A former Saudi intelligence czar’s lawsuit in the US courts makes a host of incendiary claims, including that the powerful crown prince tried to have him killed, and threatens to spill more royal secrets. A source close to the Saudi royal court has shrugged off Saad Aljabri’s 107-page lawsuit filed last week, insisting that the former […]

China’s retail sales dropped in July, official data showed Friday, indicating that sluggish consumer spending could hold up the country’s recovery from the coronavirus outbreak. Retail sales — a key indication of consumer sentiment — shrank by 1.1 percent on-year, falling short of forecasts and suggesting many are still reticent about going out to spend time […]

Doctors in a rural Sierra Leone hospital may be accustomed to treating severely ill infants, but they recently admitted one of the worst cases they had ever seen. An 18-month-old with pallid skin and thinning hair arrived on the wards in the eastern town of Hangha in July suffering from an alarming combination of pneumonia, […]

South African 17-year-old Sinoyolo was looking forward to becoming a “man” this year. His uncle had made arrangements for him to travel to the mountains overlooking the South African city of Port Elizabeth in December for his initiation. Known in the local Xhosa language as “Ukwaluko”, the secretive rite of passage marks a boy’s transition […]

A campaign on a rare scale uniting activists and personalities inside Iran and out is pressing Tehran not to execute men detained over anti-government protests, but faces an uphill struggle. In the face of a furious outcry, symbolised by the viral hashtag #Don’t_Execute (#Edam_Nakon in Persian), Iran’s judiciary last month halted the executions of three […]