US places Russia on human trafficking, child soldier lists
Washington DC, USReuters The United States on Tuesday placed Russia on lists of countries engaged in a “policy or pattern” of human trafficking and forced labor or whose security forces or government-backed armed groups recruit or use child soldiers. The State Department included the lists in its annual human trafficking report, which for the first […]
Kidnapped Nigerian Catholic priest found dead, another escapes
Lagos, NigeriaReuters A Nigerian Catholic priest abducted last week was found murdered on Tuesday while his colleague managed to escaped from his captors in the northern state of Kaduna, the local diocese said. Fathers John Mark Cheitnum and Donatus Cleophas were seized in the town of Lere when attending a parish function at Christ the […]
Russia deepens Iran ties against West, hits Ukraine with more missiles
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Russian President Vladimir Putin met Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Tuesday, stressing closer ties in the face of Western pressure over the war in Ukraine, where Russian forces struck more targets across the country. During his Iran visit Putin also met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to discuss a deal […]
France battles huge wildfires, Britain bakes in record heatwave
London, UK/Paris, France Reuters Firefighters in south-western France battled on Tuesday to contain massive forest wildfires and Britain recorded its highest ever temperature, while Portugal reported more than 1,000 heatwave-related deaths as Europe scorches. Southern and western Germany and Belgium were also braced for potentially record-breaking temperatures as the heatwave, which scientists attribute to climate […]
Two Catholic priests abducted in Nigeria, diocese says
Abuja, NigeriaReuters Two Nigerian Catholic priests have been abducted in Nigeria’s northern state of Kaduna, the local diocese said, nearly two weeks after another priest was taken from his parish in the same state. Fathers John Mark Cheitnum and Donatus Cleopas were abducted in the town of Lere after they arrived for a parish function […]
Sri Lankans to protest against Wickremesinghe’s bid for president
Colombo, Sri LankaReuters Sri Lankan students and other groups planned to protest on Tuesday against Ranil Wickremesinghe’s expected bid for president, as lawmakers gathered in parliament to finalise candidates for the role. Six-time Prime Minister Wickremesinghe took over as acting President after a popular uprising amid a devastating economic crisis forced previous incumbent Gotabaya Rajapaksa […]
Haitians choose between school fees or food as costs rise
Port-au-Prince, HaitiThomson Reuters Foundation Haitian domestic worker Rose Marie Saint-Fort had to pull two of her three teenage children out of classes this year as spiraling living costs meant she could no longer afford their school fees. Like a majority of Haitians, Saint-Fort spends more than 60 per cent of her income on food. With […]
Bolsonaro attacks Brazil’s election system in briefing for diplomats
Brasilia, BrazilReuters President Jair Bolsonaro invited the diplomatic corps on Monday to hear his charges that Brazil’s election system was open to fraud ahead of October elections in which he is trailing in a bid for a second term. “The system is completely vulnerable,” he told some 40 diplomats invited to his residence in an […]
Allies seek to follow US lead on Xinjiang forced labour ban – US official
Washington DC, USReuters US allies appear committed to following Washington’s lead banning forced labour goods from China’s Xinjiang region, a senior US official told Reuters on Monday, warning companies they could not maintain “deliberate ignorance” about their supply chains. The United States’ Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) took effect last month to cut US imports […]
‘The Dish’
In the wonderful Aussie movie The Dish there is such poignancy around the relationship between Mitch and Al, the American. The famous Parkes radio telescope featured in the Australian film ‘The Dish’. PICTURE: Victoria Kennedy/Unsplash It’s not something you see in films much, but it seems to describe so many of my real-life relationships. Mitch feels insecure […]