. [AFP] With Pope Francis’s death, the immediate running of the Vatican is now in the hands of one cardinal, Dublin-born Cardinal Kevin Farrell. Known as the Camerlengo, and appointed by the pope, it is he who will lead meetings to determine the date of Francis’s funeral, and supervise other organisational tasks, culminating in the Conclave to elect the next pope. On Monday evening, Farrell was due to preside over the rite that…
Aerial view of the obelisk illuminated with the image of late Pope Francis in Buenos Aires on April 21, 2025. [AFP] At the school in Buenos Aires where he started his religious journey at the young age of 5, the nuns remember the boy who would later become Pope Francis as “mischievous.” A boisterous child, he played football with his friends in the courtyard and sprinted up and down the marble stairs. “They say he was rather mischievous,” recounted Teresa Rovira, a teacher at the Nuestra Señora de la Misericordia kindergarten where then-Jorge Bergoglio enrolled in the early 1940s.…
A damaged building is pictured in Sudan’s Tuti island, nearly deserted after two years of war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF),on April 19, 2025. [AFP] Paramilitary shelling on Sudan’s besieged city of El-Fasher, in the western region of Darfur, killed more than 30 civilians and wounded dozens more, activists said on Monday. The attack, which took place on Sunday, involved “heavy artillery shelling” and targeted the city’s residential neighbourhoods, said the local resistance committee, one of hundreds of volunteer groups coordinating aid across Sudan. Since April 2023, the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support…
More than a million people have been forced from their homes in South Sudan in more than three months of fighting. [AFP] South Sudanese government forces have retaken the town of Nasir which had been a flashpoint in a deepening political crisis, an army spokesman said on Sunday. Clashes around Nasir in the northeastern Upper Nile State have helped unravel a power-sharing agreement between President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival, Vice-President Riek Machar. The violence has threatened to plunge South Sudan, which became the world’s youngest country after gaining independence in 2011, back into civil war. Kiir’s allies…
Cathedral staff set up an image of Pope Francis inside The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, informally known as Westminster Cathedral, in central London on April 21, 2025, following the news of his death. [AFP] African leaders praised the “legacy of compassion” and “commitment to inclusivity” of Pope Francis as they joined global mourning over his death on Monday. Francis, an energetic reformer who inspired widespread devotion from Catholics but riled traditionalists, died aged 88. The chairman of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, praised “the Pope’s courageous engagement with the African continent, amplifying the voices of…
Pope Francis greets the crowd from the popemobile after the Easter mass at St Peter s square in the Vatican on April 20, 2025. [AFP] The late Pope Francis is likely going to be buried outside the Vatican. In a 2023 interview with Mexican Televisa broadcaster N+, Pope Francis had said that he would be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore basilica in Rome, not in the grottoes underneath St Peter’s Basilica, where most popes are buried. His desire to be buried at Santa Maria Maggiore reflects his veneration of an icon of the Virgin Mary that is located there, the Salus…
Pope Francis waves at the crowd from the popemobile in Ajaccio, as part of his trip on the French island of Corsica, on December 15, 2024. Pope Francis died on April 21, 2025 aged 88, a day after making a much hoped-for appearance at Saint Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday. [AFP] The April 21 death of Pope Francis triggered a period of mourning in the Catholic Church, but also kick-started the race for his successor. Whether diplomats, theologians, mediators or Vatican insiders, here are 15 cardinals who are among the potential favourites to become the next pope, known as the…
Pope Francis greets the crowd during an audience to the Padre Pio Prayer Groups, in Vatican on February 6, 2016. Pope Francis died on April 21, 2025. [AFP] Here are some key dates in the life of Pope Francis, the first Jesuit and Latin American pope, who died on Monday aged 88: – December 17, 1936: Jorge Mario Bergoglio is born in Buenos Aires to an accountant and a housewife from an Italian emigrant family. – September 21, 1953: Receives his calling to become a priest. He later described being moved to go to church while heading to a school…
Pope Francis censes as he leads mass at Nicosia’s main football stadium, in the Cypriot capital Nicosia, Europe’s last divided capital, on December 3, 2021. Pope Francis died on April 21, 2025. [AFP] Pope Francis, who died Monday aged 88, will go down in history as a radical pontiff, a champion of underdogs who forged a more compassionate Catholic Church while stopping short of overhauling centuries-old dogma. Dubbed “the people’s Pope”, the Argentine pontiff loved being among his flock and was popular with the faithful, though he faced bitter opposition from traditionalists within the Church. The first pope from the…
