Pope Francis denounces “pain and shame” of Mediterranean migrant deaths
Milan, ItalyReuters Pope Francis on Sunday urged politicians to address the “open wound” of migrant deaths in the Mediterranean, saying he had been praying for the 41 people who died in a shipwreck earlier this month. “With both pain and shame we must declare that, since the start of the year, already almost 2,000 men, […]
Fighting flares in South Darfur amid fears of expanded civil war
Reuters Violence flared in the western Sudanese city of Nyala and elsewhere in the state of South Darfur on Sunday, witnesses said, threatening to engulf the region in Sudan’s protracted war. The conflict has brought daily battles to the streets of the capital of Khartoum, a revival of ethnically targeted attacks in West Darfur, and […]
Russian warship fires warning shots at cargo ship in Black Sea; shelling kills seven, including a baby, in Kherson region
Moscow, RussiaReuters A Russian warship on Sunday fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the south-western Black Sea as it made its way northwards, the first time Russia has fired on merchant shipping beyond Ukraine since exiting a landmark UN-brokered grain deal last month. In July, Russia halted participation in the Black Sea grain […]
Maui wildfires death toll hits 93 amid frantic search for the missing
Kahului, Hawaii, USReuters The death toll from the Maui wildfires reached 93 on Sunday as relatives of the missing frantically searched for signs their loved ones may still be alive. Hawaii Governor Josh Green on Sunday likened the burnt-out city of Lahaina to a “war zone” after the fast-moving blaze engulfed the northwest coast of […]
Maui wildfires deadliest in a century as death toll hits 89
Kahului, Hawaii Reuters The death toll from the Maui wildfires reached 89 on Saturday, making it the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century – and the total is likely to rise in coming days as search teams with cadaver dogs continue sifting through the ruins of Lahaina. The scale of the damage came […]
New frontline of US border policy? A Texas pecan farm
Eagle Pass, Texas, US Reuters The leafy trees on Magali and Hugo Urbina’s 141 hectare orchard next to the Rio Grande river in Eagle Pass, Texas, should be bursting with pecans this time of year. Instead, most are barren. The Heavenly Farms pecan orchard is seen in the background as dust rises over migrants wading […]
Prolonged drought deepens Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis
Nahr-e-Shahi, AfghanistanReuters In parched brown hills in north Afghanistan, Abdul Hahad tears stalks of wheat out of the arid earth. In the third year of water shortages and high temperatures, his harvest is barely enough to support his family. The 55-year-old farmer from Nahr-e-Shahi district in Balkh province used to plant two or even three […]
Record-setting Canadian wildfires could persist for rest of “marathon” summer
Ottawa, CanadaReuters Record-setting wildfires in Canada could potentially continue burning at an abnormally high rate for several more weeks, though the spread of blazes is likely to start diminishing in September, according to federal projections released on Friday. Forest fires have engulfed parts of nearly all 13 Canadian provinces and territories this year, forcing home […]
The Long Read: Biden vowed to reform immigration detention. Instead, private prisons benefitted
TED HESSON, MICA ROSENBERG AND KRISTINA COOKE, of Reuters, report…
Ukraine says two killed in Russian shelling of Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia regions
Kyiv, UkraineReuters An elderly woman and a police officer were killed early Saturday by Russian shelling on a settlement in Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine and Zaporizhzhia in the south, Ukrainian officials said. “This morning, around 5:10, the enemy fired on Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi village in Kupiansk district. A residential building was damaged. A 73-year-old woman died,” […]