PM apologises as Greece counts costs of wildfire catastrophe
Pefki, GreeceReuters Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis apologised on Monday for failures in tackling the devastating wildfires that have burned across Greece for the past week as the country counted the cost in lost homes and livelihoods. As fires burned unabated in many parts of the country for a seventh day, the biggest front was […]
Once-in-50-year heat waves now happening every decade – UN climate report
Brasilia, BrazilReuters Extreme heat waves that previously only struck once every 50 years are now expected to happen once per decade because of global warming, while downpours and droughts have also become more frequent, a UN climate science report said on Monday. The report found that we are already experiencing those effects of climate change, as […]
UN climate change report sounds “code red for humanity”
Updated 12.30pm (AEST)Reuters Global warming is dangerously close to spiralling out of control, a UN climate panel said in a landmark report Monday, warning the world is already certain to face further climate disruptions for decades, if not centuries, to come. Humans are “unequivocally” to blame, the report from the scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel […]
Updated: French priest killed by cathedral fire suspect – minister
Updated 8.45am, 10th August (AEST)Paris, FranceAP A priest was killed Monday in a small town in western France allegedly by a Rwandan man he had housed who was already under investigation for setting a fire to the Cathedral of Nantes a year ago, France’s interior minister said. Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin spoke after meeting with […]
Wildfires: “a new part of our reality” in warming Europe
Thomson Reuters Foundation Wildfires are burning across southern Europe, a new fact of life in fast-warming Europe, with eight dead in Turkey, 100-plus fires in Greece and mass evacuations across Italy. For the woman leading the Red Cross in Europe, which has been spearheading rescue efforts, the spate of summer wildfires – as well as floods […]
Heavy rain in Sichuan forces evacuation of 80,000 people – state media
Shanghai, ChinaReuters More than 80,000 people have been evacuated because of heavy rains and floods in the south-western Chinese province of Sichuan, state media reported on Monday. Water levels at major rivers in the province were above warning levels following heavy rainfall from Friday to Sunday. One reservoir in the city of Dazhou exceeded its […]
One month after Haitian President slain, painful confusion prevails
Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters A month after assassins slipped into President Jovenel Moise’s private residence under the cover of nightfall and carried out a brazen attack on the head of state, the Caribbean country remains far from any clarity about the crime or emotional closure. Haitian authorities claim a group of foreign mercenaries assassinated the 53-year-old […]
UN condemns Zimbabwe child marriages as girl dies after giving birth
Harare, ZimbabweReuters The United Nations has condemned the practise of child marriage in Zimbabwe following the death of a 14-year-old girl after she gave birth at a church shrine, an incident that caused outrage among citizens and rights activists. The case has brought to the fore the practice of child marriage within Zimbabwe’s apostolic churches, […]
Some praise, some doubts: Reactions mixed to Facebook’s new prayer tool
HOLLY MEYER and DAVID CRARY, of Associated Press, report on reactions to Facebook’s new prayer feature rolled out in the US recently…
Anti-military protests in Myanmar on anniversary of 1988 uprising
Reuters Protests against Myanmar’s military government broke out across the nation on Sunday, the anniversary of the bloody suppression of a 1988 uprising against a previous army junta. At least six separate protests were documented on Facebook pages of opponents of the military, which seized power from the elected government six months ago and detained its […]