Group clings to faith as US works on Haiti kidnapping case
Port-au-Prince, Haiti AP A US religious organisation whose 17 members were kidnapped in Haiti asked supporters on Friday to pray and share stories with the victims’ families of how their faith helped them through difficult times as efforts to recover them entered a sixth day. Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries issued the statement a day after […]
Huge blast kills 16 at Russian chemicals plant
Moscow, RussiaReuters Sixteen people were killed in an explosion and fire at a gunpowder and chemicals plant in Russia’s western Ryazan province on Friday, Russian state TV said, and one man was taken to hospital with serious burns. Firefighters work to put out a fire at a gunpowder and chemicals plant in Ryazan Region, Russi, […]
At United Nations, Afghan women appeal: don’t let Taliban in
United NationsReuters A group of Afghan women urged the United Nations to block the Taliban from gaining a seat at the world body, calling for better representation for their country during a visit to the organisation’s New York headquarters on Thursday. “It’s very simple,” former Afghan politician and peace negotiator Fawzia Koofi told reporters outside […]
Snapshot: Inle Lake, Myanmar
See JULIEN de SALABERRY’s image…
43 countries criticise China at UN for repression of Uighurs
United NationsAP More than 40 mainly Western countries criticised China at a UN meeting on Thursday for the reported torture and repression of Uighurs and other religious and ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, keeping a spotlight on the region where foreign governments and researchers say an estimated one million people or more have been confined in […]
Melbourne reopens as world’s most locked-down city eases pandemic restrictions
Melbourne, AustraliaReuters Melbourne residents flocked to the city’s pubs, restaurants and hair salons in the early hours of Friday after the world’s most locked-down city emerged from its latest spate of restrictions designed to combat the spread of COVID-19. Australia’s second-largest city has so far endured 262 days, or nearly nine months, of restrictions during […]
Late monsoon floods kill more than 150 in India and Nepal
New Delhi, IndiaReuters More than 150 people have died in flooding across India and Nepal in recent days, as heavy late monsoon rains triggered flash floods, destroyed homes, crops and infrastructure and left thousands stranded. The north Indian state of Uttarakhand has been especially badly hit, with 48 confirmed deaths, SA Murugesan, secretary of the […]
India among 11 “countries of concern” on climate change for US spy agencies
Washington DC, USReuters Afghanistan, India and Pakistan were among 11 countries singled out by US intelligence agencies on Thursday as being “highly vulnerable” in terms of their ability to prepare for and respond to environmental and societal crises caused by climate change. In a new National Intelligence Estimate, the Office of Director of National Intelligence […]
“Further off track”: NGOs scramble to dampen COVID-19’s impact on people living with HIV
BENJAMIN RYAN and KIM HARRISBERG, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, report on how those involved in the fight against HIV are battling to maintain services during the coronavirus pandemic…
Regret and defiance in Europe’s vaccine-shy east as COVID-19 rages
Riga, Latvia/Sofia, Bulgaria Reuters As Latvia goes into lockdown and hospitals in Bulgaria and Romania buckle under a COVID-19 surge while Poland sells surplus vaccine doses, many central and eastern Europeans are torn between defiance and regret over not getting inoculated. The region has the European Union’s lowest vaccination rates, an unwelcome distinction in which both […]