Thousands of protesters mark two years since Beirut blast
Beirut, LebanonReuters Thousands of protesters marched tearfully in the Lebanese capital on Thursday, marking two years since a cataclysmic explosion at the Beirut port, with chants denouncing the government’s failure to uncover the truth behind the blast. In a grim reminder of the disaster, several grain silos that were left heavily damaged by the blast collapsed on […]
Ukraine under pressure in east as NATO chief says Russia must not win
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Ukraine said on Thursday it had been forced to cede some territory in the east of the country in the face of a Russian offensive, and the head of the NATO military alliance said Moscow must not be allowed to win the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy this week described the pressure his […]
Russia sentences Griner to nine years in prison, White House calls for her release
Khimki, RussiaReuters A Russian court sentenced US basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison on Thursday after finding her guilty of deliberately bringing cannabis-infused vape cartridges into Russia, a ruling that US President Joe Biden called “unacceptable”. Griner was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs by police after the ruling, turning to […]
Ukraine health crisis worsens as medics work amid shelling – WHO
London, UKReuters Ukraine is facing a worsening health emergency as the conflict with Russia rages on, the World Health Organization said, with a combination of burnt-out staff, increased shelling and the approach of winter fuelling the agency’s concerns. There have been 434 attacks on healthcare facilities in the country, out of 615 such attacks reported […]
On the Screen: Murder and mayhem on the Kyoto Express
MARCUS CHEONG watches ‘Bullet Train’…
In El Salvador, discrepancy over deaths and mass graves alarms critics
San Salvador Reuters In El Salvador, testimony from police officers and conflicting statistics on mass graves are leading critics to question if homicides in the Central American country are being fully reported as access to official information tightens. Despite a group of police officers, prosecutors and forensic experts cross-checking statistics of homicides and mass graves, […]
Significant Sights: Splendid Byzantine churches head Thessaloniki’s holy sites
GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO, of Associated Press, explores Greece’s second largest city…
Clergy, bags of cash set off new sectarian brawl in Lebanon
Beirut, LebanonAP A Lebanese archbishop who carried more than $US460,000 from Israel to Lebanon is at the centre of the latest sectarian showdown in crisis-hit Lebanon, and the case could even spill over into presidential politics. The situation has ramped up discord between two powerful political camps: Lebanon’s Shi’ite Muslim Hezbollah group and the Maronite […]
Heatwaves increasing in India but related deaths fall
New Delhi, India Reuters Temperatures during India’s monsoon season have risen this century and the country could see more frequent heatwaves in future, the government said on Wednesday, but it added heat-related deaths have fallen in recent years. India suffered its hottest March in more than a century this year and temperatures were unusually high […]
Christian flag in speech battle flies, briefly, over US city of Boston
Boston, USAP The Christian flag that became the focus of a free speech legal battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court was raised — briefly — outside Boston City Hall on Wednesday to cheers and songs of praise. The flag-raising took place about three months after the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision […]