France deploys 7,000 troops for extra security after teacher slain
Paris, France Reuters French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday deployed up to 7,000 soldiers for increased security patrols, as bomb alerts forced the evacuation of the Louvre museum a day after a teacher was killed in an Islamist attack. France was put on its highest security alert on Friday after a 20-year-old man fatally stabbed […]
New Russian strikes on Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, top general says fighting further north has worsened
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Russia’s military pressed on with fierce assaults on the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka on Saturday, with shelling so fierce that emergency crews were unable to recover the dead from wrecked buildings, the town’s top administrative official said. It was the fifth straight day of assaults on the town in Ukraine’s industrial heartland […]
Israel prepares ground assault on Gaza as Palestinians flee
Gaza/Jerusalem Reuters Israel was preparing on Saturday to launch a ground assault in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, after telling Palestinians living in the densely populated territory to flee south towards a closed border with Egypt. The Israeli national security adviser meanwhile warned Lebanese militant group Hezbollah not to start a war on a second front […]
New Zealand National Party’s Luxon to lead new government
Wellington, New ZealandReuters New Zealand’s centre-right National Party led by Christopher Luxon will form a new government with its preferred coalition party ACT, as Prime Minister Chris Hipkins conceded his Labour Party could not form a government after Saturday’s general election. The National Party, now in opposition, had 39 per cent of the votes with […]
Updated: Australia rejects Indigenous referendum
Updated: 8am (AEDT)Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia on Saturday decisively rejected a proposal to recognise Indigenous people in the constitution, in a major setback to the country’s efforts for reconciliation with its First Peoples. Australians had to vote “Yes” or “No” in the referendum, the first in almost a quarter of a century, on the question of […]
Voting closes in New Zealand election, counting set to begin
Wellington, New ZealandReuters Voting closed in New Zealand’s general election at 7pm on Saturday and counting was set to start, with provisional results due later this evening. People head to the polls to vote in the general election in Auckland, New Zealand, on 14th October, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/David Rowland Opinion polls have indicated the opposition […]
Migrants struggle to meet basic needs after arriving in Italy, survey shows
Rome, ItalyReuters Migrants arriving in Italy face extreme challenges to meet their basic needs after leaving reception centres, a survey showed on Thursday, with almost a third of them struggling to feed themselves. The survey, issued by aid group International Rescue Committee, is based on interviews with 598 people who landed on Italy’s shores in […]
No shade, no water, and record heat: More migrants die in US desert
Sunland Park, New MexicoReuters Veteran firefighter Daniel Medrano got out of his truck somewhere in the barren outskirts of Sunland Park, New Mexico, where a vast expanse of yellow sand is dotted by stubby bushes. Under one, he found a body. Medrano wrapped a black scarf around his nose and mouth as he looked closer: […]
Afghan earthquakes death toll revised to “over 1,000” from over 2,400 by Taliban-run ministry
Kabul, AfghanistanReuters Afghanistan’s disaster management ministry on Friday revised downward the death toll from multiple earthquakes to around 1,000 from an earlier figure of over 2,400, a spokesman said. Multiple earthquakes struck in the western province of Herat on Saturday and Wednesday, destroying entire villages in the war-battered country, many of which were scattered in […]
“It was never a question”: Israelis channel anxiety over war into volunteering to support army and each other
MICHELE CHABIN, of Religion News Service, reports from Jerusalem on how Israelis of all faiths are stepping up to volunteer following last weekend’s terror attacks…