Pope Francis on Wednesday pleaded for social justice and environmental respect for the Amazon basin, but failed to recommend the controversial idea of married priests. In a highly anticipated text, Francis exhorted the faithful to “feel outrage” over exploitation of the indigenous and destruction of land devastated by illegal mining and deforestation. Notably absent in […]

A jihadist attack on a gendarme base in eastern Burkina Faso left two civilians dead along with nine assailants, the police said Wednesday. The attack took place in Tanwalbougou on Monday, it said in a statement, praising “the determination and professionalism” of the gendarmes in repelling the attack. The two civilians who were killed, along […]

Japanese car giant Nissan on Wednesday filed a civil lawsuit to reclaim some 10 billion yen ($90 million) from former chairman Carlos Ghosn for what it called “years of his misconduct and fraudulent activity”. The 65-year-old faces multiple charges of financial misconduct in Japan but fled to Lebanon before he could face trial. He denies […]

The Archbishop of Canterbury has called the Church of England “deeply institutionally racist” and apologised for Britain’s treatment of black people and other minorities since World War II. Anglican clerics adopted a motion late on Tuesday seeking forgiveness from the so-called Windrush generation that moved to Britain from former Caribbean colonies since 1948. The mass […]

Turkey will strike Syrian regime forces “everywhere” if its soldiers come under renewed attack, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Wednesday and accused Damascus ally Russia of committing “massacres” in Idlib. “I hereby declare that we will strike regime forces everywhere from now on regardless of the Sochi deal if any tiny bit of harm […]

A man in southwest China doused himself with petrol and tied firecrackers around his waist because authorities cancelled his birthday banquet as a precaution against spreading the coronavirus. The Chongqing resident, a 59-year-old surnamed Wang, had planned to hold a banquet with 10 tables late last month, state news agency Xinhua reported Wednesday. But with […]

An explosion at a US oil refinery Tuesday resulted in a huge fireball, social media clips showed, with plant owners Exxon Mobil saying no one was hurt. Flames could be seen shooting up from the Louisiana chemical centre, according to Facebook videos posted by David Allen. The fire at the Baton Rouge facility had been […]

Opposition leader Juan Guaido returned to Venezuela on Tuesday after an international support-building tour and called on the people in the crisis-wracked nation to keep pushing back against President Nicolas Maduro. Guaido — who had defied a travel ban to visit Colombia, the United States, Canada and several European nations — was greeted by a […]

Egypt’s population has reached 100 million, the statistics agency said Tuesday, highlighting the threat of overpopulation in a poverty-stricken country where many live in crowded megacities. The North African country retains its position as the most populous Arab nation and Africa’s third most populous country behind Ethiopia and Nigeria. A counter installed atop the Central […]

Lesotho: Murder, mystery, suspense and political drama — the cocktail of events playing out in Lesotho belong in a best-selling thriller. But it is the lived reality of a small southern African kingdom teetering on the brink. Lesotho’s picturesque mountains and ski resorts have earned it the moniker of Africa’s Switzerland. But lately the country […]