Other News

Toys and tales helping Ukraine kids process war trauma

by Anna MALPAS Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — In the cellar of a Kyiv kindergarten decorated with bunting and wall paintings of doughnuts and cats, dozens of children are taking shelter during an air raid. The staff try to reduce the psychological impact on children who can barely remember a time without sirens and fear. “They go calmly, none of them cries,” says one of the carers, Tetiana, 68. The children chatter and giggle […]

Taiwan president in US for visit that has China threatening reprisal

by Nicolas Revise with Amber Wang in Taipei Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in New York Wednesday for a visit that has triggered threats of reprisal by China if she meets with House speaker Kevin McCarthy — and US warnings for Beijing not to overreact. Tsai is stopping over in the United States en route to Central America, where she will meet with the leaders of Guatemala […]

Easterlies affecting eastern sections of Visayas, Mindanao

(Eagle News) –The easterlies are affecting the eastern sections of Visayas and Mindanao. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said Metro Manila will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms as a result. The rest of the country will experience the same conditions. Flash floods or landslides during severe thunderstorms are possible. PAGASA said the entire country will have light to moderate winds and slight to moderate coastal […]

S.Africa’s Pistorius up for parole in girlfriend’s murder

  Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Wednesday 3/29/2023  by Umberto BACCHI South African Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius might be released from prison this week, a decade after he killed his girlfriend in a crime that gripped the world. A parole board is to decide whether Pistorius should be let out early, after a hearing in Pretoria on Friday. “The board must determine whether the purpose of imprisonment has been served,” said Department of Correctional […]

Astronomers discover one of biggest black holes ever recorded

  Paris, France | AFP | by Daniel Lawler One of the largest black holes ever recorded has been discovered using a new technique that could spot thousands more of the insatiable celestial monsters in the coming years, according to astronomers. The ultramassive black hole, one of just four ever observed, is more than 30 billion times the mass of the Sun, a new study said. It is the first black hole ever observed using […]

US approves sale of anti-overdose drug Narcan without prescription

  Washington, United States | AFP | Wednesday 3/29/2023 The US drug regulator announced Wednesday that Narcan, the treatment which reverses overdoses, can be distributed without prescription, a move that comes as the country battles an acute opioid addiction crisis. The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) said that four milligram nasal spray doses of naloxone hydrochloride, the generic name for Narcan, can be sold over the counter almost anywhere, from pharmacies to supermarkets to gas stations. […]

Key member of pope’s sex abuse commission quits

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Wednesday 3/29/2023 The most influential member of a Vatican commission on tackling clerical sex abuse has quit, its leader said Wednesday, in the latest blow to a papal advisory body dogged by controversy. Hans Zollner, the public face of Pope Francis’s efforts to tackle the global paedophilia scandal, has resigned due to a heavy workload, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors said. “The commission has been […]

World’s usable nuke arsenal rose in 2022: study

  Oslo, Norway | AFP | Wednesday 3/29/2023 The global number of operational atomic warheads increased in 2022, driven largely by Russia and China, a new report out Wednesday said as nuclear tensions have risen since the war in Ukraine. The nine official and unofficial nuclear powers held 9,576 ready-to-use warheads in 2023 — up from 9,440 the previous year, according to the Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor published by the NGO Norwegian People’s Aid. Those […]

Biden calls Putin’s nuclear deployment talk ‘dangerous’

    Washington, United States | AFP | US President Joe Biden on Tuesday blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stated plan to deploy nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, branding it “dangerous” talk. “This is dangerous kind of talk and it’s worrisome,” Biden told reporters at the White House. The Kremlin leader announced on Saturday that he was ordering the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, run by fellow authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko as […]

IAEA warns of ‘increasing’ military activity near Ukraine nuclear plant

  Energodar, Ukraine | AFP | Wednesday 3/29/2023 The chief of the UN atomic watchdog said Wednesday he was working on a security plan for the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and warned of increased military activity around it. During a rare visit to Europe’s largest nuclear plant currently controlled by Russian forces, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said he was working to find a compromise that would suit both Moscow […]

WHO says medium-risk adults don’t need extra Covid jabs

by Robin MILLARD The World Health Organization said Tuesday it is no longer recommending additional Covid-19 vaccine booster doses for regular, medium-risk adults as the benefit was marginal. For such people who have received their primary vaccination course and one booster dose, there is no risk in having further jabs but the returns are slight, the WHO’s vaccine experts said. The UN health agency’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) issued updated recommendations […]

Nashville school shooter hid seven firearms in house

  Nashville, United States | AFP | Wednesday 3/29/2023 by Susannah WALDEN The 28-year-old who shot dead six people at an elementary school in Nashville was able to buy and conceal multiple weapons in the family home despite evidence of mental health issues, police said Tuesday. Two nine-year-old girls, a nine-year-old boy, two teachers and a school custodian died in the Monday attack, which recharged the bitter debate over gun rights in the United States. […]