Trucker blockades in Brazil increase in wake of Bolsonaro election loss
Sao Paulo, BrazilReuters Truckers who support Brazil’s outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro escalated their protests on Monday, blocking roads in 20 states in an action that could affect agricultural exports in one of the world’s top food producers and cause wider economic chaos. Bolsonaro lost Sunday’s election to leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, […]
Postcards: In COP27 host Egypt, Red Sea coral reefs resilient but under stress
MARIAM RIZK, of Reuters, reports from Egypt’s Red Sea coast…
Members of US religious freedom panel speak out against China-Vatican deal
Vatican CityRNS Members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom criticised a recently renewed Vatican deal with China, saying it emboldens the Chinese government to crackdown on Christian communities. The secretive provisional agreement, originally signed in 2018 and renewed on 2nd October, allows Beijing to have a say in the appointment of bishops in the […]
Police arrest nine over Indian bridge collapse, toll reaches 134
Morbi, India Reuters Indian police arrested nine people on Monday, including ticketing clerks and contractors, as they investigate the collapse of a foot bridge in which at least 134 people, including many children, were killed. CCTV footage from just before the collapse showed a group of young men taking photos while others tried to rock […]
Iran indicts 1,000 over unrest, plans public trials – report
Dubai, United Arab AmiratesReuters Iran’s hardline judiciary will hold public trials of about 1,000 people indicted for unrest in Tehran, a semi-official news agency said on Monday, intensifying efforts to crush weeks of protests ignited by Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody. One of the boldest challenges to Iran’s clerical leaders since the 1979 Islamic […]
Grain ships sail from Ukraine ports as Russian missiles knock out power across country
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Ships carrying grain sailed from Ukrainian ports on Monday despite Moscow’s suspension of its participation in a UN program to ensure the safety of such cargoes amid an unrelenting war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country would continue implementing the programme, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July and aimed […]
India bridge collapse toll jumps to 134, could rise further
Ahmedabad, IndiaReuters The death toll from a suspension bridge collapse in India rose to 134 on Monday and officials fear the number could grow as authorities opened a criminal case into one of the deadliest accidents in the country in the past 10 years. The colonial-era footbridge over the Machhu River in the centre of […]
Philippines’ Marcos to inspect storm damage as death toll hits 98
Manila, The PhilippinesReuters Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr, is set on Monday to fly over flood-submerged districts to inspect the damage after Tropical Storm Nalgae barrelled across the Southeast Asian country over the weekend, killing at least 98 people. More than half the deaths were recorded in the southern autonomous region of Bangsamoro, often due […]
Aoun’s presidency ends leaving power vacuum in crisis-hit Lebanon
Baabda, LebanonReuters Michel Aoun, the 89-year-old Christian President who presided over Lebanon’s cataclysmic financial meltdown and the deadly Beirut port blast, left the presidential palace on Sunday with his term ending, leaving a void at the top of a failing state. Parliament has so far been unable to agree on a successor in the role, […]
Aid spending soared to record level in Pacific islands as COVID-19 hit
Sydney, AustraliaReuters A record $US3.3 billion in aid flowed to the Pacific islands in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, a 33 per cent increase on the previous year, according to a report released by the Lowy Institute thinktank on Monday. The pandemic led to border closures, confronting governments reliant on tourism with economic crisis. […]