WORLD

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Carole, a scientist from Zurich, recently received a dream message on her phone: she will receive 2,500 Swiss francs ($2,500, 2,300 euros) a month for the next year, no strings attached. The 30-year-old ethnologist, whose last name has not been revealed, could be the first …

More than 2,000 Indians contracted HIV over a 17-month period after receiving blood transfusions, data from the national AIDS body showed Wednesday. In response to a Right to Information request filed by Mumbai-based activist Chetan Kothari, the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) said 2,234 people had been infected between October …

The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | A top commander of Uganda’s rebel Lord’s Resistance Army will go on trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in December charged with keeping sex slaves and recruiting child soldiers, among other crimes. Dominic Ongwen, himself a former child soldier who became one of …

Antalya, Turkey | AFP | Turkey is offering to “join forces” with Washington for a special operation inside Syria on condition it doesn’t include a Syrian Kurdish militia blacklisted by Ankara but seen as an ally by the US, the foreign minister said. Washington’s support of Kurdish fighters in Syria …

Sydney, Australia | AFP | A woman is feared dead after being seized by a crocodile during a night-time swim with a friend at a beach in northern Australia, with reports that she yelled “A croc’s got me!” before disappearing. The women went for a stroll on Thornton Beach on …

Diyarbakir, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday condemned the United States’ support of Kurdish fighters in Syria after AFP pictures revealed US commandos wearing the insignia of a militia branded a terror group by Ankara. “The support they give to… the YPG (militia)… I condemn …

Beijing, China | AFP | Chinese state media said that the “atomic bombings of Japan were of its own making”, ahead of a historic visit to Hiroshima on Friday by US President Barack Obama. The trip is the first visit to the city by a sitting American President since the …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | A lawyer for Britain’s government argued Wednesday it was too late to claim damages for 40,000 Kenyans who say they were tortured and abused by colonial officials during a state of emergency in the 1950s. The case being heard at London’s High Court pitches …

Ise Shima, Japan | AFP | Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will Thursday take fellow world leaders on a tour of Ise Shrine, an ancient spot that sits at the heart of Japan’s native Shinto religion. The trip is part of the cultural programme on the sidelines of the Group …

Washington, United States | AFP | Twitter announced Tuesday it was easing its 140-character limit for tweets, allowing users to add links, attachments and some other features within the short messages. The move comes as Twitter’s efforts to increase its user base and engagement have been sputtering, raising questions about …