Former President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Joseph Kabila addresses the media after a private bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry at the US Department of State, on August 4, 2014. [AFP] The Democratic Republic of Congo government said it has suspended the political party of former President Joseph Kabila, days after his properties were raided by security services. “This decision follows the overt activism” of Kabila, who was president for 18 years up to 2019 and who remains head of his People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), the interior ministry said in a statement…
Cardinal Angelo Comastri presides over the Easter Mass as part of the Holy Week celebrations, at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican on April 20, 2025. [AFP] Catholic faithful gathered Easter Sunday in St Peter’s Square on the holiest day of the Christian calendar, hoping Pope Francis would make an appearance despite his frail health that has kept him from most Holy Week events. The 88-year-old pontiff traditionally delivers his “Urbi et Orbi” benediction from a balcony overlooking the square following mass to mark the holiday. But given his delicate health following treatment for pneumonia, it is still unknown whether…
Paramedics help a freed Ukrainian prisoner exit an ambulance upon his arrival after a prisoner exchange at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on April 19, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [AFP] Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday said Russian forces were continuing their shelling and assaults along the front line despite Russian President Vladimir Putin announcing a surprise but brief Easter truce. The 30-hour truce starting Saturday evening would be the most significant pause in the fighting throughout the three-year conflict. But on Sunday Zelensky accused Russia of having maintained its attacks on the front line after the truce…
Protesters outside a Tunisia court. [Courtesy] A Tunisian court handed down jail sentences of up to 66 years to multiple defendants, including prominent opposition figures, for national security offences, defence lawyers said on Saturday. The trial, criticised by rights groups and decried by a defence lawyer as a “masquerade”, is of unprecedented scale with around 40 defendants, including vocal critics of President Kais Saied. A prosecutor cited by local media announced sentences ranging from 13 to 66 years for the defendants, accused of “conspiracy against state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group.” However, a list communicated to AFP by…
Screengrab. [AFP] At least 143 people died and dozens more went missing after a boat carrying fuel caught fire and capsized in the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials said Friday. Hundreds of passengers were crowded onto a wooden boat on the Congo River in northwest DRC on Tuesday when the blaze broke out, according to Josephine-Pacifique Lokumu, head of a delegation of national deputies from the region. The disaster occurred near Mbandaka, capital of Equateur Province, at the confluence of the Ruki and the vast Congo river — the world’s deepest. “A first group of 131 bodies were found on…
Over 100 inmates escape from a Chad prison during a shoot-out that killed three and injured a visiting state governor, officials confirm. [iStockPhotos] More than 100 inmates escaped a Chad prison during a shoot-out that left three people dead, and wounded a state governor visiting the facility, officials told AFP on Saturday. The break-out occurred late Friday when an uprising happened in the high-security penitentiary five kilometres (three miles) from the town of Mongo, in the centre of the country. “There are around 100 who escaped, three dead and three wounded,” Hassan Souleymane Adam, secretary general of the Guera province…
Shipping containers parked at the Union Pacific Railroad intermodal facility which specializes in rail services for freight and passengers on April 16, 2025 in Commerce, California. [AFP] The United States unveiled new port fees on Chinese-built and operated ships Thursday, in a bid to boost the domestic shipbuilding industry and curb China’s dominance in the sector. The move — which stems from a probe launched under the prior administration — comes as the United States and China are locked in a major trade war over President Donald Trump’s tariffs and could further ratchet up tensions. “Ships and shipping are vital…
This illustration picture shows a video circulating on social media about humorous campaign online taken in Beijing on April 18, 2025. [AFP] While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end”, its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. The US president’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years…
