Colombia blames armed groups for protest violence, death toll still unclear
Bogota, ColombiaReuters Colombia’s defence minister on Monday blamed illegal armed groups for looting and vandalism during five days of street protests but would not confirm how many demonstrators have died. The protests, which began last week, demanded the withdrawal of a controversial tax reform proposed by the government of President Ivan Duque, who said Sunday […]
“No one should die”: Volunteers provide oxygen as India’s COVID tally nears 20 million
New Delhi/MumbaiReuters India’s tally of coronavirus infections rose on Monday to just short of 20 million, propelled by a 12th straight day of more than 300,000 new cases, as scientists predicted the pandemic could peak in the next couple of days. Total infections since the start of the pandemic have reached 19.93 million, swelled by […]
Israeli state watchdog to investigate religious festival stampede
Jerusalem, IsraelReuters Israel’s government watchdog said on Monday it would open an investigation into the deaths of 45 people crushed in a stampede at a Jewish religious festival last week. State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman said his office, which audits the government, would look into the circumstances surrounding the event at Mount Meron in the Galilee […]
On the Screen: Pain and beauty come to the fore in the raw emotion of ‘LAND’
DAVID ADAMS watches Robin Wright’s directorial debut, ‘LAND’…
Britain passes “life-saving” law on domestic abuse
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Britain passed “life-saving” domestic abuse legislation last week that campaigners say will protect millions of women, hold more abusers to account and clamp down harder on revenge porn. About 2.4 million people, mostly women, experience domestic abuse every year, according to the government. A woman looks towards dark clouds over the […]
Faith leaders concerned about Southern California temporary shelters for migrant children
Los Angeles, USRNS Faith leaders say they are concerned about new temporary shelters that have been set up at Southern California event centres to house unaccompanied migrant children. As of last Tuesday (26th April), more than 300 children were being housed in an emergency shelter at the Long Beach Convention Center in Los Angeles County. […]
“Hospitals are full” as Argentina COVID-19 cases hit three million
Buenos Aires, ArgentinaReuters Argentina coronavirus cases hit three million on Sunday since the pandemic began, as medical workers said hospitals were full to capacity despite toughened government measures to bring down the spread of infections. The country’s health ministry said there were 11,394 new cases over the last 24-hour period, bringing up the grim new […]
Indian industry body urges curbs to economic activity to save lives
New Delhi, IndiaReuters A leading Indian industry body urged authorities to take the “strongest national steps” and to curtail economic activity to save lives on Sunday as the country battles surging coronavirus cases that have overwhelmed the healthcare system. The rate of new infections dipped marginally but deaths kept climbing. Authorities reported 392,488 new cases […]
Planning for dry times: Women plant ‘water farms’ to fight drying soil in north-east Brazil
FABIO ZUKER, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how women farmers are using the umbu tree, which stores water in its roots, to help reforest the country’s semi-arid north-east…
At Orthodox Easter, pandemic and war hit tourism in Lalibela, holy Ethiopian site
Lalibela, EthiopiaReuters As they have done for hundreds of years on the Orthodox Easter weekend, priests wrapped in traditional white robes read the Bible by candlelight on Saturday evening in the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela in northern Ethiopia. The ancient ritual has been a tourist draw in recent years. Ethiopian Orthodox pilgrims attend the Easter […]