Tens of thousands in Serbia protest mass shootings, government policies
Belgrade, SerbiaReuters Tens of thousands braved rain and wind in Belgrade on Saturday in an anti-government protest over two mass shootings that killed 18 people, blaming the deaths on a culture of violence that critics say authorities have allowed to permeate society. On 3rd May a teenage boy killed nine pupils and a security guard […]
Truce reduces fighting in Sudan, but little relief for humanitarian crisis
Dubai, United Arab Emirates/Cairo, Egypt Reuters Khartoum was calmer on Saturday as a seven-day ceasefire appeared to reduce fighting between two rival military factions although it has not yet provided the promised humanitarian relief to millions trapped in the capital. A truce signed on Monday by the two fighting parties – Sudan’s army and a […]
Mexican officials find 175 migrants in truck near southern border
Mexico City, MexicoReuters Mexican authorities found 175 migrants, mostly from Guatemala, crowded into a truck trailer in the southern state of Chiapas, the National Migration Institute (INM) said on Friday, in the latest mass human smuggling incident to be detected in the country. Immigration agents heard yells and banging coming from inside the vehicle when […]
As drought withers Tunisian fields, state feels financial pinch
Tunis, TunisiaReuters As rains failed, Tunisian farmers watched their crops wither this spring, harvesting early to salvage some as animal feed and piling costs on a state struggling to afford wheat imports with bakeries running out of bread. At his farm just outside Tunis, Hasan Chetoui stood clutching dry sheaves of wheat, the ears empty […]
Egypt’s female “prisoners of poverty” struggle with stigma
Cairo, EgyptReuters Egyptian women facing jail for falling into debt face social stigma, and if they have been freed from prison struggle to rebuild their lives, NGO workers say, despite support from civil society groups and some state help in securing early releases. The issue has gained attention recently because of a move by President […]
Cardinal blasts vendettas, “plots against me” in Vatican financial trial
Vatican CityAP A Vatican cardinal on trial in the Holy See’s big financial crimes case complained Friday that he can’t properly defend himself from “the nightmare of these accusations” because prosecutors have withheld key evidence from the defence. Cardinal Angelo Becciu spoke out in court after Judge Giuseppe Pignatone rejected his lawyers’ latest appeal for […]
“Guns fired everywhere”: Sudan war spells more disaster for Darfur city on Chad border
MAHAMAT RAMADANE and NAFISA ELTAHIR, of Reuters, report on the situation in El Geneina…
In the US, Connecticut lawmakers absolve accused colonial-era witches, apologise for “miscarriage of justice”
United StatesAP With distant family members looking on, Connecticut senators voted Thursday to absolve the 12 women and men convicted of witchcraft – 11 of whom were executed – more than 370 years ago and apologise for the “miscarriage of justice” that occurred over a dark 15-year-period of the state’s colonial history. The Senate voted […]
Ukraine says Russia plans to simulate accident at nuclear power plant; Kyiv says two killed as Dnipro clinic hit in missile attack
Reuters Ukraine’s defence ministry on Friday said Russia was planning to simulate a major accident at a nuclear power station controlled by pro-Moscow forces to try to thwart a long-planned Ukrainian counter-offensive to retake territory occupied by Russia. The Zaporizhzhia plant, which lies in an area of Russian-occupied southern Ukraine, is Europe’s biggest nuclear power […]
Rwanda suspect denies killings but ‘sorry’ over genocide
Cape Town, South AfricaReuters One of the Rwanda genocide’s most wanted remaining suspects, accused of ordering the death of 2,000 people hiding in a church, denied on Friday any involvement though said he was “sorry” for the 1994 killings. On the run for two decades, Fulgence Kayishema was arrested on Wednesday under a false name […]