International

U.S. Temporarily Suspends Immigrant Visa Appointments Worldwide

Altaj News – The U.S. State Department announced Wednesday that the government is temporarily suspending immigrant visa appointments worldwide to allow time for consular staff training. A State Department spokesperson told Agence France-Presse via email that the appointments, which include interviews between foreign visa applicants and consular officers, will undergo “adjustments” to facilitate the training, confirming earlier reports by U.S.…

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US drug agency approves breakthrough treatment for pancreatic cancer

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a treatment for pancreatic cancer that, in clinical trials, nearly doubled the overall survival time for patients. The drug, daraxonrasib, sold under the brand name Rasonque and manufactured by Revolution Medicines, appears to be a breakthrough in treating one of the world’s deadliest cancers. A late-stage clinical trial with 500 patients found…

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Radiation link in flight attendant’s breast cancer, French court finds

A French court has for the first time recognised cosmic radiation as a factor in the breast cancer of a long-serving flight attendant. Sophie Lainault, a 59 year-old former stewardess on Air France, sought to have her cancer recognised as an occupational disease, brought on by conditions at work. This has now been confirmed in a landmark court ruling in…

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Funeral held for renowned Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour

The funeral has taken place at a packed church in Birzeit, near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, for the celebrated Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour, who died this week at the age of 79. He was best known for his bright and powerful paintings depicting the Palestinian landscape, with its olive groves and citrus trees, as well as cultural scenes…

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World’s first patient to undergo live AI-assisted brain surgery has tumour removed

The world’s first patient to have brain surgery with live artificial intelligence assistance has successfully had his tumour removed. Rhys Hibbert, a father-of-two from Bedfordshire, could have lost his sight without the operation, said surgeons at University College London Hospital. The AI tool analysed a video feed of the operation as it happened and advised surgeons on how to avoid…

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Two German airport workers die of malaria after ‘mosquito arrives on plane’

Two Frankfurt Airport workers have died of malaria after a rare outbreak led to six employees contracting the serious infection spread by mosquitoes. It is believed the mosquitoes arrived at Germany’s busiest airport on a plane, according to German public health officials, triggering an outbreak which was first detected in July. A spokesperson for airport operator Fraport told the BBC…

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Trial date set for alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Alleged 9/11 terror attacks mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will stand trial in June 2028, more than a quarter of a century after what the US government has called “the most egregious criminal act on American soil in modern history”. A military judge ruled the trial would start in two years because a 2027 date sought by prosecutors was too soon.…

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Iceland holds knife-edge referendum on EU – and it could be decided on fish

Inside a waterfront factory, workers in hairnets and blue overalls are sorting freshly caught cod and haddock, and machines process the fish into fillets, mostly bound for Europe. Visir fishing boss Pétur Pálsson, who fears joining the European Union would cost Iceland jobs and drive factories abroad, says: “If we are in the EU, they will be the ones who…

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