Russia’s war aims in Ukraine widen; Ukrainian First Lady appeals to US Congress
Reuters Russia’s military “tasks” in Ukraine now go beyond the eastern Donbas region, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday, as its forces shelled eastern and southern Ukraine. Lavrov also told state news agency RIA Novosti that Moscow’s objectives will expand still further if the West keeps supplying Kyiv with long-range weapons such as the […]
Wildfires rage across Europe as climate alarm sounded
Athens, Greece/London, UKReuters Emergency services battled wildfires across swathes of southern Europe amid mass evacuations on Wednesday, as warnings sounded in London after Britain’s hottest day that the fight against climate change needed to be stepped up. Hundreds fled in central Italy as gas tanks exploded in a forest fire near the Tuscan town of […]
UN slams killings, rights abuses under Afghanistan’s Taliban
Islamabad, PakistanReuters Hundreds of people have been killed in Afghanistan since the Taliban overran the country nearly a year ago, even though security on the whole has improved since then, the United Nations said in a report Wednesday. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan also highlighted the poor situation of women and girls since […]
Updated: Sri Lanka gets new president in six-time PM Wickremesinghe
Updated: 10.40pm, 21st July, 2022 (AEST)Colombo, Sri LankaReuters Sri Lankan lawmakers voted in acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe as the new President on Wednesday, hoping his long experience in government can help pull the country out of a crippling economic and political crisis. The six-time Prime Minister won 134 votes in the 225-member parliament, despite public […]
More than 200 people die as drought ravages northeast Uganda
Kampala, UgandaReuters More than 200 people have died from hunger this month in north-eastern Uganda, where a prolonged drought and rampant insecurity have left more than half a million facing starvation, a local official and a charity worker said. Inhabited by nomadic pastoralists, the semi-arid and remote Karamoja region on the border with Kenya has […]
Australians urged to work from home as winter Omicron wave swamps hospitals
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australians admitted to hospitals from COVID-19 neared record levels on Wednesday as authorities urged businesses to let staff work from home and recommended people wear masks indoors and get booster shots urgently amid a major outbreak. Australia is in the grip of a third Omicron wave driven by the highly transmissible new subvariants, […]
As COVID patent war rages on, pharma group seeks fairer future access
London, UK Reuters An alliance of companies has pledged to ensure equitable access to vaccines and treatments for pandemics, as the friction around intellectual property rights for COVID-19 interventions between the pharmaceutical industry and developing nations endures. At the heart of the plan is a commitment to set aside part of the production of vaccines […]
StrangeSights: Italy’s oldest student graduates – again; Chile’s unusual bestseller; and, Venezuelan turns heads (including his own)
DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
Explainer – How climate change drives heatwaves and wildfires in Europe
Brussels, BelgiumReuters Europe is in the grip of a record-breaking heatwave and wildfires are raging across the Mediterranean. Here’s how climate change drives these events… Hotter, more frequent heatwavesClimate change makes heatwaves hotter and more frequent. This is the case for most land regions, and has been confirmed by the UN’s global panel of climate […]
Greek Church protests US baptism for celebrity same-sex parents
Athens, GreeceAP Greece’s Orthodox Church says it will send a letter of protest to the archbishop who heads the church in the United States after he baptised the children of celebrity fashion designer Peter Dundas and his partner, Evangelo Bousis. Archbishop Elpidophoros of America presided at the 9th July ceremony near Athens while in Greece […]