WORLD

Washington, United States | AFP | Researchers have found “different patterns” in brain scans among children who record heavy smart device and video game use, according to initial data from a major ongoing US study. The first wave of information from the $300 million National Institute of Health (NIH) study …

Washington, United States | AFP | US Customs and Border Protection announced medical checks on all children in its custody following the death of an eight-year-old Guatemalan migrant — the second child fatality in American detention this month. Guatemala called for an investigation into the boy’s death and some US …

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | When doctors told her that the six-month-old fetus she was carrying had severe brain damage caused by the Zika virus, Thamires Ferreira da Silva tried to commit suicide by jumping in front of a bus in Rio de Janeiro. “I just wanted to …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Khai Ho, 38-year-old from Birkenhead, in the UK, claims he can last up to three months at a time on only air, sunlight and the occasional mint leaves to keep his mouth smelling fresh. The pizza deliveryman is a self-described breatharian. He claims he has …

Beijing, China | AFP | Three students were killed in a laboratory blast at a Beijing university on Wednesday, the city’s fire department said. “There was an explosion at the experimental site during a scientific research experiment” on wastewater treatment in the Environmental Engineering Laboratory, the Beijing Fire Department said. …

Beijing, China | AFP | Eight people were killed and 22 injured after a hijacked bus crashed into pedestrians in east China’s Fujian province on Tuesday afternoon, state media reported. A hijacker carrying a knife has been detained and is being investigated by local police, state television CGTN said. The …

Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Tuesday renewed his attack on the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, blaming the central bank’s interest rate hikes for a tanking market. With stocks on track for their worst December since the Great Depression, Trump has regularly berated the …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Queen Elizabeth II warned of religious “tribalism” in a Christmas message on Tuesday delivered against a backdrop of Britain bickering over its impending exit from the EU. The 92-year-old monarch’s tone reflected a sombre mood sweeping the island nation as it ponders the perils …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | At just 12-years-old, Leonardo Nicanor Quinteros is still in secondary school, but he already runs his own free private school to help other children, and even some adults, with their studies in in the Argentinian town of Las Piedritas, near San Juan. He started it …

Sydney, Australia | AFP | Researchers in Australia say that fact checking can reverse the views of even the most dyed-in-the-wool partisans, and over time could cause voters to shun an often-lying candidate. Scientists from the University of Western Australia, the United States and Britain found that Aussies did change …