Updated: Floods hit south-east Australia, forcing evacuations
Updated: 11am (AEST)Melbourne, AustraliaReuters Fresh evacuation orders were issued for thousands of Sydney residents on Monday after relentless rains flooded several suburbs in Australia’s largest city, with officials warning of more wild weather over the next 12 hours. An intense low-pressure system off Australia’s east coast is forecast to bring more heavy rain through Monday […]
Zelenskiy vows to regain Lysychansk after Ukrainian withdrawal; Australian PM visits Kyiv
Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday acknowledged Kyiv’s forces had withdrawn from Lysychansk in the eastern Donbas region after a grinding Russian assault, but vowed to regain control over the area with the help of long-range Western weapons. Russia said its capture of the city of Lysychansk less than a week after […]
China lashed by year’s first typhoon, record rains forecast
Shanghai, ChinaReuters China’s first typhoon of the year brought gales and rain to its southern shores on Saturday, as forecasters warned of record rainfall and high disaster risk in provinces including Guangdong, the country’s most populous. Typhoon Chaba, the Thai name for the hibiscus flower, was moving northwest at 15 to 20 kilometres per hour […]
How an “inflammatory” Facebook post led to a killing and sectarian tension in India
Udaipur, India Reuters Two weeks before a Hindu tailor in India was hacked to death by two Muslim men who filmed the act, he was briefly detained by police after a rival tailor accused him of an “inflammatory” Facebook post on Prophet Mohammad. Kanhaiyalal Teli’s son told Reuters his father had reposted a Facebook post […]
Palestinians pin scant hope on Biden visit after setbacks under Trump
RamallahReuters As the United States strives to boost defence ties between Israel and Arab states, Palestinians await with increasing gloom the first visit of President Joe Biden after what they see as a string of broken promises by Washington. Requests for the reopening of the US consulate in Jerusalem, closed by former President Donald Trump, […]
UNESCO declares borshch protected Ukrainian heritage at risk from Russian invasion
Kyiv, Ukraine/Paris, France Reuters Ukraine claimed victory in an age-old culinary dispute with Russia on Friday after the United Nations’ cultural agency placed a traditional beetroot soup on its list of protected Ukrainian cultural heritage. Paris-based UNESCO announced in a statement that it had placed borshch, a rich crimson soup packed with vegetables, on a […]
After Roe v Wade: In the US, anti-abortion movement faces internal divisions
BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, reports that in the wake of the Dobbs decision, abortion foes hope to ban abortion where they can and find ‘creative approaches’ like shareholder activism to punish abortion rights supporters…
Pope urges Congo, South Sudan to work for peace, prosperity; Musk meets Pope
Rome, Italy AP Pope Francis urged the people and leaders of Congo and South Sudan on Saturday to “turn a page” and forge new paths of reconciliation, peace and development. Francis issued a video message on the day he had planned to begin a weeklong pilgrimage to the two African countries. He canceled the scheduled […]
Fighting intensifies for Ukraine’s last bastion in eastern Luhansk province
Kyiv, Ukraine/Konstyantynivka, Ukraine Reuters Fighting intensified on Saturday for Lysychansk, Ukraine’s last bastion in the strategic eastern province of Luhansk, while blasts shook a southern city after the civilian toll from Russian strikes climbed in towns well behind the front lines. Rodion Miroshnik, ambassador to Russia of the pro-Moscow self-styled Luhansk People’s Republic, told Russian […]