London, United Kingdom | AFP | Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday said its net profit edged higher to $6 billion in the first quarter, with gains capped by cooler oil prices and a dip in production. Profit after tax climbed two percent compared with the first three months …
Read More »S.Africa ‘disappointed’ by West’s corruption charges
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa has rejected reported criticism of its record on corruption by five Western countries, including the US and Britain, who insisted they were only drawing the government’s attention to a serious issue. The Sunday Times reported on its front page that the five countries — the US, Britain, …
Read More »Google moved almost 20 bn euros to Bermuda in 2017: report
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | US internet giant Google used a legal mechanism to transfer almost 20 billion euros from the Netherlands to Bermuda in 2017 for tax purposes, a Dutch newspaper report said Friday. Google, which is owned by US parent company Alphabet, moved 19.9 billion euros ($22.7 …
Read More »Germany, Netherlands to meet in Euro 2020 qualifying as England given clement draw
Dublin, Ireland | AFP | Former champions Germany and the Netherlands will meet each in qualifying for Euro 2020 after being paired together in Sunday’s draw in Dublin, but World Cup semi-finalists England will not complain about their group. The Germans were the most dangerous team outside the first pot …
Read More »New TB test could save hundreds of thousands of children: scientists
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | Scientists on Thursday unveiled a revolutionary way of screening children for tuberculosis, which they say will prevent hundreds of thousands each year from contracting the world’s deadliest infectious disease. A multinational team based at the KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation in The Hague have developed a …
Read More »Suicide machine draws crowds at Amsterdam funeral show
1971, Netherlands | AFP | A controversial suicide pod that enables its occupant to kill themselves at a press of a button went on display at Amsterdam funeral show on Saturday. Called the “Sarco”, short for sarcophagus, the 3D-printed machine invented by Australian euthanasia activist Philip Nitschke and Dutch designer Alexander …
Read More »Flying cars eye takeoff at Geneva Motor Show
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | After gracing our screens for decades, flying cars are about to shift gears from dream to reality, with the unveiling of a commercial model in Geneva this week. From James Bond to The Jetsons, flying cars have long captured our imaginations, but now a Dutch …
Read More »Dutch-Ethiopian man gets life for ‘Red Terror’ war crimes
The Hague, NETHERLANDS | AFP | A Dutch-Ethiopian man was sentenced to life in jail on Friday after Dutch judges found him guilty of war crimes committed during Ethiopia’s bloody purges in the late 1970s, a period known as the “Red Terror”. Eshetu Alemu, 63, was “guilty of war crimes …
Read More »Tourists taking pictures trampled by elephant in Zambia
Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | A Dutch and a Belgian tourist were trampled to death by an elephant in Zambia as they got too close to the animal when trying to take pictures, police said on Sunday. The holidaymakers, whose identities have not been released, were killed on Saturday while on …
Read More »First pineapple farm opens in Gaza
Khan Yunis, Palestinian Territories | AFP | Pineapples are being harvested in the Gaza Strip for the first time as part of efforts to help the impoverished Palestinian territory work towards food self-sufficiency. The fruit, for domestic sale, is grown in a 1,000 square metre greenhouse in the southern Gaza …
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