Amman, Jordan | AFP | Iraqi soldier Abdullah lost his left hand fighting the Islamic State group but now he has a prosthetic one — thanks to a 3D printing lab in Jordan. Abdullah was wounded in a mine blast as Iraqi forces battled to oust the jihadists from Iraq’s …
Read More »Trump meets shooting survivors, suggests arming teachers
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump suggested arming teachers to deter mass shootings as he faced broken voices, tears and demands for action at a meeting with survivors of the gun rampage that killed 17 people at a Florida high school. Trump also promised “very strong” …
Read More »‘Some’ missing Nigerian schoolgirls rescued after Boko Haram attack
Damaturu, Nigeria | AFP | The families of dozens of girls missing for several days after a Boko Haram attack on their school in northeast Nigeria on Thursday faced an anxious wait for their return after confirmation some had been rescued. Police said on Wednesday that 111 girls from the …
Read More »White House denies being weak on Russia, says more sanctions to come
Washington, United States | AFP | The White House is weighing additional sanctions against Russia, senior administration officials said Wednesday, pushing back against allegations that Donald Trump has been a soft touch on Moscow. Speaking on condition of anonymity, officials said a “task force” has been set up to address …
Read More »Somalia’s first forensic lab targets rape impunity
Garowe, Somalia | AFP | The new freezers at Somalia’s only forensic laboratory can store thousands of DNA samples, although for now there are just five. The big hope is that they could be the start of a revolution in how the troubled Horn of Africa country tackles its widespread …
Read More »Precision cancer therapy works in 3/4 of patients: study
Miami, United States | AFP | A precision cancer treatment that targets rare genetic mutations that exist in about 5,000 people in the United States instead of the tumor’s location in the body has shown success in three-quarters of patients, researchers said Wednesday. The medicine, called larotrectinib, is made by …
Read More »Cobalt prices soar, but Congo’s small miners see little of the gain
Kolwezi, DR Congo | AFP | In global markets the price of cobalt, a mineral used in batteries for high-tech products from iPhones to Tesla electric cars, has nearly tripled to $81,500 a tonne in two years. But in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which produced two-thirds of the global …
Read More »Ethiopia hosts NBI Nile Day 2018 celebrations
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | NBI | The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), in partnership with the government of Ethiopia, will on Thursday host the Nile Day 2018 celebrations in Addis Ababa. February 22 is marked in the Nile Basin region as it was on that date in 2010 that the countries in …
Read More »Russia seeks UN Security Council meeting on Eastern Ghouta
United Nations, United States | AFP | Russia called for a UN Security Council meeting to be held Thursday on the violence engulfing Eastern Ghouta after Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described life for civilians in the rebel-held Syrian enclave as “hell on earth.” Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council on …
Read More »Tanzania civil society decries ‘unprecedented’ violations
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | More than a hundred Tanzanian civil society groups raised their voices on Wednesday against “unprecedented” violations of human and democratic rights under the government of President John Magufuli. In a rare act of public solidarity, 105 organisations signed a statement warning of “multiple cases (of …
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