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When the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, left Argentina’s capital to participate in the Vatican conclave to elect Pope Benedict XVI’s successor, he did not know it would be the last time he would see his hometown. The fact that Pope Francis never returned to his country after becoming the pontiff left […]

Burkina Faso’s military government has said it foiled a “major plot” to overthrow junta leader Capt Ibrahim Traoré, with the army alleging the plotters were based in neighbouring Ivory Coast. Security Minister Mahamadou Sana said the coup attempt was led by current and former soldiers working with “terrorist leaders”. The intention was to attack the […]

The popularity of disposable e-cigarettes or vapes has fallen ahead of a UK-wide ban on their sale on 1 June, a study suggests. The percentage of people aged 16-24 who mainly use disposable vapes has dropped by nearly half in the last year from 63% to 35%, University College London (UCL) researchers say. But researchers […]

China has unexpectedly appointed a new trade envoy, as officials said the US’s practice of “tariff barriers and trade bullying” is having a serious impact on the global economic order. Li Chenggang, a former assistant commerce minister and WTO ambassador, is taking over from veteran trade negotiator Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen. The shift comes […]

Harvard University says it will not acquiesce to US President Donald Trump’s demands – federal funding or no. “No government – regardless of which party is in power – should dictate what private universities can teach,” Harvard’s president Alan Garber said in a letter posted on the university’s website. Not long after Harvard refused to […]

Ghana has banned all foreigners from trading in its local gold market as part of efforts to boost national revenue and streamline the country’s mining sector. It follows the enactment of a new law earlier this month that grants exclusive authority of gold mining to a new state body, the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod). “All […]

The tussle between Starlink boss Elon Musk and South Africa over the company’s failure to launch in the country stems from the nation’s black empowerment laws, and could be one factor behind the diplomatic row between the US and Africa’s most industrialised nation. To his more than 219 million followers on his social media platform […]

An American pastor who was kidnapped by armed men during a church service in South Africa last week has been rescued following a “high-intensity shoot-out” that left three people dead, police say. Josh Sullivan was found unharmed in the township in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday evening – the area where the 45-year-old […]

Ghana has banned all foreigners from trading in its local gold market as part of efforts to boost national revenue and streamline the country’s mining sector. It follows the enactment of a new law earlier this month that grants exclusive authority of gold mining to a new state body, the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod). “All […]