Tuesday, 21 April 2026

Author: AFP

Pope Francis in Mauritius

PORT LOUIS (Mauritius): Pope Francis arrived in Mauritius yesterday on the final stop of a three-nation Africa tour where he is expected to celebrate the diversity and tolerance of one of the continent’s richest, most stable nations. Thousands of faithful gathered in the capital Port-Louis, some before dawn, waiting for

Relatives fly to Singapore to bring Mugabe home

HARARE: Close relatives and government officials flew out of Zimbabwe yesterday to collect the body of ex-president Robert Mugabe from Singapore where he died last week, his nephew said. Mugabe, a guerrilla leader who swept to power after Zimbabwe’s independence from Britain and went on to rule for 37 years

Mass protest in Santiago

SANTIAGO: Thousands of demonstrators poured into the streets of Santiago on Sunday to honour the victims of General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship, in a march that started peacefully but ended in violence. Although it has been 46 years since the military coup that brought Pinochet to power, his memory still divides

Jack Ma eases out of a thriving Alibaba

By Kelly Wang & Dan Martin Jack Ma steps down next week as chairman of Alibaba, but the start-up he built into an online retail behemoth is expected to keep thriving into a new era thanks to a culture of innovation he helped nurture. A former English teacher whose often

Australia to take on Samoa

SYDNEY: Australia will head into their final game before leaving for Japan, fielding a makeshift team as key players are kept in cotton wool and others are given a last chance to stake their claim to be in the World Cup starting XV. The two-time World Cup winners — runners-up

Johnson in election mode

LONDON: Prime Minister Boris Johnson headed to Scotland yesterday in campaign mode despite failing to call an early election after MPs this week thwarted his hardline Brexit strategy. Johnson, who will make a fresh attempt next week to force the mid-October snap election, is set to visit a fish market

No convictions in trial for Ghost Ship fire

LOS ANGELES: The trial of two men charged with deadly negligence over a 2016 fire that killed 36 people in the US state of California ended with an acquittal for one and a mistrial for the other. Derick Almena, the leaseholder of the building known locally as the “Ghost Ship,”

King Tut show breaks French attendance record

A major show of artefacts found in the tomb of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun in Paris has smashed visitor records for a French exhibition, after being extended to cope with huge crowds. The La Villette hall in northeast Paris has sold more than 1.3 million tickets for “Tutankhamun: Treasures of the

English women’s league returns banking on World Cup payoff

LONDON: England’s Women’s Super League (WSL) commences this weekend hoping to ride the wave of interest that accompanied the Lionesses run to the semi-finals of the World Cup and keep fans coming back for more. For the first time Manchester United are part of a 12-team toptier, making up England’s

French first lady is truly ugly: Brazilian minister

RIO DE JANEIRO: A Brazilian government minister said French first lady Brigitte Macron was “truly ugly” Thursday, only days after the country’s president appeared to endorse an attack on her appearance. Brazil’s economy minister Paulo Guedes said he agreed with President Jair Bolsonaro’s comments about Macron’s looks. “The president said