Breaking World News
U.S. hits ISIS targets in Afghanistan with largest non-nuclear bomb ever used in combat
“The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan said the bomb was “the right munition” to use against the Islamic State because of the group’s use of roadside bombs, bunkers and tunnels…” (The Washington Post)
U.S.-led coalition accidentally bombs Syrian allies, killing 18
“Aircraft from a U.S.-led coalition accidentally bombed friendly Syrian forces fighting the Islamic State in northern Syria on Tuesday, killing 18, the Pentagon said Thursday. The bombing marks the worst confirmed friendly-fire incident in the nearly three-year-old war against the terrorist group…” (The Washington Post)
Turkey set for historic poll over presidential powers
“The proposed constitutional amendments seek to transform Turkey’s political system into an executive presidential one…” (Al Jazeera)
Turmus Aya’s Palestinians threatened by settlement plan
“Around 4000 Palestinians live in fear over recent encroachment from Israeli settlements…” (Al Jazeera)
Xi and Trump discuss Korean Peninsula, Syria over phone
“BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday held a telephone conversation with his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, and discussed the situation on the Korean Peninsula and in Syria…” (XinhuaNet)
China, Japan, ROK hold 12th round of free trade talks
“TOKYO, April 13 (Xinhua) — Top negotiators from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) met here Thursday on pushing forward trade in goods and services as well as investment at the 12th round of talks on a trilateral free trade agreement (FTA)…” (XinhuaNet)
Small Saturn moon has most conditions needed to sustain life, Nasa says
“A tiny moon of Saturn has most of the conditions necessary for life, Nasa announced on Thursday, unveiling a discovery from an underground ocean that makes the world a leading candidate for organisms as humans know them…” (The Guardian)
Westminster attack: Masood did act alone, police conclude
“Investigators now believe that the man responsible for the Westminster attack in March acted wholly alone in the planning and preparation for the first mass casualty terrorist atrocity to hit Britain in more than 10 years…” (The Guardian)
Hollande warns against ‘peril’ of leftist presidential candidate Mélenchon
“Hollande broke weeks of silence over France’s fast-approaching election during an interview published on Wednesday, telling conservative French magazine Le Point that Mélenchon was dangerous for the country, and pledging to reveal which candidate he would vote for before the second round ballot on May 7…” (France24.com)
Coppola, Haneke among filmmakers vying for top Cannes prize
“A Civil War film by Sofia Coppola, a Ukrainian road movie and a drama about AIDS activism are among 18 films competing for prizes at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which organizers hope can help counter nationalist sentiment…” (France24.com)
These Are the First Images of the Web of Ghostly Dark Matter That Holds Galaxies Together
“Picture the Universe, and you might imagine a dark emptiness speckled with maybe trillions of galaxies, each containing many billions of stars.
The truth is a little weirder, with apparently separate galaxies connected into vast intergalactic webs by invisible filaments of dark matter. If you find it hard to imagine, at least now we can actually see some of those threads thanks to some clever use of gravitational lensing…” (Science Alert)
Scientists Have Created a Device That Sucks Water Out of Thin Air, Even in the Desert
“When it comes to future challenges, one of the biggest will be water scarcity – on a warming planet we’re going to have plenty of seawater, but not enough fresh, clean water in the right places for everybody to drink.
And while a lot of research has focussed on desalination, a team of scientists have now come up with another possible solution – a device that pulls fresh water out of thin air, even in places with humidity as low as 20 percent. All it needs is sunlight…”
(Science Alert)
Photo: By US. Army (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0 or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
