Pope lunches with poor, denounces “sirens of populism”
Rome, ItalyAP Pope Francis ate lunch with hundreds of refugees, poor and homeless people on Sunday as he called for a renewed commitment to helping society’s weakest and denounced the “sirens of populism” that drown out their cries for help. Francis celebrated the Catholic Church’s World Day of the Poor by inviting an estimated 1,300 […]
Postcards: Power cuts another worry for Ukraine’s critically ill
MARGARYTA CHORNOKONDRATENKO, of Reuters, reports on the impact Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is having on some of the country’s most vulnerable…
Climate disasters put plight of displaced in COP27 focus
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt Reuters Issack Hassan lives in a migrant camp in Baidoa city in Somalia – one of more than a million people displaced since January after five successive failed rainy seasons. With Somalia in the grips of its worst drought in 40 years, “people became weak because of hunger, so we had to […]
Democrats retain grip on US Senate, defying Republican “red wave” predictions
Phoenix, Arizona, US Reuters Democrats held onto control of the US Senate while limiting projected losses in the House, handing a major victory to President Joe Biden and extinguishing hopes of the “red wave” that Republicans had expected leading into the midterm elections. Democratic leaders described the outcome – sealed late Saturday with a win […]
Six dead in Istanbul blast, Erdogan says it “smells like terrorism”
Istanbul, TurkeyReuters Six people were killed and 81 others wounded on Sunday when an explosion rocked a busy pedestrian street in central Istanbul in what Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called a bomb attack that “smells like terrorism”. Hundreds of people fled the historic Istiklal Avenue after the blast, as ambulances and police raced in. The […]
Updated: Zelenskiy accuses Russian troops of committing war crimes in Kherson
Updated: 9am (AEST)Kherson, Ukraine Reuters Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday accused Russian soldiers of committing war crimes and killing civilians in Kherson, parts of which were retaken by Ukraine’s army last week after Russia pulled out. “Investigators have already documented more than 400 Russian war crimes. Bodies of dead civilians and servicemen have been […]
Australia unveils joint cyber police taskforce to ‘hunt down’ hackers
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia on Saturday formalised a new cyber-policing model in a stepped-up effort to “hunt down” cyber criminal syndicates, following recent hacks impacting millions of Australians. Australia’s biggest health insurer, Medibank Private Ltd, last month was hit by a massive cyber attack, as Australia grapples with a rise in damaging hacks. ILLUSTRATION: Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration […]
Curbs on rights weaken Egypt’s climate talks, campaigners say
Sharm el-Sheikh, EgyptReuters In a fenced-off area guarded by police on the fringe of the global climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, around 30 Egyptian youths stood in a neat line holding up placards and chanting “Save our Planet”. The small, muted protest took place in an area designated for demonstrations by summit host Egypt, where […]
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon hits October record ahead of government change
São PauloReuters Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest reached a record for October, data showed on Friday, with land-clearing in the region speeding up as the country undergoes a transition to a more conservation-friendly government. Preliminary government satellite data collected by space research agency Inpe showed that 903.86 square kilometers were cleared in the region last […]
COP27: Young African climate activists demand real change
ADAOBI TRICIA NWAUBANI, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how youth campaigners from Africa such as Vanessa Nakate are speaking at UN climate summit about issues including loss and damage…