Tombstones stretch as far as the eye can see across Iraq's Wadi-al-Salam cemetery, often described as the world's biggest, which bears silent witness to life and death over 14 centuries.. - 'World's biggest cemetery' - Many Iraqi Shiites chose the cemetery to lay to rest their loved ones.
A nine-year-old Syrian girl whose fate captured the tragedy, hope and heartbreak of this month's earthquake after spending 40 hours under the rubble was taken to Turkey Thursday for treatment.. They were the first of those rescued from the rubble of the February 6 quake to be given authorisation to enter Turkey for treatment from rebel-held areas.
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg voiced regret Thursday over his muted response to a toxic train derailment and pushed for safety reforms as he addressed resident's fears over possible contamination of their air and water.. Norfolk Southern says it is monitoring air and water quality as it removes rail cars and contaminated materials. ft/mlm
From pandas to sea lions to tigers, hundreds of wildlife species across the globe are contaminated by potentially harmful "forever chemicals", according to a review of hundreds of peer-reviewed studies.. The mapping of over 125 peer-reviewed scientific studies is the first global scoping of the problem in wildlife, the authors said.
The Joan Mitchell Foundation has sent a cease and desist letter to Louis Vuitton alleging the luxury brand is using reproductions of the artist's paintings in handbag advertisements without authorization.. The Mitchell foundation vowed that if Louis Vuitton does not "cease the illegal use of Mitchell's artworks," it will pursue further legal action. mdo/bgs
Climate change and unchecked construction in flood- and landslide-prone areas are making disasters like the violent storm that killed at least 48 people in southeastern Brazil ever more frequent, according to a leading expert.. Francis Lacerda, a researcher at Brazil's IPA Climate Change Laboratory, spoke with AFP about the forces driving disasters like the one that hit the coast of Sao Paulo state last weekend, and what can be done to stop them.
Milan's catwalks may be the epicentre of global fashion this week, but it's Seoul and K-Pop fans who are front and centre in the battle for new luxury customers.. The hordes of pushing, screaming fans straining for a view of their favourite K-pop or Korean film and television stars are expected to come out in force for the duration of Milan Fashion Week -- underscoring the strategic importance of the South Korean market to Italian fashion.
In the dead of night on a bridge in southern China, around two dozen livestreamers sat crooning and chatting into microphones, their identical ring lights spaced a few metres apart in glowing rows.. Livestreaming on apps like Douyin, which said it had 600 million users in 2020, is a popular way to make money in China.
A woman dies every two minutes due to pregnancy or childbirth complications, despite maternal mortality rates dropping by a third in 20 years, the United Nations said Thursday.. The overall maternal mortality rate dropped by 34.3 percent over a 20-year period -- from 339 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 223 maternal deaths in 2020, according to a report by the World Health Organization and other UN agencies.
A darker-than-usual parade dedicated to an infamous outlaw-hero from Brazil's impoverished northeast, bastion of newly inaugurated President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, won the championship of Rio de Janeiro's colorful, cutthroat carnival parade competition Wednesday.. First Lady Rosangela "Janja" da Silva served as the school's "godmother," supporting its social projects in the city's impoverished favelas.
