Paleontologists at Ohio University in the United States say they have discovered a new species of large carnivore, after taking a second look at fossils stored in a drawer at the National Museums of Kenya. The 22-million-year-old fossils were found in Kenya decades ago by researchers focused on ancient apes,…
People all around the world were riveted by the flames as the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris burned on Monday night, heavily damaging the centuries-old landmark and cultural symbol of France. The fire broke out during a Roman Catholic Mass shortly before 7 p.m. local time, and quickly spread…
In the United States, Somali-American Rep. Ilhan Omar – a legislator serving the state of Minnesota in the U.S. Congress – is pushing back at President Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim Twitter attack against her, which on Friday followed introduction of a Democratic Party bill to overturn a U.S. travel ban that…
There was supposed to be a pro-government rally on Thursday in Khartoum, with President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan speaking to the crowds near the Presidential Palace in yet another counter-protest as thousands continued their demonstrations against Bashir near the Sudanese military headquarters. Instead, the Sudanese military placed Bashir and top…
Authorities in Singapore say they’ve seized yet another illegal shipment of pangolin scales, this time adding another 12.7 tons to last week’s interdiction of 12.9 tons of scales – or about 21,000 endangered pangolin. The latest seizure came after inspection of a 40-foot container that was en route to Vietnam…
Ugandan officials say they’ve rescued a United States citizen and her driver, who were abducted last week while on a safari tour of Queen Elizabeth National Park, one of the country’s premier conservation areas and tourist destinations near the border with Democratic Republic of Congo. Police say they are still…
Rwandans on Sunday will begin a three-month observation to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1994 genocide that claimed the lives of more than 1 million people. Known as Kwibuka with its theme to “remember, unite, renew,” the observance will begin with President Paul Kagame lighting the Flame of Remembrance…
Authorities in Singapore say they’ve seized what is the largest illegal shipment of pangolin scales in the world in recent years, after discovering almost 13 tons in a container en route from Nigeria to Vietnam. Customs officials along with the National Parks Board inspected a 40-foot container at the Pasir…
In the United States, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to comment Wednesday on the reported abduction of a U.S. citizen in Uganda, when asked by reporters during a media availability held with the visiting Felix Tshisekedi of Democratic Republic of Congo. Ugandan officials reported the attack by an armed…
A British academic has discovered that a West African woman named Redoshi – later known as Sally Smith – was the last known survivor of the Atlantic slave trade and traveled on the same final ship that Cudjo Lewis did. Lewis, also known as Oluale Kossola, was long believed the…
Pope Francis made his commitment to migrants a priority on Saturday as he completes a two-day trip to Morocco, where he met with them during a visit to the Caritas center in Rabat and described their suffering as a wound that cries out to heaven. “We witness many millions of…
Five men arrested aboard the El Hiblu 1, following the alleged hijacking of the tanker after it picked up desperate migrants in the Mediterranean Sea this week, have been identified as West Africans. That’s according to the German humanitarian NGO Mission Lifeline Search and Rescue, speaking with the Times of…
This week’s drama aboard a Turkish oil tanker with 108 rescued migrants aboard illustrated yet again the desperation of those seeking to flee the lawlessness of Libya on dangerous routes across the Mediterranean – and now there’s some evidence that Libyan officials, tasked with the rescues, don’t respond when called…
A former French secret service agent suspected of conspiracy in an attempt to assassinate Ferdinand Mbaou, an opposition figure in Congo Brazzaville, has been found dead in a small town near Geneva. The body of 58-year-old Daniel Forestier was found near a parked car in Ballaison on March 21. He…
At least one person has died following a moderate earthquake that struck Thursday in the Lake Rukwa region of southwestern Tanzania. The 5.5-magnitude quake, centered beneath the lake itself, hit at 12:15 p.m. local time and affected the Katavi, Mbeya, Rukwa and Songwe regions. The fatality occurred south of the…