Monaca, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump has seen the future and it is oil. And plastic. Where most environmental scientists and most US allies fear that overuse of fossil fuels is driving the planet into crisis, the US president spies only opportunity. In a speech on Tuesday to …
Read More »Global measles cases triple year-on-year
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Measles cases nearly tripled globally during the first seven months of the year compared to the same period in 2018, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, amid growing concern over public resistance to the vaccine. So far this year, 364,808 measles cases were reported around …
Read More »Hong Kong’s leader warns city faces ‘path of no return’
Hong Kong, China | AFP | Violent protests are driving Hong Kong down a “path of no return”, the city’s leader warned Tuesday as its airport struggled to recover from an unprecedented shutdown triggered by a rally and authorities in Beijing sent more ominous signals that the unrest must end. The …
Read More »Jay Inslee, 2020 Democrat battling Trump’s climate ‘degradation’
Clear Lake, United States | AFP | Rarely has a candidate gone far in a US presidential race highlighting a singular issue, but Democrat Jay Inslee is aiming to buck that trend with his commitment to tackling climate change. Unless he does something to dramatically change his trajectory — he has …
Read More »Russians killed in missile test blast were working on ‘new weapons’
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia’s nuclear agency chief on Monday confirmed that five scientists killed last week were developing “new weapons” and vowed to continue testing despite the explosion. The accident took place at an Arctic military facility on the coast of the White Sea on Thursday, but Russian authorities …
Read More »Trump, 2020 underdog Marianne Williamson, and America’s ‘deeper truths’
Clear Lake, United States | AFP | Bill Clinton felt your pain. Barack Obama assured that yes, we can. And for Marianne Williamson, the spiritualist author leading a notable but surpassingly longshot US presidential bid, love conquers all. Remote as her 2020 prospects may be against two dozen other …
Read More »Has Trump ally King gone too far even for conservative northwest Iowa?
Clear Lake, United States | AFP | Amid heightened tensions over US nativism, deeply conservative northwest Iowa finds itself mulling whether to re-elect a firebrand lawmaker accused of espousing white nationalist ideology. Republican Steve King represents Iowa’s fourth congressional district, a largely rural area that voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump …
Read More »New ‘coliving’ housing option spreads its wings in New York
New York, United States | AFP | Nandita Iyer landed in New York from Bombay without knowing anyone, but she didn’t want to live alone in a “sketchy studio.” So instead she opted for a room in a “coliving” unit. She lives with roommates in one of the 14 apartments in …
Read More »Russia missile test blast kills five nuclear agency staff
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia’s nuclear agency said Saturday an explosion during missile testing in the Arctic left five of its staff dead and involved radioactive isotopes after a nearby city reported a spike in radiation levels. Rosatom said the force of explosion on Thursday threw several of its staff …
Read More »Italy’s top female chef mixes it up with flavours from a tiny island
Salina, Italy | AFP | Award-winning young Italian chef Martina Caruso’s love of food is in her blood — and she has the tattoos to prove it. At just 29, Caruso has become a hit in the world of haute cuisine by using the sunshine flavours of her tiny volcanic …
Read More »