Ukraine claims control over Kyiv region as Russia looks east
Zaporizhzhia, UkraineReuters Ukraine said on Saturday its forces had seized back all areas around Kyiv, claiming complete control of the capital region for the first time since Russia launched the invasion. As Russian troops regrouped for battles in east Ukraine, towns surrounding Kyiv bore scars of five weeks of fighting. Dead civilians laid scattered over […]
Updated: Pope blasts Russia’s “infantile” war, EU-Libya deal in Malta
Updated 7.30am, 4th April, 2022 (AEST)Valletta, Malta AP Pope Francis said Saturday he was considering a possible visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and blasted the leader who launched a “savage” war, delivering his most pointed denunciation yet of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In his remarks in Malta, Francis didn’t cite President Vladimir Putin […]
Brazilian democracy is under threat, says head of electoral court
Brasilia, BrazilReuters Brazilian democracy is being “threatened”, Edson Fachin, the president of Brazil’s electoral court, the TSE, said on Friday, saying the country faced “a turbulent period” ahead of a fraught October presidential election. Fachin’s comments come as polls show President Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right former army who has repeatedly questioned the credibility of Brazil’s […]
Red Cross heads again for Mariupol as Russia shifts Ukraine focus
Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine Reuters A Red Cross convoy travelling to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol will make another attempt to evacuate civilians from the besieged port on Saturday as Russian forces looked to be regrouping for new attacks in the south-east. Mariupol, encircled since the early days of Russia’s five-week-old invasion, has been Moscow’s main target […]
Anti-migrant vigilante group Dudula stokes tensions in South Africa
Johannesburg, South AfricaReuters Shopkeepers pulled down their metal shutters and foreign staff stayed out of sight as hundreds marched through a Johannesburg neighbourhood demanding that migrants leave and that their jobs go to South Africans. The march through dilapidated Hillbrow, where many African migrants live, was organised by Operation Dudula, a vigilante group whose activities […]
Sri Lanka declares emergency after violent protests over economic crisis
Colombo, Sri Lanka Reuters Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a nationwide public emergency late on Friday following violent protests over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades. In a Sri Lankan government gazette notification, Rajapaksa said the decision was taken in the interests of public security, the protection of public order, and to ensure […]
Papal tour: In Malta, Pope Francis models mercy for migrants while condemning corruption
CLAIRE GIANGRAVÉ, of Religion News Service, reports on expectations ahead of Pope Francis’ trip to Malta this weekend…
Yemen’s warring parties agree two-month truce in major breakthrough
Aden, Yemen Reuters The warring sides in Yemen’s seven-year conflict have for the first time in years agreed a nationwide truce, which would also allow fuel imports into Houthi-held areas and some flights operating from Sana’a airport, the UN envoy said on Friday. The UN-brokered deal between a Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi group aligned […]
Religious leaders join in anti-corruption fight in Malawi
Nairobi, Kenya Malawi’s pastors, priests, imams, and other religious leaders are carrying out a nationwide campaign to fight corruption in a country where corruption is endemic. For decades, the landlocked country in south-eastern Africa has been characterised by rampant corruption. The nation of nearly 20 million people experiences various types of corruption, from politicians looting […]
Bodies and tanks mark path as Russia moves troops from Kyiv
Dmytivka, UkraineReuters Ukraine recaptured more territory around Kyiv from Russian soldiers who left shattered villages and their own abandoned tanks as they moved away from the capital, while a disputed cross-border strike in Russia complicated peace talks on Friday. In the hamlet of Dmytrivka to the west of the capital, smoke was still rising from […]