Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Mothers who can’t wait to hold their babies until they are actually born can now fulfill their greatest dream with the help of 3D-printed, life-size models of their unborn children based on ultrasound imagery. Embryo 3D is not the world’s first company to offer parents …
Read More »Malala tells Pakistani media she will return for good ‘after education’
Islamabad, Pakistan | AFP | Malala Yousafzai plans to return to Pakistan permanently once her studies are completed, she told Pakistani media in Islamabad Friday, the second day of her emotional trip back more than five years after being shot by Taliban gunmen. Security has forced the Nobel laureate, whose …
Read More »UN blacklists dozens of ships, businesses over N. Korea smuggling
United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Security Council on Friday blacklisted 27 ships, 21 companies and a businessman for helping North Korea circumvent sanctions, as the United States keeps up pressure on Pyongyang despite its recent overtures toward talks, diplomats said. Acting on a request from the …
Read More »Irish pubs open on Good Friday for first time in 91 yrs
Dublin, Ireland | AFP | Pubs in Ireland were open on Good Friday for the first time in almost a century after the repeal of a law banning sales of alcohol on the Christian holiday. The Intoxicating Liquor Act, passed in 1927, prohibited sales in shops and bars on three …
Read More »Russia hits back against EU countries in spy row
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia on Friday expelled Dutch diplomats and told Britain it had one month to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country, hitting back at EU countries after a coordinated campaign by the UK and its allies over a nerve agent attack on a former spy. …
Read More »Erdogan ‘saddened’ by France’s stance on Kurdish militia
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said he was “extremely saddened” by France’s position after Paris offered to mediate with the Syrian Democratic Forces dominated by a Kurdish militia deemed a terrorist group by Ankara. “We are extremely saddened by France’s… wrong stance on …
Read More »China’s aircraft carrier spotted in huge naval drill
Beijing, China | AFP | Beijing flexed its military muscle this week as its sole operational aircraft carrier apparently took part in a huge naval drill with dozens of other vessels in the South China Sea, satellite images showed. The pictures, taken by Planet Labs Inc., appear to show the …
Read More »Pope washes prisoners’ feet in Holy Week ritual
Rome, Italy | AFP | Pope Francis washed prisoners’ feet at a Rome jail on Thursday, including two Muslims, an Orthodox Christian and a Buddhist, once again choosing to celebrate Holy Thursday among Italy’s incarcerated. “Everyone always has the opportunity to change life and one cannot judge,” said Francis to …
Read More »Trump says US withdrawing from Syria ‘very soon’
Richfield, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump insisted Thursday that US forces would pull out of Syria “very soon” and lamented what he said was Washington’s waste of $7 trillion in Middle East wars. In a populist address to industrial workers in Ohio, Trump said US forces …
Read More »UN losing support from countries, says outgoing top official
United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN’s outgoing political chief expressed concern Thursday in a parting message that the United Nations was losing support from a growing number of countries. Jeffrey Feltman, an American who served as under-secretary-general for political affairs since 2012, said it was “quite worrying” …
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