Mumbai, India | AFP | Transgender mystic Zoya Lobo turns over three oracle cards, studies them for a minute and looks up. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will definitely win India’s general election this summer, she proclaims. Clairvoyant Larra Shah also predicts a victory for Modi owing to his “extremely powerful …
Read More »Champions Cameroon among 21 teams seeking Cup of Nations places
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Defending champions Cameroon are among 21 countries hoping to fill one of 10 places up for grabs this weekend in the final 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. The Indomitable Lions will be among the 24 finalists in Egypt this June provided they avoid …
Read More »In Egypt, Nile islanders determined to stay put
WARRAQ ISLAND, Egypt | AFP | Residents of a Cairo island with lush fields and unpaved roads, a world apart from Egypt’s traffic-choked metropolis, are determined to stay put as judges rule on their possible expulsion. Accessible only by ferry, the island of Warraq stands in sharp contrast to the …
Read More »Monsanto’s responsibility at the center of Roundup trial phase 2
San Francisco, United States | AFP | After finding that exposure to the weedkiller Roundup was a “substantial factor” in one man’s cancer, jurors in California must now grapple with the question of just how culpable the product’s manufacturer, agriculture giant Monsanto, was in his illness. “It’s not a popularity …
Read More »Bouteflika party says it backs Algeria protests
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | The party of ailing Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said Wednesday it supports protesters’ calls for change while backing his call for dialogue to overcome the country’s political crisis. The National Liberation Front (FLN)’s statement comes after cracks emerged within two other pillars of Bouteflika’s regime, key …
Read More »Besieged May pleads with EU to help save her Brexit plan
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | A dogged but isolated Prime Minister Theresa May headed back to Brussels on Thursday to beg for more time to deliver her Brexit plan, but EU leaders are likely to refuse her request for a three-month postponement. Instead, as the 28 heads of government meet for …
Read More »EU chief says Brexit delay possible if MPs approve deal
London, United Kingdom | AFP | The EU could approve Britain’s request for a short delay to Brexit but only if British MPs next week vote through the withdrawal deal they have twice rejected, European Council president Donald Tusk said Wednesday. “I believe a short extension will be possible but it …
Read More »British PM seeks brief Brexit delay from hesitant EU
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Prime Minister Theresa May asked EU leaders Wednesday for a three-month delay to Brexit amid continued political deadlock in London, but Brussels warned the postponement carried “serious legal and political risks”. Exactly 1,000 days on from Britain’s seismic 2016 referendum vote to leave the European …
Read More »The battle to bring affordable antivenoms to Africa
Watamu, Kenya | AFP | Snake antivenoms have been around for 125 years, are effective and can be produced cheaply at scale. Yet Africa, with its abundance of deadly snakes, has an alarming shortage of the life-saving medicine. Experts and campaigners blame a combination of weak production capacity, feeble …
Read More »UK’s May faced cabinet revolt over Brexit delay
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May faced a cabinet revolt if she asked the EU for a long delay to Brexit, media reports said Wednesday, even after she had warned MPs of such a possibility. Downing Street confirmed that May would be asking EU leaders meeting …
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