Gunmen abduct more than 100 in Nigeria’s Zamfara state; German priest kidnapped in Mali
Maiduguri, Nigeria Reuters More than 100 people, including women and children were abducted when gunmen raided four villages in Nigeria’s north-eastern Zamfara state on Sunday, the information commissioner and residents said on Monday. Kidnapping has become endemic in north-west Nigeria as roving gangs of armed men abduct people from villages, highways and farms and demand […]
Postcards: US renters fall foul of algorithms in search for a home
CAREY L BIRON, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how automated screening programs are under scrutiny amid broader concerns about the potential of algorithms to lock in bias and perpetuate inequality…
Project helps UK churches to live with bats in their belfries
Norwich, UK A pioneering survey on bats in British churches has highlighted a new approach to ways in which humans can successfully share space with wildlife. It has also revealed the importance of churches for bat survival following discovery of a rare species of bat. Britain’s churches are increasingly home to colonies of bats, roosting […]
Russia, blaming Ukraine, says Zaporizhzhia plant at risk of nuclear accident
London, UKReuters Ukraine narrowly escaped disaster during fighting at the weekend that rocked Europe’s largest atomic power plant with a barrage of shells, some falling near reactors and damaging a radioactive waste storage building, the UN nuclear watchdog said. Russia and Ukraine on Monday traded blame for at least a dozen explosions at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia […]
Indonesia quake kills over 160, search for survivors continues
Cinajur, Indonesia Reuters A powerful earthquake killed more than 160 people in Indonesia’s West Java province on Monday, with rescuers searching for survivors trapped under the rubble amid a series of aftershocks. The epicentre of the 5.6 magnitude quake was near the town of Cianjur in mountainous West Java, about 75 kilometres south-east of the […]
World’s longest-ruling leader holds vote to extend rule of tiny African state
Dakar, SenegalReuters The world’s longest-ruling leader, President Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea, staged a vote on Sunday to extend his 43-year-rule of a tiny, authoritarian African state where once plentiful oil wealth has been in a rapid decline. “What you sow is what you reap,” said Obiang, 80, who has regularly won more than 90 […]
Kherson residents stock up as first Ukrainian supermarket opens
Kherson, Ukraine Reuters Hundreds of Kherson residents flocked on Sunday to buy groceries at the first Ukrainian supermarket to open since the city was retaken by pro-Kyiv forces earlier this month. During the almost nine months of occupation, the Russian-installed government had brought in Russian-sourced products and introduced the ruble as currency. People shop at […]
Canadian hospitals, strapped for staff, strain with sick children
Toronto, CanadaReuters Canadian hospitals are straining to care for an influx of sick children, many with respiratory illnesses, in the midst of staffing constraints and as a shortage of children’s over-the-counter medication sends more kids to hospital. Hospitals across the country are reassigning staff to paediatric care and putting children in other parts of hospitals, […]
Snowstorm batters western New York, restricting travel ahead of Thanksgiving
Reuters Snowfall of more than two metres in western New York state prompted local officials on Saturday to further restrict road travel and forced airlines to cancel flights in the Buffalo area, just ahead of the busy Thanksgiving holiday week. New York Governor Kathy Hochul called in the National Guard, deploying about 150 members to […]
Malaysia’s Muhyiddin gains backing for PM bid after indecisive election
Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaReuters Malaysia’s former premier Muhyiddin Yassin secured backing from two political blocs on Sunday as he sought to form a new government after a general election produced a hung parliament, but he had yet to win the required majority. Muhyiddin, of the Perikatan Nasional coalition, said he had won support from two regional […]