Employees work on an assembly line of lights at a factory of LED lighting manufacturer WOSEN in Zhongshan, in southern China’s Guangdong province on April 17, 2025. [AFP] The new US ambassador to Japan said Friday he was “extremely optimistic” that the two countries will agree a trade deal, after Tokyo’s tariffs envoy visited Washington. Ryosei Akazawa met President Donald Trump on Wednesday and held talks with senior US officials as Japan looks to pare back stiff levies announced by the White House. While there was no immediate breakthrough, the next round of negotiations is scheduled before the end of…
A worker checks a machine at a factory which produces silk cloth in Fuyang, in China’s eastern Anhui province, on April 16, 2025. [AFP] Sky-high tariffs imposed on China by US President Donald Trump have triggered a slump in factory orders, manufacturers told AFP this week — with some fearing business may never return. China’s vast southern province of Guangdong, crisscrossed with factories making everything from clothing to electronics, has long been the country’s biggest manufacturing hub. For decades, it has churned out products for the insatiable American consumer base, offering low prices few can compete with and serving as a…
Nigeria and Niger held talks Wednesday on cross-border security, terrorism and economic cooperation, despite tensions between the two neighbours since the July 2023 coup in Niger. [AFP] The foreign ministers of Nigeria and Niger held talks Wednesday on cross-border security, terrorism and economic cooperation, despite tensions between the two neighbours since the July 2023 coup in Niger. It comes after Nigeria this month renewed calls for the release of Niger’s deposed president Mohamed Bazoum, who is being held at the presidential palace in Niamey in strict detention. Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar travelled to Niamey for talks with Niger’s…
Wits Sterkfontein caves tour guide, Keneth Mawete enters the caves located within the Cradle of Humankind UNESCO World Heritage Site in Krugersdorp near Johannesburg on April 15, 2025. [AFP] Seated on sandbags in South Africa’s Sterkfontein caves, where one of our earliest ancestors was found, Itumeleng Molefe swept ancient soil into a blue dustpan, each brushstroke hunting for hidden clues. Nearby, visitors marvelled at the weathered limestone rocks hanging from the ceiling of the caves, millions of years old. Located 50 kilometres (30 miles) northwest of Johannesburg, the caves closed nearly three years ago due to flooding and reopened…
Supporters of the Sudanese armed popular resistance, which backs the army, ride on trucks in Gedaref in eastern Sudan on March 3, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in Sudan between the army and paramilitaries. [AFP] Clashes between Sudanese paramilitaries and the regular army have killed at least 57 civilians in the besieged Darfur city of El-Fasher, a medical source and a volunteer aid group said Thursday. The local resistance committee, a grassroots aid group, said the civilians were killed on Wednesday in clashes and shelling of the city by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, at war with the army since…
A soldier holds position as the damage is assessed after Al Shabaab hit a European Union armored convoy in Mogadishu, Somalia. [FILE] Somali and US forces carried out an air strike on an area under attack from the Al-Shabaab Islamist group and killed 12 militants, the Somali government said on Thursday. The strike on Adan Yabaal, 220 kilometres (140 miles) north of the capital Mogadishu came as Al-Shabaab fighters raided the key town used as a base by Somali military commanders. Growing attacks by the Al-Qaeda-linked group, including one on President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s convoy, are fuelling worries of a…
Tanzanian main opposition chief Tundu Lissu waves from his wheelchair on January 5, 2018 in Nairobi, after being discharged from hospital in September 2017. [AFP] Tanzania’s main opposition party on Thursday called on its supporters to demonstrate at a courthouse where its leader is set to appear next week on treason charges, despite police warnings against the protest. The east African nation’s authorities have increasingly cracked down on its opposition and last week Chadema leader Tundu Lissu was detained along with other party members. Speaking at a rally, Chadema deputy chairman John Heche urged supporters to gather in court on…
People gather around the John Harvard Statue on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachussetts, on April 15, 2025. [AFP] US President Donald Trump called Harvard a “joke” Wednesday and said it should lose its government research contracts after the prestigious university refused demands that it accept outside political supervision. Trump’s administration also threatened to ban the famed seat of learning from admitting foreign students unless it bows to the requirements, as US media reported that officials were considering revoking the university’s tax-exempt status. “Harvard can no longer be considered even a decent place of learning, and should not be…
