Pope Francis skips traditional Good Friday procession at the Colosseum in chilly Rome

ROME — Pope Francis, hospitalized recently with bronchitis, skipped the traditional Good Friday nighttime procession at the Colosseum because of chilly weather in Rome, staying instead at his home at the Vatican while thousands of faithful turned out for the torchlit event. This Good Friday was the first time a pontiff was a no-show at the Colosseum Way of…

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Benin Bronzes were crafted of metal from a completely unexpected place

Story by Ben Turner The Benin Bronzes — some roughly 3,000 stunning bronze artworks sculpted by African metalsmiths between the 16th and 19th centuries — were crafted from metal mined from Germany’s Rhineland region, a new study finds. Researchers had long suspected that the masterfully crafted sculptures — created by the Edo people of the Kingdom of Benin, now…

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UAE court denies SA’s plea to extradite Guptas

‘The reasons provided for denying our request are inexplicable,’ the South African justice ministry said. A court in the United Arab Emirates denied South Africa’s plea to extradite Atul and Rajesh Gupta, the brothers wanted in the African nation on charges of money laundering and fraud. The arrest warrant against the Guptas has also been cancelled, Ronald Lamola, South…

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Young Libyans finally able to answer call of e-gaming

Tripoli (AFP) – In a Tripoli arcade, players banter amid the bleeping and music of video games. Isolated by decades of dictatorship and post-revolution chaos, Libyan gamers are finally taking on the world. It’s late at night in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and in the suburb of Tajoura, teenagers with headphones clamped to their ears gaze into…

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Sony launches unit to undertake disruptive research in sensing, AI and digital virtual spaces

Sony Group Corporation has announced the establishment of Sony Research Inc., as a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation with the mission to “pioneer the future of creation.” As communicated at the R&D Strategy Briefing in December 2022, Sony Research will undertake research and development of unprecedented disruptive technologies that aims to empower creators around the world to…

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Spain to invest $2bn in SA energy transition

The Spanish initiative is in line with the aims of the $8.5-billion Just Energy Transition Partnership between South Africa and funding partners including France, Germany, the US, UK and the European Union. Spain is providing 2.1 billion euros ($2.3 billion) to help fund South Africa’s energy transition and water needs, even as some of the world’s richest nations struggle…

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Astronomers Used Machine Learning To Mine Data From South Africa’s MeerKAT Telescope: What They Found

by Michelle Lochner, University of the Western Cape New telescopes with unprecedented sensitivity and resolution are being unveiled around the world – and beyond. Among them are the Giant Magellan Telescope under construction in Chile, and the James Webb Space Telescope, which is parked a million and a half kilometres out in space. This means there is a wealth…

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New WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain Brings Unmatched Expertise and Passion to the Fight Against Global Food Insecurity

Ambassador Cindy McCain’s appointment as the new Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) marks a watershed moment in the fight against global food insecurity. With her wealth of experience and expertise in humanitarianism, business, and diplomacy, McCain is the perfect candidate to lead the WFP in its global mission to alleviate hunger and malnutrition. As…

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Amisa Ahmed: The Young Kenyan Trailblazer Revolutionizing Mental Health Interventions

Amisa Ahmed

Amisa Ahmed is a remarkable individual whose dedication, hard work, and unwavering focus have made her a force to be reckoned with in community-based mental health interventions and trauma-informed programs in Kenya. As the Founder and Executive Director of the Nivishe Foundation, she has tirelessly worked towards building community resilience and promoting social cohesion in vulnerable and marginalized communities….

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