London, United Kingdom | AFP | British scientists on Wednesday approved the use of so-called “three-parent baby” fertility treatments, paving the way for the country to become the first in the world to officially introduce the procedures. An independent panel of experts tasked with reviewing the safety of mitochondrial gene …
Read More »Trump vows to put aside doubts over business empire
New York, United States | AFP | Donald Trump tried Wednesday to head off criticism that his vast business empire poses an unprecedented conflict of interest for an incoming US president, even as he comes under attack for packing his cabinet with fellow billionaires. In one of his trademark pre-dawn …
Read More »HIV toll tops one million in Russia and keeps climbing
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia’s HIV infection rate is growing 10 percent a year and over one million Russian have been diagnosed with the disease in nearly three decades, the country’s top AIDS expert said Tuesday. The number of registered cases reached 1,087,339 on September 30, Vadim Pokrovsky, head …
Read More »Pope urges ‘responsible behaviour’ to stop AIDS spread
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Wednesday issued a call for “responsible behaviour” to prevent the spread of AIDS without specifying whether that included wearing condoms. The pontiff also issued a fresh call for every sufferer, no matter how poor, to have access to treatment. In …
Read More »Morocco angry, accuses AU chair of blocking readmission
Rabat, Morocco | AFP | Morocco on Wednesday accused the African Union commission’s chairperson, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma of South Africa, of blocking Rabat’s efforts to rejoin the AU and lacking neutrality. The foreign ministry, in a strongly worded statement, charged that she was “trying to thwart Morocco’s decision to regain its …
Read More »Kyambadde explains indefinite suspension of chamber elections
The Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Amelia Kyambadde has explained that the decision to call off the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UNCCI) elections was agreed with all stakeholders after a recent meeting. “I have received a number of concerns from different stakeholders on operations of Uganda National …
Read More »Steven Mnuchin: From Wall St to Hollywood to Washington
New York, United States | AFP | Steven Mnuchin is hardly a household name, but US President-elect Donald Trump’s new pick for Treasury secretary has close ties to Wall Street that could prove a double-edged sword in the current populist era. A former Democratic Party donor, the 53-year-old surprised his …
Read More »DPP Chibita cleared of contempt of court charges
The Constitutional Court on Wednesday dismissed with costs a petition filed against the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) by nine people being tried in the case of the slain Muslic clerics before the International Crimes Division Court. The nine led by Amir Ummar Shiekh Mohammed Yunus Kamoga had sought contempt of court …
Read More »Fidel Castro takes final voyage across Cuba
Havana, Cuba | AFP | The ashes of Fidel Castro begin a four-day journey across Cuba Wednesday to his final resting place, retracing the late communist leader’s revolution victory tour of 1959. The “caravan of freedom” will leave from Havana, making symbolic stops along the 950-kilometer (590-mile) trek that will …
Read More »Let women drive, urges Saudi prince
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | An outspoken billionaire Saudi prince wants an “urgent” end to his country’s ban on women driving, saying overturning the law was a matter of women’s rights and economic necessity. “Stop the debate: Time for women to drive,” Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said on his …
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