A worker checks a machine at a factory which produces silk cloth in Fuyang, in China’s eastern Anhui province, on April 16, 2025. [AFP] Concern over the economic fallout from US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs mounted Wednesday, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s warning of higher inflation sending stock markets tumbling. Trump remained upbeat, posting on social media that there’d been “Big Progress!” in talks with Japan on a trade deal. He is banking that his strategy, in which tariffs are meant to lead to multiple individual country agreements, will lower barriers to US products and shift global manufacturing…
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg listens during a joint hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill April 10, 2018 in Washington, DC. [AFP] Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday denied in court that his company bought rival services Instagram and WhatsApp to neutralise them, as his testimony in a landmark antitrust case came to a close. The case could see the Facebook owner forced to divest itself of the two apps, which have grown into global powerhouses since their buyouts. During his third and final day on the stand in…
People shout slogans and protest during the funeral and burial of Elvino Dias, the lawyer for the presidential candidate of the opposition Party Optimist for the Development of Mozambique (PODEMOS) Venancio Mondlane, at a church in Michafutene, near Maputo, on October 23, 2024. [AFP] Mozambican police were involved in the killing of almost 400 people during three months of violent crackdown on opposition protests, Amnesty International said Wednesday, denouncing excessive force and a lack of accountability. The gas-rich southern African nation descended into post-election turmoil following the disputed victory of President Daniel Chapo in October last year. The vote, which several…
In this image grab taken from handout video footage released by the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 23, 2023, fighters ride in the back of a technical vehicle (pickup truck mounted with a turret) in the East Nile district of greater Khartoum. [AFP] Two years into a war that has left tens of thousands dead, Sudan’s RSF paramilitary force announced its own government on Tuesday to rival the army-backed administration it is battling. The United Nations says the conflict that erupted on April 15, 2023, is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with 13 million people displaced-…
Social media juggernaut Meta stands trial on April 14, 2025, facing serious US government allegations that it abused its market power to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp. [AFP] Social media titan Mark Zuckerberg testified for a second day Tuesday in a landmark US antitrust trial, defending his conglomerate Meta against accusations it took over Instagram and WhatsApp to devour budding competitors. The federal court trial in Washington has dashed Zuckerberg’s hopes that the return of President Donald Trump to the White House would see the government let up on the enforcement of antitrust law against Big Tech. Federal Trade Commission…
A mother watches a child suffering malnutrition undergoing intensive care in a clinic set up by health authorities in collaboraion with Medecins Sans Frontieres or Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Katsina State, northwest Nigeria, on July 20, 2022. [AFP] Attacks in Nigeria’s troubled north-central state of Plateau have killed more than more than 100 people in just under two weeks. Plateau, on the dividing line between Nigeria’s mostly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south, has historically been a flashpoint for intercommunal violence. Analysts say the situation in the region — the so-called Middle Belt — is complex. Here is what…
A man shows signs of despair holding his head in his hands inside a tent in a temporary shelter after heavy rains affected the city of Port-au-Price, in Haiti, on April 13, 2025. [AFP] Britain and France on Wednesday pledged to maintain pressure on criminal gangs in Haiti via sanctions. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti is politically unstable and swaths of the country, including parts of the capital, are under the control of rival armed gangs. “The UK and France are concerned by reports of criminal gangs coordinating to further destabilise Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council,” Britain and…
Palestinians check the damage following overnight Israeli strikes on a residential neighbourhood in Jabalia’s southwestern district of Nazla in the northern Gaza Strip on April 16, 2025. [AFP] Israel said Wednesday it would keep blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, where a relentless military offensive has turned the Palestinian territory into a “mass grave”, a medical charity reported. Air and ground attacks resumed across the Gaza Strip from March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas that had largely halted hostilities in the territory. However, Israel has halted the entry of aid into Gaza since March 2, as the humanitarian…
