Pakistan floods have affected over 30 million people – climate change minister; Afghanistan flood toll tops 180
Karachi, Pakistan Reuters Historic monsoon rains and flooding in Pakistan have affected more than 30 million people over the last few weeks, the country’s climate change minister said on Thursday, calling the situation a “climate-induced humanitarian disaster of epic proportions”. Pakistan has urged the international community to help with relief efforts as it struggles to […]
Fighting flares for second day in northern Ethiopia -residents
Nairobi, Kenya Reuters Fighting flared for a second day in northern Ethiopia, residents said on Thursday, an outbreak of violence that has shattered hopes for fledgling peace talks between the government and forces from the Tigray region. “We are frequently hearing the sound of heavy weapons, more than the previous days,” a farmer in Amhara’s […]
Zelenskiy says crisis averted as Russian-held Ukraine nuclear plant regains power
Reuters President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the world narrowly avoided a radiation disaster on Thursday as the last regular line supplying electricity to Ukraine’s Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was restored hours after being cut. Zelenskiy blamed shelling by Russia’s military for fires in the ash pits of a nearby coal power station that disconnected the […]
Macron may find Algeria’s leaders hard to woo in trip
Algiers, Algeria/Paris, France Reuters French President Emmanuel Macron hopes his three-day trip to Algeria from Thursday will end a diplomatic row and allow him to develop his relationship with young Algerians, but the North African country’s leaders may prove hard to win over. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune wants solid investment commitments – which seem unlikely to […]
Flooding devastates rural areas south of Sudan’s capital
Al Managil, Sudan Reuters After annual rains that have left dozens dead in Sudan, thousands of people in the farming town of Al Managil and surrounding villages have lost homes and property in what they say is the worst flooding in a decade. “We’ve lost everything,” said 29-year-old Butheyna Alhadi, speaking to Reuters amid the […]
Sight Helpdesk: Do you use predictive text? Chances are it’s not saving you time – and could even be slowing you down
In an article published on The Conversation, PER OLA KRISTENSSON, professor of interactive systems engineering at the University of Cambridge, says predictive text may not make typing faster or more efficient…
Fatal stabbings highlight violence against women in Egypt
Cairo, Egypt Reuters A series of violent crimes against women in Egypt has drawn attention to gaps in legal and social protections that leave female citizens vulnerable to attacks and harassment, victims and activists say. The highest profile case was the murder in late June of 21-year-old student Nayera Ashraf, who was stabbed 19 times […]
Afghan women open library to counter growing isolation
Kabul, AfghanistanReuters Afghan women’s rights activists opened a library in Kabul on Wednesday, hoping to provide an oasis for women increasingly cut off from education and public life under the ruling Taliban. Since taking over Afghanistan a year ago, the Islamist Taliban have said women should not leave the home without a male relative and […]
Pandemic sets back Asia-Pacific’s poverty fight by two years – ADB
Manila, The PhilippinesReuters The pandemic has set back the fight against poverty in the Asia-Pacific region by at least two years, and many nations will find it harder to escape poverty, the Asian Development Bank said on Wednesday. Had the pandemic not happened, the proportion of people in the region facing extreme poverty – defined […]
No fuel, no hope: Sri Lankans flee crisis in mass brain drain
DIMUTHU ATTANAYAKE, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how the cost of living crisis is fuelling the exodus of Sri Lankan professionals…