WORLD

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | A Japanese firm is poised to carry out what it hailed as the world’s first experiment to test for cancer using urine samples, which would greatly facilitate screening for the deadly disease. Engineering and IT conglomerate Hitachi developed the basic technology to detect breast or …

Zurich, Switzerland | AFP | Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis on Tuesday announced $100 million of funding over the next five years for research into new treatments for malaria, a mosquito-borne disease with a devastating impact that killed 445,000 people in 2016. There were some 216 million cases of malaria worldwide in …

Washington, United States | AFP | The World Bank fund dedicated to helping the world’s poorest countries on Tuesday announced it has raised $1.5 billion in its first-ever global bond issue, which enjoyed huge demand from investors. The International Development Association (IDA) issued a five-year AAA-rated bond which had nearly …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Russian government-sponsored hackers are compromising the key hardware of government and business computer networks like routers and firewalls, giving them virtual control of data flows, Britain and the United States warned Monday. The operation was “to support espionage, extract intellectual property, maintain persistent access to …

2364, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain’s hosting of this week’s Commonwealth summit was overshadowed Monday by a scandal involving longtime Caribbean immigrants threatened with deportation, distracting from an agenda of increased trade London hoped to promote ahead of Brexit. After initially turning them down, Prime Minister Theresa May is …

New York, United States | AFP | Donald Trump’s legal battle with his own Justice Department led to an extraordinary courtroom showdown Monday between his personal lawyer, one of America’s most prestigious prosecution offices and a lavender-clad porn star fueling the media circus. The high-stakes hearing before a federal judge …

New York, United States | AFP |  The New York Times and The New Yorker won the Pulitzer Prize for public service on Monday for explosive reporting that brought down Harvey Weinstein and spawned a cultural watershed on the issue of sexual harassment. The prestigious prize was awarded to the …

2364, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday faced anger from lawmakers for conducting air strikes with the United States in Syria in their first major military action since coming to power. May was due to address MPs after proceeding …

2447, Germany | AFP | Facebook took out full-page ads in European newspapers Monday to trumpet tough new EU legislation that promises “more data protection for you”, as the company seeks to win back trust following a damaging privacy scandal. The new law, set to come into effect on May …

Tampa, United States | AFP | NASA is poised to launch a $337 million washing machine-sized spacecraft that aims to vastly expand mankind’s search for planets beyond our solar system, particularly closer, Earth-sized ones that might harbor life. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, is scheduled to launch Monday …