Record numbers of people displaced in their own countries in a “world falling apart”
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters In a world beset by conflicts and natural disasters, the number of people who fled their homes and sought shelter within their own countries hit a record high of close to 60 million by the end of last year, according to new data. Disasters, including weather events such as cyclones and floods […]
Sri Lanka fuel shortage set to ease; police clash with protesters
Colombo, Sri LankaReuters Sri Lanka’s central bank has secured foreign exchange to pay for fuel and cooking gas shipments that will ease crippling shortages, its governor said on Thursday, but police fired tear gas and water canon to push back student protesters. Most of Sri Lanka’s petrol stations have run dry as the island nation […]
Many Ukrainian fighters remain in Azovstal, commander says operation going on
London, UKReuters Russia’s siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol stuttered towards its end on Thursday, with hundreds of fighters still holed up in the Azovstal steel works and some 1,700 who have already surrendered facing an uncertain fate. A full abandonment of the bunkers and tunnels of the bombed-out plant would end the most […]
Explainer – Why monkeypox cases are rising in Europe
London, UKReuters A handful of cases of monkeypox have now been reported or are suspected in the United Kingdom, Portugal and Spain. The outbreaks are raising alarm because the disease mostly occurs in west and central Africa, and only very occasionally spreads elsewhere. An image created during an investigation into an outbreak of monkeypox, which […]
Ukraine President Zelenskiy’s life story told in new comic book
Reuters Handout image of a comic book cover about Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, obtained on 17th May. PICTURE: TidalWave Productions/Handout via Reuters. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s life story – from comedian to war-time leader – has been given the graphic novel treatment in TidalWave Comics’ latest biography, Political Power: Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The 22-page glossy, released on […]
Cardinal: Pope ordered auditor to resign over spying charge
Vatican City AP A Vatican cardinal testified on Wednesday that Pope Francis himself ordered the ouster of the Holy See’s auditor-general, turning the tables on a scandal that had sparked questions about the Vatican’s commitment to financial transparency and accountability. Cardinal Angelo Becciu opened a second day of questioning in the Vatican’s big financial fraud […]
Know It All: Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee
DAVID ADAMS looks at some facts and figures in relation to this year’s royal celebration…
Doctor who fought Californian church gunman remembered as kind protector
Aliso Viejo, California, USAP He was known by all as simply Dr John, the quiet, calm physician who mentored kids in Kung Fu, finding time between patient appointments to encourage people to learn self-defence. So it was no surprise to friends and colleagues that John Cheng spent his final moments saving others by rushing a […]
COVID or no COVID, Beijing diners won’t be denied their Peking duck
Beijing, ChinaReuters As restaurants in the Chinese capital drift in the doldrums of a COVID ban on dining in, one eatery manager and his army of chefs have set up stalls on the pavement to keep alive some of the old magic and drum up sales of their big seller, Peking duck. The ban on […]
Sri Lankan protesters include Tamil victims in war memorial
Colombo, Sri Lanka AP Sri Lankan protesters lit flames and offered prayers Wednesday remembering thousands – including ethnic Tamil civilians – killed in the final stages of the country’s decades-long civil war, in the first-ever event where mostly majority ethnic Sinhalese openly memorialised the minority group. Protesters gathered outside the President’s office floated flowers in […]