Pakistan floods cost at least $US10 billion – planning minister
Islamabad, PakistanReuters Early estimates put the damage from Pakistan’s deadly floods at more than $US10 billion, its planning minister said on Monday, adding that the world has an obligation to help the South Asian nation cope with the effects of man-made climate change. Unprecedented flash floods caused by historic monsoon rains have washed away roads, […]
Ukraine launches counter-offensive in south as Russia shells port city
Mykolaiv/Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters Ukrainian troops bolstered by stepped-up Western military aid launched a long-awaited counter-offensive to retake territory in the south on Monday as Russian forces shelled residential areas of the Black Sea port city of Mykolaiv. Moscow acknowledged a new offensive had been launched but said it had failed and the Ukrainians had suffered […]
Clashes kill 10 as Iraq’s Sadr quits politics, loyalists storm complex
Baghdad, Iraq Reuters Heavy clashes erupted in Baghdad, killing at least 10 people on Monday, after powerful Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said he would quit politics, prompting his loyalists to storm a government palace and fight with rival groups. As night fell, machine-gun fire and explosions rang out, with tracer fire rising into the sky […]
IAEA mission heads to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant; Russia pounds Donbas
Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters A team from the UN nuclear watchdog was on its way on Monday to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the agency’s chief said, as Russia and Ukraine traded accusations of shelling in its vicinity, fuelling fears of a radiation disaster. Captured by Russian troops in March but run by Ukrainian staff, Zaporizhzhia has […]
Australian PM focused on workplace reform as he marks 100 days in office
Sydney, Australia Reuters Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government was focused on jobs and workplace reform as the country faces economic challenges in the recovery phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a speech in Canberra to mark 100 days of Labor government, Albanese said his government had a growth agenda that was pro-business […]
Explainer: Untangling the crisis in Libya
Reuters Libya’s worst fighting for two years suddenly hit the capital, Tripoli, on Saturday. This explains what led to the violence, why it matters, and how things may play out. How did Libya fall apart?Libya’s fault lines surfaced as local groups took different positions in the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi. An attempted […]
Sudanese journalists form independent union to defend freedoms
Khartoum, Sudan Reuters Sudanese journalists have formed the country’s first independent professional union for decades, in what campaigners said was an important step towards re-establishing freedoms after a military coup. “The victory is to regain our syndicate after more than 30 years in order to defend the freedom and professionalism of the press,” said one […]
Protesters march in Belgrade against planned gay Pride event
Belgrade, Serbia Reuters Thousands of religious and right-wing opponents of a European gay Pride event to be hosted by Belgrade protested through the Serbian capital on Sunday, even though the government has said it would scrap or delay the Pride event. Belgrade is due to host the EuroPride march on 17th September, an event staged […]
Heat or eat?: Winter protests loom as energy poverty sweeps Europe
JOANNA GILL, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how spreading strikes and protests over energy-fuelled inflation is forcing politicians into a corner over climate goals…
Quake-hit Mexico church with iconic Virgin image gets rehab
Mexico City, MexicoAP Under a white tent on the street outside Our Lady of the Angels on a recent Sunday, Rev Adrián Vázquez led parishioners seated in pews and plastic chairs in celebrating 10 o’clock Mass, flanked by piles of rubble from the sanctuary left there by a deadly earthquake nearly five years ago. […]