UK – A talented make-up artist has died just weeks after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. Demi Wright, 22, began suffering pains in her side in November last year, but did not know she had terminal adenocarcinoma. This type of cancer affects the glands that line the inside of various organs. It can strike in many parts of the body, including the colon, breasts, esophagus, lungs, pancreas, or prostate. Miss Wright, who worked for Lancôme, was first admitted to a maternity ward after the undiscovered tumor started emitting hormones similar to those in pregnancy. But after doctors found a 12cm growth, she was transferred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge where she quickly deteriorated.(Daily Mail)…[+]

UK – A 17-year-old girl is suffering from a mystery condition which causes thick, stinging blood to seep from her eyes, nose, ears and fingernails up to five times a day. Marnie Harvey’s condition has baffled doctors for three years – and has left her virtually housebound. Now, desperate for a diagnosis, she is sharing her story in the hope of getting her life back.

Her ordeal began in 2013 when she became uncharacteristically unwell. She said: ‘I never used to get ill and have always been a healthy girl.’ ‘Then in February 2013 I was at home when I started coughing up blood.’ Her doctor sent her for a chest scan, which came back clear, but the worrying symptom continued for two years. She frequently attended hospital and had further blood scans, which again, came back showing nothing amiss. Then, she developed a pain in her side but tests couldn’t reveal why. She also began suffering migraines and sickness so bad she missed weeks of school.

(Daily Mail)…[+]

BELGIUM – Slovenia has introduced new border restrictions for migrants as part of efforts to close the Balkans route from Greece to Western Europe. Only migrants who plan to seek asylum in the country, or those with clear humanitarian needs will be allowed entry. In reaction, Serbia said it would close its borders with Macedonia and Bulgaria to those without valid documents. The future of the EU’s passport-free Schengen zone is already in doubt. Eight of its members, including Austria, Hungary and Slovakia, have tightened border controls, leaving thousands of migrants stranded in Greece…[+]

SYRIA – The US military says it targeted a top commander of so-called Islamic State in an air strike in Syria last week. An initial assessment suggested Tarkhan Batirashvili, a Georgian known as Omar Shishani, was likely killed along with 12 other militants, officials said. The strike took place on Friday near the north-eastern town of Shaddadi, where Shishani had reportedly been sent to bolster local IS forces. There was no immediate confirmation of his death from IS or its supporters. The US had offered a $5m reward for Shishani, who it declared a specially designated global terrorist in September 2014.(BBC)…[+]

BEIJING — Premier Li Keqiang has told Guangdong Province to continue in its pioneering role in reform and opening up, as the slowing economy is restructured.

Joining national lawmakers during the annual session of the National People’s Congress Wednesday, Li said the region should propel supply-side structural reforms and promote mass entrepreneurship and innovation. “In the vanguard of the reform and opening up, Guangdong has made major contribution to China’s economic development,” Li said.

Given the complicated situation this year, Li said he hoped the region would continue to take the lead in reform, cutting red tape, eliminating barriers and facing global competition. The province should encourage new industries by promoting new technology and supporting startups in all sectors. More needs to be done to encourage investment in upgrades of traditional sectors and in personnel, Li said.

Speaking to lawmakers from Hainan, Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, said cultural and ideological progress is needed along with material progress to achieve the goals set in the 13th Five-Year Plan. (Xinhua)…[+]

CHICAGO  — Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar showed strength, despite weaker U.S. equities.

The most active gold contract for April delivery fell 1.1 U.S. dollars, or 0.09 percent, to settle at 1,262.90 dollars per ounce.

Gold was put under pressure as the U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies, rose on Tuesday. Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions. Volume is expected to be low for the remainder of the week as other than the weekly jobless claims data, no major economic data is expected to be released.

Traders are waiting for next week, as a large quantity of economic data is expected to be released each day, in addition to the monthly Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Analysts believe that a delay in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate hike remains inevitable due to economic instability.(Xinhua)…[+]

LASHKAR GAH  (Xinhua) — At least eight persons were killed after Taliban gunmen attacked government offices in Gereshk district of southern Afghanistan’s province of Helmand on Wednesday, an official said.

“The gunbattle started roughly at 6:00 a.m. local time. Sporadic clashes are going on as security forces are repelling the attack at around midday. Those killed included seven attackers and one policeman,” Abdul Jabar Qahraman, a senior provincial security official, told Xinhua.

The militants seized a building and fired on district governor office, police station and the nearby educational department in the key district located in the northeastern part of provincial capital Lashkar Gah, 555 km south of Afghan capital of Kabul.

“The initial information said 10 men armed with weapons and suicide jackets were involved in the attack. They arrived by vehicles and took position in separate locations in the district before security forces push them back,” Qahraman said, adding the security forces were involved in a counter-attack to arrest or eliminate the remaining militants.(Xinhua)…[+]

“Women are most affected by the crisis in the country”, said Chandrikapersad Santokhi, chairman of the Vooruitstrevende Hervormings Partij (VHP). On Sunday he attended a meeting of the party’s female members in connection to the International Women’s Day (today). Santokhi is worried about the women’s position due to the social-economic crisis in the country. According to him the women will be the ones feeling the consequences first because they have important responsibilities for their households and children…[+]

SOUTH KOREA – The only North Korean defector in South Korea who has publicly said she wants to return to her home country, insisting that she arrived here by mistake, applied for political asylum at the Vietnamese Embassy in Seoul on Monday.

The woman, Kim Ryen-hi, 46, walked into the embassy and asked it to accept her as a refugee and to help her return to North Korea. More than two hours later, South Korean police officers, who entered the embassy at its request, escorted her out.

(New York Times)…[+]

USA – It was a photograph that for many summed up that there is nothing more natural than a woman breastfeeding her baby. Indeed, after Margaret Bradford was photographed feeding her daughter during the middle of a Bernie Sanders rally, the Vermont senator’s campaign tweeted the image, saying nobody should be stigmatised for feeding their child in public. The photo inspired the hashtag #BoobsForBernie and new mothers across the US have shared images of themselves and their children.(Independent UK)…[+]