Queen Elizabeth II was "very keen" for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to assume a "prominent role in the promotion of national interests", according to a senior official’s memo sent to the then-foreign secretary before his appointment as trade envoy in 2001. In the note to Robin Cook, dated 25 February 2000, David Wright, then chief executive of British Trade International, wrote that Queen Elizabeth’s "wish" was for Andrew, then the Duke of York, to take up the position. Mr Wright outlined a job that would involve regional…

Matthew Perry’s fatal overdose case reached a major turning point as Jayvee Sangha — the alleged drug supplier known as the “Ketamine Queen” — was sentenced in the US to 15 years in prison for her role in delivering the ketamine dose that killed the Friends actor. Sangha, 42, admitted she operated a “stash house” for illegal narcotics from her home in Los Angeles’ North Hollywood neighbourhood and pleaded guilty in September to five felony drug charges linked to Mr Perry’s 2023 death. Sangha, 42, who holds dual US and…

Wycliffe Muia, NairobiSunday March 29, 2026 Giant African harvester ants - seen here in Kenya - have become highly sought after by hobby collectors across the world Right now, the ants are taking flight in Kenya. In the rainy season, clouds of them rise from thousands of anthills around Gilgil, a quiet farming town in Kenya's Rift Valley that has unexpectedly become the hub of a lucrative illegal trade. The mating ritual sends winged males out of the nest to fertilise queens, which also take to the air at this time. That…

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan authorities have arrested a Chinese national at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on suspicion of attempting to smuggle more than 2,000 queen garden ants out of the country, in a case underscoring the growing global trade in exotic insects. Airport security intercepted the traveler, identified in court as Zhang Kequn, during screening as he prepared to fly to China. Prosecutors said Zhang is linked to an ant-trafficking network that was disrupted in Kenya last year; he has not responded…

Our series on resistant women takes us to Gabon to meet descendants of Queen Nzinga. She opposed Portuguese penetration in Angola in the 17th century. As a 43-year-old monarch, she fought hard to defend her kingdom against the slave trade. The fighting was so furious that some people fled Angola to Gabon. Among them, Vungu…

In Madagascar, the President of the Republic Andry Rajoelina announced on Tuesday, November 3, during a press conference at the Presidential Palace, that France returned a royal coin adorning the top of the throne of Queen Ranavalona III. A throne where the last sovereign of the Big Islands (who reigned from 1883 to 1897) addressed his people during official events. Since 1910, this royal ornament has…