Belfast, United Kingdom | AFP | Prince William arrived in Northern Ireland on Wednesday as the British government seeks to reassure the once-troubled province at the centre of the Brexit drama that its hard-won stability will endure. The hastily-arranged two-day visit by the second-in-line to the throne and his wife Kate comes as MPs argue …
Read More »Air France-KLM shares plunge after Dutch buy stake
Paris, France | AFP | Shares in Air France-KLM plummeted on Wednesday, a day after the Dutch government said it took a large stake in the troubled airline in a bid to match the French state’s influence. France has reacted testily to the surprise intervention by the Netherlands, which said it needed to protect Dutch …
Read More »North Korea in five figures
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | Ahead of the second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, here are five key figures on the reclusive Asian country. – 67 percent – The portion of the workforce employed in the agriculture sector, according to the Food …
Read More »Open justice or fair trial? Australia’s gagging of the Pell case
Sydney, Australia | AFP | Cardinal George Pell’s trial and conviction of child sex abuse in Australia was one of the biggest scandals to hit the Catholic Church, but the public was not allowed to know about it for months. A blanket gag order stopped reporters from even mentioning the trial’s …
Read More »Mobile tech is going to the dogs… literally
Barcelona, Spain | AFP | Is your dog getting enough exercise? Who will change your cat’s litter box while you are away on holiday? Relax. Mobile entrepreneurs are jumping into the pet industry with smartphone-enabled gadgets that can help care for your four-legged friends, from activity trackers to a litter …
Read More »Brexit to cause ‘significant’ harm to Britain’s health service
Paris, France | AFP | Brexit will inflict “significant harm” on Britain’s National Health Service, experts warned on Tuesday, with a no-deal departure from the EU likely to provoke acute shortages of staff and medicines. With little over a month remaining until Britain is due to leave the European Union, there …
Read More »North Korea seeks sweet smell of success ahead of summit
Sinuiju, North Korea | AFP | The manager of North Korea’s Sinuiju Cosmetics Factory clenches her fists when asked about a rival plant in Pyongyang, then bumps them together. “We compete,” Kim Hye Yong says firmly. Throughout the plant, masked workers in white overalls, gloves and hairnets operate machines producing shampoos, …
Read More »Crisis, what crisis? Qatari love of luxury going strong
Doha, Qatar | AFP | Abdulla Sager al-Khori has little doubt about the significance of a luxury watch when it comes to fashion — and making a statement — even in the thick of Qatar’s diplomatic crisis. “Because we have the traditional dress the only thing we can use as an …
Read More »Roundup weed killer factor in man’s cancer, US court told
San Francisco, United States | AFP | The weed killer Roundup was a “substantial factor” in the cancer of a US man who developed a lump in his throat after decades of spraying his garden, his lawyer said Monday at the start of the first ever federal trial targeting its manufacturer …
Read More »Top gadgets at Mobile World Congress
Barcelona, Spain | AFP | From a tiny robot which strikes a pose when you point a camera at it to earbuds that translate languages, here are five eye-catching devices on display at the Mobile World Congress trade fair which opened Monday in Barcelona: Smartphone-controlled light bulb Want to dim the …
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