Fighting continues in Syria as world leaders gather
Support group renews call in Vienna for end to hostilities and immediate humanitarian access to besieged communities.
World leaders have renewed their calls for a cessation of hostilities in Syria after meeting in Vienna, hoping to restart peace talks aimed at halting Syria's civil war.
The meeting in the Austrian capital on Tuesday was led by John Kerry, US secretary of state; Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister; and Staffan de Mistura, UN special envoy to Syria, as well as other leaders from the 17-nation International Syria Support Group (ISSG).
They confirmed their support for an end to the violence and the need for immediate humanitarian access to besieged communities inside Syria.
Oregon occupation inspires a new crop of political candidates
The Bundy Bunch message appears to have resonated in Harney County, where there are more local primary candidates than at any election in recent history
There’s no disguising election season in Burns, where the roads are lined with lawn signs and the pick-up trucks resound with conservative talk radio. But in eastern Oregon, where many distrust the federal government, locals are disappointed and dispassionate about their remaining presidential options. Instead, it’s down-ballot races that have captured their interest.
This year, there are more local primary candidates than at any election in recent Harney County history. Seven people are running for a vacant county commissioner’s seat, four for the open post of county judge. Another is challenging the incumbent county sheriff for his job. And most of these rookie political hopefuls appear to have been inspired by exactly the same thing.
China: War games not aimed at specific target
Relevant parties should not "over-interpret" military exercises, said China's defense ministry. The war games come days ahead of the new Taiwanese president's inauguration, who may break with the "one China" principle.
China's defense ministry on Wednesday dismissed reports that military drills off its southeast coast were directed at any targets.
"It is routine arrangement to execute military drills in the southeast of China according to annual training plans, and these drills are not aimed at any specific target," the Chinese defense ministry said in a statement.
The ministry added that the war games, which included drills conducted by its army, navy and air force, were "designed to test and improve troops' capabilities of dealing with security threats."
"Relevant parties shouldn't over-interpret such activities," the defense ministry's press office said.
Cameroonian engineer invents app to reduce maternal death rate
OBSERVERS
A young Cameroonian engineer has come up with a tool that could help reduce both maternal death and child mortality rates. The free application, called 'GiftedMom', sends women texts containing medical advice before and after their child is born.
On March 13, Cameroon was shaken by the death of Monique Koumaté, a pregnant woman who died in front of the Laquintinie hospital in Douala. Several hundred people subsequently gathered to protest against the hospital's employees, who they accused of neglect.
But Koumaté's case isn't unique. According to a study carried out by the World Health Organisation, in 2011 Cameroon's maternal mortality rate stood at 782 deaths for every 100,000 births, a figure well above the global average. In developing countries, the average rate stands at 239 deaths for every 100,000 live births, whereas in developed countries the figure is 12 deaths per 100,000 live births.
ISIS has executed almost 50 in Libya, Human Rights Watch says
Updated 0725 GMT (1525 HKT) May 18, 2016
Public beheadings. Corpses hanging from scaffolding. Floggings for violating the law.
This is life in the ISIS-held city of Sirte, Libya -- a Mediterranean coastal city that's about 350 miles away from Malta -- according to a new report from Human Rights Watch.
Many of the 45 former and current residents of Sirte Human Rights Watch spoke to say they live in a continued state of fear.
"As if beheading and shooting perceived enemies isn't enough, ISIS is causing terrible suffering in Sirte even for Muslims who follow its rules," said Letta Tayler, a senior terrorism and counterterrorism researcher at Human Rights Watch.
An 'unusual' earthquake in Japan is prompting calls for new skyscraper designs
Scientists studying the earthquake that struck southern Japan in April have identified a number of seismological factors that made the tremor so destructive – and warn that should the same factors combine beneath a major city it could bring down a skyscraper.
The 7.3 magnitude quake that struck beneath the city of Kumamoto on the evening of April 14 caused extensive damage, with hundreds of homes, buildings and other infrastructure collapsing from the violence of the shaking. Others were engulfed in landslides.
A total of 49 people were killed, and 100,000 people were evacuated from their homes. Many have been unable to return due to the damage or the threat posed to unstable buildings by the ongoing aftershocks.
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