London, United Kingdom | AFP | Global energy demand will surge by a third over the next two decades on advancing prosperity, but Indian demand growth will eclipse that of flagging giant China, Britain’s BP forecast Thursday. “The demand for energy is set to increase significantly driven by increases in prosperity …
Read More »Face tattoos: a trend that is here to stay?
New York, United States | AFP | Face tattoos, once limited to only a very small group of people, have gained new popularity thanks to today’s rappers — but some artists are reluctant to make such a permanent change to a client’s appearance. In New York’s East Village, some of …
Read More »Mission complete: NASA announces demise of Opportunity rover
Washington, United States | AFP | During 14 years of intrepid exploration across Mars, it advanced human knowledge by confirming that water once flowed on the red planet — but NASA’s Opportunity rover has analyzed its last soil sample. The robot has been missing since the US space agency lost …
Read More »A year after US school massacre, gun control remains elusive
Miami, United States | AFP | On Valentine’s Day of last year, a 19-year-old armed with a military-style assault rifle walked into his old high school in Parkland, Florida and slaughtered 17 people. That spasm in America’s epidemic of gun violence gave new impetus to the debate on controlling firearms, …
Read More »From saviour to mafia-fighter: girl power comes to Berlin filmfest
Berlin, Germany | AFP | With strong female lead roles from a saviour of street kids to a fiery mafia-fighter and an inspiring figure with Down Syndrome, directors have given girl power a firm place at this year’s Berlin film festival. Films at the event, which is also welcoming an …
Read More »Airbus pulls plug on costly A380 superjumbo
Paris, France | AFP | European aerospace giant Airbus said Thursday it would end production of the A380 superjumbo, the double-decker jet which earned plaudits from passengers but failed to win over enough airlines to justify its massive costs. The firm said it would stop deliveries in 2021 of the A380, …
Read More »Global unemployment down, but too many working poor
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The global unemployment rate inched down last year, the UN said Wednesday, warning though that jobs often failed to guarantee decent living, with some 700 million workers wallowing in poverty. Unemployment around the world fell last year to 5.0 percent — from 5.1 percent in …
Read More »El Chapo’ leaves a void in his Mexican hometown
Badiraguato, Mexico | AFP | The downfall of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has done little to diminish his drug cartel’s power, but locals say it has had a devastating effect in one place: his remote and lawless hometown, Badiraguato. “El Chapo” was born 61 years ago in this small, dusty …
Read More »FEBRUARY 6: Ocheng motion sails through, gun takes over
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | For at least 33 years, February 6 is celebrated annually to mark the day Yoweri Museveni waged a five-year civil war that brought him to power in January 1986. But Tarehe Sita, as the day is popularly known, is linked to another historical event, 53 …
Read More »No-deal Brexit ‘could cost 600,000 jobs worldwide’: study
Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP | A British departure from the European Union without a deal could put 600,000 jobs around the world at risk, with Germany the hardest hit, a study published Monday found. Researchers at the IWH institute in Halle, eastern Germany, examined what would happen if UK …
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