Pope names women to bishops advisory committee for first time
Reuters Pope Francis has named three women, two nuns and a lay woman, to a previously all-male committee that advises him in selecting the world’s bishops, the Vatican said on Wednesday. He had disclosed the decision in an exclusive interview with Reuters earlier this month, explaining he wanted to give women more senior and influential […]
After Sri Lankan President flees to Maldives, protesters storm Prime Minister’s office
Colombo, Sri LankaReuters Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on Wednesday, driven out after an economic collapse unleashed a popular uprising that appeared to end his family’s near two-decade dominance of the country. His decision to leave his ally Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in charge as acting President triggered more demonstrations, with […]
Updated: Breakthrough at Ukraine grain export talks as heavy shelling continues
Updated: 10.30am (AEST)Istanbul, Turkey/United Nations, New York Reuters Ukraine, the United Nations and Turkey hailed progress at talks in Istanbul that aim to resume Black Sea grain exports blocked by Russia and ease the risk of starvation faced by millions, but an end to the war remained far off as heavy shelling continued. Turkey’s Defence […]
Chinese cities break heat records, weather extremes to persist
Beijing, China Reuters Several Chinese cities broke new records for high temperatures on Tuesday as scorching heat and contrasting relentless rains wreaked havoc, with local forecasters expecting the weather extremes to linger for days. Red alerts, the highest in a three-tier warning system, were dispersed throughout the country on Tuesday and cities took measures to […]
UN aid deliveries to Syria from Turkey extended until January
United NationsReuters The United Nations Security Council voted on Tuesday to allow UN aid deliveries from Turkey to some four million people in northwest Syria to continue until 10th January, reaching a deal on its third attempt after the mandate for the operation expired. The United States, Britain and France abstained from the vote because […]
StrangeSights: An unusual ‘I voted’ sticker; enjoying some music – underwater; and, ‘Manhattanhenge’…
DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
Explainer: How Sri Lanka spiralled into crisis
Reuters Sri Lanka’s economic crisis looks to have finally toppled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa fled the country early on Wednesday, likely headed to the Maldives, hours before he was to have left office. Demonstrators celebrate after entering into the Presidential Secretariat, after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled, amid the country’s economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka […]
Updated: Sri Lankan President flees to Maldives as protests end clan dominance
Updated: 3:15pm (AEST)Colombo, Sri LankaReuters Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country early on Wednesday, two sources told Reuters, hours before he was due to step down amid widespread protests over his handling of a devastating economic crisis. Rajapaksa, his wife and two bodyguards left aboard a Sri Lankan Air Force plane, an immigration […]
Gang violence traps thousands in town near Haiti’s capital
Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters Gun battles between rival Haitian gangs near the capital Port-au-Prince have left thousands trapped in a small coastal town without access to water, food or medical care, a local pastor and a foreign aid group said on Tuesday. More than 50 people have been killed since Friday in the town of Cite […]
A 500-year-old icon looted from divided Cyprus repatriated
Nicosia, Cyprus AP A 500-year-old Orthodox icon that was looted from a church in the breakaway north of ethnically divided Cyprus has been returned to the island. The icon of the Enthroned Christ, which Cyprus’ Antiquities Department dates to around the end of the 15th century to the early 16th century, was presented at a […]