Death toll from violence in Ecuador prisons hits 31
Updated: 12:30pm (AEST)Quito, EcuadorReuters Ecuador’s Attorney General raised the death toll from a wave of violence over the weekend in one the country’s most dangerous jails to 31 late on Tuesday, after the government earlier declared a 60-day state of emergency for the country’s prisons. The emergency declaration seemed to set off violence in the […]
Six convicted of murder for 2016 Brussels bombings
Brussels, BelgiumReuters A Belgian court convicted six men of murder and two others of terrorism charges on Tuesday after the country’s largest ever trial involving the 2016 Islamist bombings in Brussels that killed 32 people. Defendants sit in a specially designed glass box in the courtroom during the start of the Brussels terrorist attack trial […]
Wildfires bring death and destruction to sun-scorched Mediterranean
Rhodes, Greece/Algiers, AlgeriaReuters A plane fighting wildfires in Greece crashed killing two airmen on Tuesday, as large areas of the Mediterranean sweltered under an intense summer heatwave and Algeria battled to control an inferno in which at least 34 people have died. The plane, which had been dropping water, came down on a hillside close […]
Israeli doctors strike, more army reservists balk at service in uproar over judiciary changes
JerusalemReuters Israeli doctors declared a strike on Tuesday and more army reservists have asked to halt service in a public backlash over the hard-right government’s ratification of the first stage of a judicial overhaul that critics say endangers democracy. With long-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing his gravest domestic crisis, Israel’s military took its first […]
Nigeria’s Lagos plans mass burials for 2020 protest victims
Lagos, NigeriaReuters Authorities in Nigeria’s Lagos state were planning a mass burial for 103 people linked to anti-police protests more than two years ago, where demonstrators accused soldiers of killing protesters, a state health ministry official said on Sunday. The number of victims of the October, 2020, protests has been a source of dispute. The […]
Significant Sights: Oslo’s hidden gem – exploring the Nordic Bible Museum
PAUL GLADER, of Religion Unplugged, visits a lesser known attraction in the Norwegian capital…
Introducing Janus, the exotic “two-faced” white dwarf star
Washington DC, USReuters Some people are two-faced, figuratively speaking of course. The ancient Roman god Janus was two-faced, literally – with one looking forward and another backward, representing transitions and duality. But a two-faced star? Yes, indeed. Scientists have observed a white dwarf star – a hot stellar remnant that is among the densest objects in the […]
On the Screen: “Completely absurd” ‘Barbie’ brings unexpected depth
MARCUS CHEONG finds Barbie an “exuberant surprise”…
Demographics and grievances jaundice Israel’s judicial divide
Jerusalem Reuters As Israel’s judicial crisis reached crescendo, rival demonstrators passed each other on the escalators of a Jerusalem metro station – some arriving to picket parliament and others headed to Tel Aviv for a counter-rally backing the government. Both sides carried national blue-and-white flags and placards promoting democracy. Polite smiles and sportsmanly high-fives were […]
UN Command talking to North Korea about US soldier Travis King
Seoul, South KoreaReuters The United Nations Command and North Korea have begun discussing the case of Travis King, the US soldier who crossed into the North last week, the deputy commander of the US-led command that oversees the Korean War truce said on Monday. King, a US Army private serving in South Korea, sprinted into […]