Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | A trial against two former members of a Vatican foundation charged with embezzling charity money to refurbish the luxury apartment of a cardinal opened Tuesday. The former executives of the Vatican’s Bambino Gesu pediatric hospital are accused of diverting 422,000 euros ($485,000) in …
Read More »Trump blames Democrats for failure of bill to replace Obamacare
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump blamed Democrats and a few holdouts in his own party Tuesday for the collapse of the latest Republican effort to repeal and replace Obamacare — one of Trump’s key campaign pledges. A Republican drive in the Senate to come up with a …
Read More »Investigation begins into Senegal football stadium disaster
Shocking footage of Senegal stadium wall collapse that left eight dead Dakar, Senegal | AFP | Senegalese prosecutors on Monday announced the opening of a judicial enquiry into a stadium tragedy, as a local team whose fans were accused of triggering a deadly stampede were suspended from the country’s football federation. …
Read More »Size key to top speed in animals: study
Paris, France | AFP | It’s not quite E=mc2, but scientists unveiled Monday a simple, powerful formula that explains why some animals run, fly and swim faster than all others. Call it the “speed rule”: strength alone does not determine top velocity because land mammals, birds and fish can only accelerate …
Read More »Russian court confirms Jehovah’s Witnesses ban
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia’s Supreme Court Monday confirmed a ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses, labelled by authorities as an “extremist organisation”. “The Russian Supreme Court has decided to reject the appeal of the organisation against its ban,” the court, quoted by RIA-Novosti news agency, said in its decision. In April, …
Read More »Anti-Obamacare US health care reform collapses, 2 more Republicans say no
Washington, United States | AFP | Two more US Republican senators announced their opposition Monday to their party’s efforts to revamp Obamacare, derailing the controversial legislation in its current form and potentially dealing a monumental setback to President Donald Trump. Republican leaders are desperate for a major legislative victory this …
Read More »Brexit talks ‘get to work’ despite UK infighting
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Britain and the EU vowed to get to the “heart of the matter” as they launched fresh Brexit negotiations in Brussels on Monday, even as bitter infighting gripped the British government. Brexit minister David Davis met EU negotiator Michel Barnier for a second round of …
Read More »Turkey extends post-coup state of emergency
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkey’s parliament voted on Monday to renew a state of emergency in effect since last year’s failed coup attempt sparked the biggest crackdown in the country’s modern history. The state-run Anadolu news agency said lawmakers agreed to a three-month extension of the current emergency law, which …
Read More »Israel opposes Syria truce deal over Iran presence: official
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the southwest Syria ceasefire agreed by Russia and the US since it would enable Iran to solidify its presence there, an official said Monday. The July 9 accord creating a de-escalation zone in the Daraa, Quneitra and Sweida regions includes …
Read More »Republican health care reform in peril as McCain recovers
Washington, United States | AFP | The future of the Republican effort to squash Obamacare hung in the balance Monday with Senator John McCain, whose vote is needed to pass the legislation, recovering from surgery away from Washington. There are no votes to spare in the contentious effort to …
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