The flag of the European Union flies at the EU headquarters during the Special European Council to discuss continued support for Ukraine and European defence, in Brussels on March 6, 2025. [AFP] The European Union on Wednesday published a list of seven countries it considers “safe”, in a bid to speed up migrant returns by making it harder for citizens of those nations to claim asylum in the bloc. The European Commission said it was proposing to designate Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco and Tunisia as “safe countries of origin”. The move is set to allow EU governments to process…
A robot performs traditional “fist and palm” salute at the 5th China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China’s Hainan Province, April 14, 2025.[AFP] South Korean actor Simon Lee was stunned when he saw his likeness — at times as a gynaecologist or a surgeon — being used to promote questionable health cures on TikTok and Instagram. He is one of scores of people who have licensed their image to AI marketing companies, and then ended up with the unpleasant surprise of seeing themselves feature in deepfakes, dubious adverts or even political propaganda. “If it was a nice…
Penitents bear a sculpture of Christ lying on the cross during the Holy Monday procession of the ‘Christ of the Good Death’ brotherhood in Zamora, northwestern Spain, on April 15, 2025. [AFP] Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox Christians on Sunday will celebrate Easter, the most important holiday in the Christian calendar, which commemorates Christ’s death and his believed resurrection through centuries-old traditions. The date of Easter is not fixed, as it is celebrated on the first Sunday following the spring full moon. It follows Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and prayer in reference to Jesus’s time in the desert. Holy…
Peru’s former President (2011-2016), Ollanta Humala, speaks on the phone as he leaves his sentence hearing at a court in Lima on April 15, 2025. [AFP] A Peruvian court on Tuesday sentenced ex-president Ollanta Humala and his wife to 15 years in prison for graft linked to a globe-spanning corruption scandal involving Brazilian construction group Odebrecht paying bribes to politicians. The court found the 62-year-old and his wife, Nadine Heredia, guilty of money laundering for receiving illegal contributions from Odebrecht and the Venezuelan government in two presidential campaigns. Humala was taken into custody in the courtroom after the ruling,…
Jana Maradona, daughter of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona, arrives at the court for a trial hearing on her father’s death in San Isidro, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, on April 15, 2025. [AFP] Argentine football legend Diego Maradona’s daughter told a court Tuesday his death “would have been avoided” if doctors caring for him after surgery had done their jobs. Maradona died on November 25, 2020, aged 60, while recovering at home from brain surgery for a blood clot. He had battled cocaine and alcohol addiction for decades. His seven-person medical team is on trial for what prosecutors…
A young Sudanese refugee wait to be examined by a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) medical team at the MSF mobile hospital at the Touloum refugee camp in the Wadi Fira province, Chad, on April 8, 2025. [AFP] The United Nations said Tuesday that it expected more than two million people displaced in war-ravaged Sudan to return to Khartoum within the next six months, if security conditions allow. Fighting erupted in Sudan on April 15, 2023, between the army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, headed by his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. As the world…
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy (C) chairs the London Sudan Conference 2025 at Lancaster House in London on April 15, 2025. [AFP] The UK led international calls Tuesday for a swift end to the devastating war in Sudan, hosting a gathering of world officials with fresh pledges of humanitarian aid as the conflict which has cost thousands of lives entered its third year. The war erupted on April 15, 2023 in a bitter power struggle between rival generals leading Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — neither of whom were present at the conference. More than…
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy (C) chairs the London Sudan Conference 2025 at Lancaster House in London on April 15, 2025. [AFP] Senior international officials gather in London on Tuesday aiming to chart a pathway to peace for Sudan on the second anniversary of its brutal civil conflict, but without the presence of the warring parties. Dubbed the “forgotten war”, the conflict which erupted on April 15, 2023 between Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a bitter power struggle between rival generals has created what the United Nations describes as the world’s worst hunger and…
Supporters of the Sudanese armed popular resistance, which backs the army, ride on trucks in Gedaref in eastern Sudan on March 3, 2024. [AFP] Sudan on Tuesday marked two years of a war that has killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million and triggered the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with no signs of peace. Fighting erupted on April 15, 2023 between the army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, headed by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. Khartoum quickly became a battleground. Bodies lined the streets. Hundreds of thousands fled. Those left behind struggled to…
