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Month: August 2024

Historic space mission commander tours South African schools

Esteemed American astronaut, geoscience professor and artist Sian Proctor is touring South African schools to emphasize the importance of education in science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. Her goal is to inspire students to pursue careers in the sciences and…

UN agency raises 20% of needed African drought aid

HARARE, Zimbabwe —  The U.N. World Food Program has faced challenges in raising $400 million for its Southern Africa drought response, collecting just one-fifth of what it needs to help seven countries in the region, a WFP spokesperson said on…

Fossils suggest even smaller ‘hobbits’ roamed Indonesian island 700,000 years ago

washington —  Twenty years ago on an Indonesian island, scientists discovered fossils of an early human species that stood at about 1.07 meters tall — earning them the nickname “hobbits.” Now a new study suggests ancestors of the hobbits were…

Wall Street rallies to bounce back from its worst day in nearly 2 years, as Japanese stocks soar

New York —  U.S. stocks are bouncing back, and calm is returning to Wall Street after Japan’s market soared earlier Tuesday to claw back much of the losses from its worst day since 1987. The S&P 500 was rallying by…

Bangladesh at a crossroad, says senior UN official

“Young people and people from every range of life across Bangladesh, across the entire country, came out on the streets to celebrate,” UN Resident Coordinator Gwyn Lewis remarked.  Some of the celebrations following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation took a…

Humanitarians urge Security Council to stop ‘freight train of suffering’ in Sudan

Edem Wosornu of the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, and Stephen Omollo, Assistant Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), briefed ambassadors in the wake of the recent confirmation of famine in the Zamzam displacement camp, home to 500,000…

UN rights office reports escalation in strikes on schools in Gaza

According to the office at least 17 schools have been hit, raising serious concerns about compliance with principles of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), including distinction, proportionality and precaution. OHCHR also pointed to an escalation in such attacks. Since last Monday,…

Japan’s Nikkei 225 soars 10% and other world markets are mixed after the week’s rollercoaster start

Bangkok —  Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index soared more than 10% on Tuesday, rebounding after a rollercoaster start to the week that sent markets tumbling in Europe and on Wall Street. European markets were mostly lower, with Germany’s DAX down…

Ukraine says Russian missile attack hits Kharkiv

Russian forces carried out aerial attacks on multiple parts of Ukraine, officials said Tuesday, including hitting the northeastern city of Kharkiv with a missile. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram the strike damaged a medical clinic and that authorities…

Secretaries of state urge Elon Musk to fix AI chatbot spreading election misinformation on X

Chicago —  Five secretaries of state are urging Elon Musk to fix an AI chatbot on the social media platform X, saying in a letter sent Monday that it has spread election misinformation. The top election officials from Michigan, Minnesota,…