Sunāmganj (Bangladesh) (AFP) – Nargis Akhter is one of thousands of of Bangladeshi women working as “skilled birth attendants” to help mothers through delivery. Their use over the past twenty years has coincided with dramatic improvements to maternal health outcomes in Bangladesh — a country where 30 percent of women nationally give birth without the assistance of a doctor, nurse or midwife, according . IMAGES
Fitzgerald (AFP) – The CEO of a plant producing peanut paste for severely malnourished children worldwide says the US Agency for International Development (USAID) reinstated his contract after canceling it last week. “It’s been a yo-yo effect. We receive a memo from USAID to stop, then a restart, then a cancellation. Fortunately, last night, they reinstate the contract,” says Mark Moore, CEO of MANA Nutrition in Fitzgerald, Georgia.
Brüssel (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanks EU leaders for standing by Ukraine’s side as the bloc kicks off crisis talks on confronting US President Donald Trump’s pivot away from Kyiv and its transatlantic partners. “We are not alone,” says Zelensky as he arrives for the summit, adding, “Thank you so much for everything.”
Brüssel (AFP) – The heads of state and government of the 27 member countries of the European Union arrive for an emergency summit to discuss Ukraine and European defence. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also present to participate in some of the meetings.
Nuuk (AFP) – Wearing an “American badass” T-shirt emblazoned with Donald Trump’s picture, Jorgen Boassen walks to a painting at Nuuk’s Cultural Centre showing the US President in Inuit costume looking at minerals by a fjord. An avid Trump fan, the Greenlander also took part in a highly publicised visit by Trump’s son Donald Jr in January, but he says he is against a US takeover of Greenland.
Moskau (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to discuss extending his country’s nuclear deterrent to European partners is a “threat”, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Macron announced the possible extension of France’s nuclear deterrent to European partners on Wednesday, as Europe scrambles to respond to Donald Trump’s upending of the transatlantic alliance.
Currumbin (Australia) (AFP) – A tropical cyclone lingered off Australia’s eastern coast, bringing drenching rains and record-breaking waves to a heavily populated region rarely hit by typhoons. ++ COMPLETES WITH VIDI_36ZF4ZW ++ =
Pocheon (South Korea) (AFP) – Military and police personnel at the scene of a fighter jet training accident in South Korea’s Pocheon. Several people were injured after a military aircraft accidentally dropped eight bombs in the wrong place during a training exercise.
Mendoza (Argentina) (AFP) – Two daughters of an Argentine mountaineer who died on an icy peak 40 years ago, have retrieved his backpack from the spot — finding camera film inside that allowed them a glimpse of some of his final experiences.
London (AFP) – A campaign to grant London’s traditional pie and mash special protected status has won the support of members of parliament. Proponents argue the cockney classic deserves an official stamp of recognition, similar to that enjoyed by Parmesan cheese or Champagne.
Ofunato (Japan) (AFP) – Wet weather brings some relief to northern Japan, battling its worst wildfire in half a century, in a region that had been experiencing record-low rainfall. The blaze around the northern city of Ofunato in the Iwate region has raged for more than a week, killing one person and forcing nearly 4,000 residents to evacuate their homes.
Washington (AFP) – A week before Greenlanders go to the polls to elect their members of parliament, the US is on voters’ minds as President Donald Trump again voiced his desire to annex the Arctic island during an address to congress. Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede hit back at Trump’s pledge to take the island “one way or the other”, saying that islanders did not see their future with the United States or even Denmark.
