Pope may add Kenya leg to Africa trip in November
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis says he may add a stop in Kenya on his trip to the Central African Republic and Uganda in November.
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Burundi's Khadja Nin joins anti-Nkurunziza ranks
Celebrated Burundian singer Khadja Nin added her voice on Friday to the chorus of critics of President Pierre Nkurunziza, whose bid for a third term in office has sparked protests and fears of a return to ethnic conflict in the east African nation. Speaking on the sidelines of an African Union (AU) summit in South Africa, Nin called for greater regional diplomatic pressure on Nkurunziza to step aside before protests
'Worrying' slowdown in Iran nuclear talks, says Russia
Russia’s negotiator said Friday that there has been a “very worrying” slowdown in progress in nuclear talks between Iran and six major powers ahead of a June 30 deadline to finalise an historic accord. “The rate of progress… is progressively slowing down,” Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying as he arrived for the latest round of talks in Vienna. In April Iran and the five permanent members
Female prison worker supplied tools to New York escapees: CNN
A female prison worker “provided some form of equipment or tools” to two escapees from an upstate New York correctional center whom authorities are hunting for a seventh day, Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie told CNN on Friday. Joyce Mitchell, an industrial training supervisor in the tailor shop at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, was being questioned about her possible role in the prison break of convicted
Obama makes personal appeal on trade with key vote in House
President Barack Obama made an unusual, personal 11th-hour appeal to dubious Democrats on Friday in a tense run-up to a House vote on legislation to strengthen his hand in global trade talks.
South Korea says MERS cases slowing despite new deaths
South Korea on Friday reported three more deaths from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), but health officials urged people to go about their normal daily activities, saying the rate of new cases was slowing. In what has become the largest outbreak of the virus outside Saudi Arabia, a 72-year-old woman died Friday after being infected by a MERS patient at a hospital, the health ministry said. Two more fatalities were
Benefits of adjustable desks still unclear
By Roxanne Nelson (Reuters Health) – Height-adjustable desks are growing in popularity in office settings, but there’s still no hard evidence that they improve the health of office workers, according to a new review of existing research. Indeed, there has been very little research testing whether people using the desks spend less time sitting, or if they do, whether that improves their mental or physical health, researchers say. “There was
Prenatal DNA test patent invalid, U.S. appeals court says
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Friday said a Sequenom Inc patent on a prenatal test to detect fetal DNA is invalid because it relates to a natural phenomenon, which cannot be patented according to U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
S. African man with transplanted penis to become a father
A South African man who received the world’s first successful penis transplant is to become a father just months after undergoing surgery, his doctor said Friday. Urologist Andre van der Merwe, who led the team that performed the operation, told AFP that the 21-year-old’s girlfriend was pregnant. Van der Merwe has previously admitted surprise at the speed of the man’s recovery of sexual function however, saying the original goal was
Worst of MERS outbreak may be over in South Korea
By Ju-min Park and Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) – The MERS outbreak that has spread through health facilities in South Korea may have peaked, although two hospitals that treated people with the deadly respiratory disease have been sealed off, officials said. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome has infected 126 people in South Korea and killed 13 since it was first diagnosed just over three weeks ago in a businessman who had