Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Saturday urged Arab countries to slash public wages and subsidies in order to rein in spending, achieve sustainable growth and create jobs. Speaking at the one-day Arab Fiscal Forum in Dubai, Lagarde welcomed “promising” reforms adopted by some …
Read More »UN chief urges dialogue in talks with N. Korea ceremonial leader
United Nations, United States | AFP | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged North Korea’s ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam to engage in dialogue on ending the nuclear crisis during a brief exchange in South Korea, a UN spokesman said Friday. Kim and Guterres attended a dinner ahead of the …
Read More »Sterile mosquitos released in Miami to battle disease
Miami, United States | AFP | In a bid to cut the population of disease-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitos, health officials in Miami are releasing millions of their brethren treated with a bacteria that makes them sterile. “Treat them carefully! You don’t want to hurt them,” said South Miami mayor Philip Stoddard …
Read More »Human trafficking at all time high says top British Catholic
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Britain’s most senior Catholic said Friday that there have “never been so many victims of human trafficking” at a Vatican conference aimed at tackling the problem. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and president of the Santa Marta anti-trafficking group, said: “We estimate there are …
Read More »Trump praises aide amid White House abuse scandal
Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump on Friday praised an former aide accused of battery, amid a scandal that called into question the president’s judgment and tainted his chief of staff John Kelly and long-time aide Hope Hicks. Allegations against ousted staff secretary Rob Porter prompted a litany of …
Read More »Human eggs grown to maturity in lab: researchers
Paris, France | AFP | Scientists have grown human egg cells to full maturity in the lab in a potential breakthrough for fertility treatment, they announced in a study published Friday. Researchers in New York and Edinburgh developed a new method to grow eggs from very early-stage cells obtained from …
Read More »Norway’s Olympians shell-shocked as they’re sent 15,000 eggs
Pyeongchang, South Korea | AFP | You had one job! Norwegian chefs hoping to buy 1,500 eggs to feed hungry Olympic athletes have had their dinner plans scrambled after a mix-up with a grocery order. Norway’s army of nutritional experts were left shell-shocked in Pyeongchang when a lorry delivered 15,000 …
Read More »Virtual reality may reduce paranoia in psychotics: study
Paris, France | AFP | Virtual reality-based therapy combined with standard treatment reduced paranoia and anxiety in people with psychotic disorders, scientists reported Friday. In clinical trials involving 116 patients in the Netherlands, virtual reality exercises led to less fraught social interactions, a team wrote in The Lancet Psychiatry. More …
Read More »France to spend 37 bn euros on upgrading nuclear arsenal
Paris, France | AFP | France is planning a 37-billion-euro revamp of its nuclear arsenal over the next seven years, part of a sharp increase in defence spending aimed at allowing France to “hold its own” as a key power in Europe, the country’s defence chief said Thursday. The upgrades …
Read More »UN agrees sanctioned N.Korea official to attend Olympics
United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Security Council on Thursday gave permission for a North Korean official under international sanctions to travel to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics along with Kim Jong Un’s sister, diplomats said. South Korea presented on Wednesday a request to the council’s sanctions committee …
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