Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | A revolutionary technique dubbed cryo-electron microscopy, which has shed light on the Zika virus and an Alzheimer’s enzyme, earned scientists Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson the Nobel Chemistry Prize on Wednesday. Thanks to the international team’s “cool method”, which uses electron beams to examine …

Mumbai, India | AFP | India’s central bank held interest rates at a seven-year-low on Wednesday as it downgraded growth forecasts for Asia’s third largest economy amid a slowdown following recent high-profile reforms. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the benchmark repo rate — the level at which it lends …

Washington, United States | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is a rational politician and the US needs to understand that to deal with the nuclear-armed country, a top Central Intelligence Agency Korea expert said Wednesday. “Beyond the bluster, Kim Jong-Un is a rational actor,” said Yong Suk Lee, the …

Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP | Prime Minister Theresa May urged her party Wednesday to back her to deliver bold change for Britain, but her attempt to move past Brexit splits was marred by a protest, a collapsing set and a coughing fit. The Conservative leader used her closing speech to …

Sydney, Australia | AFP | Sydney and Melbourne could regularly face 50 degree Celsius (122F) days within 25 years even if Australia meets its Paris global warming targets, a new study warned Wednesday. Other areas across the country should also prepare for extreme heat, said the research led by the Australian …

Never before has the role of journalism been so important and never before has it been so risky COMMENT | Hannah Storm | Not too long ago, the only journalists working in conflict areas who might be afforded protection were those working for wealthy, predominantly Western news organisations. These journalists …

Washington, United States | AFP | Pentagon chief Jim Mattis tried to clear up doubts about the US administration’s North Korea strategy Tuesday, backing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s effort to find a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff. Defense Secretary Mattis was speaking two days after President Donald Trump appeared …

Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Uganda Securities Exchange has received approval from the Capital Markets Authority to demutualise within a period of one year, according to its Chief Executive Officer, Paul Bwiso. Bwiso said the new development means that the USE ceases to be a mutual entity limited by guarantees and …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Liberia’s female politicians profess near-universal respect for Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as she steps down after 12 years as president — but many also say the glass ceiling that Africa’s first female leader cracked remains firmly in place. Sirleaf, 78, will not run in October 10’s presidential …

  The Bretton Woods institutions must align representation with countries’ relative importance  COMMENT | Paola Subacchi | This October, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank will hold their annual conference. It can’t be business as usual. To remain legitimate, effective, and accountable, the Bretton Woods institutions, established in the …