Postcards: Model soldiers and secret bunkers on Taiwan’s front line with China
BEN BLANCHARD and ANN WANG, of Reuters, report from an island on what was historically the front line between Taiwan and China in a time of rising tensions…
Violence against Brazil’s Indigenous people rose last year, report finds
Brasilia, BrazilReuters Violence against Brazil’s Indigenous people increased last year as land disputes and invasions of their reservations rose and the government failed to provide protection, the Catholic Church’s Indigenous Missionary Council said on Thursday. Its annual report on violence against the descendents of Brazil’s original inhabitants said there were 182 murders of Indigenous people […]
Unusual secrecy attends Biden’s first meeting with Pope Francis as President
Washington DC, US/Rome, ItalyRNS When President Ronald Reagan visited St John Paul II in June of 1982 with first lady Nancy Reagan, the press trailed the distinguished group as the pontiff squired the couple and their staffers to the Vatican’s inner sanctums and looked on, according to a New York Times reporter, as “a group […]
US to pay $US88 million to families, victims of Charleston church massacre
Washington DC, USAP Families of nine victims killed in a racist attack at a Black South Carolina church have reached a settlement with the Justice Department over a faulty background check that allowed Dylann Roof to purchase the gun he used in the 2015 massacre. The Justice Department will pay $US88 million, which includes $US63 million for the families of the nine […]
Only five African countries may fully vaccinate 40 per cent of population by year-end – WHO Africa
Nairobi, KenyaReuters Only five African countries will meet the target of fully vaccinating 40% of their populations against COVID-19 unless the pace of inoculations accelerates across the continent, World Health Organization said on Thursday. The COVID-19 vaccine rollout may be slowed by an “imminent shortfall” of up to 2.2 billion auto-disposable syringes globally needed to […]
China cracks down on vanity-project super skyscrapers
Beijing, ChinaReuters China has restricted the construction of extremely tall skyscrapers in smaller cities as part of a crackdown on wasteful vanity projects by local governments. Without special approval, cities with populations of less than three million must not build skyscrapers taller than 150 metres, and cities with larger populations must not construct buildings higher […]
UN biodiversity chief urges COP26 climate talks to prioritise nature
Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaThomson Reuters Foundation Any new pledges made at the upcoming COP26 climate summit must include protection and restoration of natural areas, said the UN biodiversity chief – a move that could give a boost to ongoing efforts to broker a separate global nature pact. About 195 countries are set to finalise a new […]
Sight Helpdesk: Five tips to stop your computers slowing down after updates
In an article first published on The Conversation, OMPRAKASH KAIWARTYA and MUFTI MAHMUD, both of Nottingham Trent University in the UK, provide some advice on how to avoid slow downs…
Slowdowns and shutdowns: Africans challenge internet restrictions
Nairobi, Kenya/Durban, South AfricaThomson Reuters Foundation Internet curbs and shutdowns in African countries have disrupted communication and complicated everyday life for millions of people over the last year, with Sudan becoming the latest nation hit by sweeping connectivity blocks this week. Telecommunications were interrupted in Sudan on Monday after the army seized power from a transitional government in a coup […]
Israel moves ahead with thousands of settler homes despite US opposition
Jerusalem, IsraelReuters Israel moved forward on Wednesday with plans to build some 3,000 homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, defying the Biden administration’s strongest criticism to date of such projects. A senior Palestinian official said the decision showed that Israel’s new government, led by far-right politician Naftali Bennett, was “no less extreme” […]