Families gather by the shallow waters of the Nile River at the Tuti island where the Blue Nile and the White Nile meet in Khartoum on May 1, 2019. [AFP] An island in the middle of Sudan’s capital that used to draw crowds to its Nile River farms now stands nearly deserted after two years of war, its homes ransacked and once-lush fields left fallow. Nestled at the confluence of the Blue and White Nile rivers, Tuti Island has been devastated by two years of war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with residents subjected…
A muddied road past tent shelters erected near the rubble of collapsed buildings in Nasr, western Gaza City on April 15, 2025. [AFP] Nearly a month after Israel resumed its aerial and ground assaults across Gaza to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining hostages in the territory, the Palestinian militant group says it had received a new ceasefire proposal from Israel. A senior Hamas official told AFP that the group would “most likely” respond within 48 hours. The proposal was delivered to the group’s delegation in Cairo over the weekend by Egyptian officials, who are mediating in the ceasefire talks.…
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meeting with Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud during the 4th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2025) in Antalya, on April 12, 2025. [AFP] Somalia on Tuesday launched voter registration in the capital Mogadishu for the first time in over 50 years, a step towards universal suffrage ahead of presidential elections scheduled for 2026 in the volatile nation. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud pledged last year to end the complex clan-based indirect voting system that had been in place since 1969, enacting legislation approved by parliament. An AFP correspondent observed dozens of people queuing to register…
A Boeing 737 Max aircraft during a display at the Farnborough International Airshow, in Farnborough, Britain, July 20, 2022. [Reuters] China has told its airlines to stop taking deliveries of jets from American aviation giant Boeing, a report said Tuesday, as a trade war between Beijing and the United States deepens. Since President Donald Trump took office in January, the world’s two biggest economies have been locked in a tit-for-tat tariff war, with the US now charging levies of up to 145 percent on imports from China. Beijing has reacted furiously to what it calls unlawful “bullying” by Washington and…
People walk past a kiosk where a poster giving information on how to prevent Cholera is displayed in Kibera, Nairobi, on May 20, 2015. [AFP] As clouds gather and humidity rises across west Africa, whose annual rains bring an uptick of deadly, malaria-carrying mosquitoes, Musa Adamu Ibrahim, a nurse, is sitting at home, unemployed. In Nigeria — home to 30 percent of the world’s annual 600,000 malaria deaths — clinics that once served 300 people a day in the conflict-hit Borno state have abruptly shut down, Ibrahim and other laid-off workers told AFP, following the withdrawal of American funding by…
Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he arrives for a two-day state visit at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport on April 14, 2025. [AFP] Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned that protectionism “leads nowhere” and that a trade war would have “no winners”, state media said, as he arrived in Vietnam on Monday on the first leg of a Southeast Asia tour. Xi will visit Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia on his first overseas trip of the year as Beijing seeks to tighten regional trade ties and offset the impact of huge tariffs unleashed by his US counterpart, Donald Trump. A line…
Tanzania’s main opposition leader Tundu Lissu (C) gestures as he arrives at the magistrate’s court in Dar es Salaam on April 10, 2025. Tanzania’s main opposition leader Tundu Lissu was charged with treason on April 10, 2025 a day after being detained following a rally in the country’s south, one of his lawyers told AFP. (Photo by ERICKY BONIPHACE / AFP) Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu has survived an assassination attempt that left him riddled with bullets, multiple arrests, and long years in exile — all in pursuit of democracy in the east African nation. But the 57-year-old lawyer may…
The Trump administration has exempted smartphones, computers, and other electronics from its punishing “reciprocal” tariffs. April 11, 2025. [AFP] Stock markets on Monday welcomed US tariff exemptions for electronics, but President Donald Trump signalled the reprieve would be temporary and warned no country would get “off the hook” in his trade war — especially China. The world’s two largest economies have been locked in a fast-moving game of brinkmanship since Trump launched a global tariff assault that particularly targeted Chinese imports. Tit-for-tat exchanges have seen US levies imposed on China rise to 145 percent, and Beijing setting a retaliatory 125 percent…