Asylum-seekers in Greece face violence, pushbacks – aid group MSF
Athens, GreeceReuters Asylum-seekers arriving in Greece face physical violence including being beaten and sent back to sea, aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Thursday, calling on Greece to increase migrant search and rescue operations at sea. Greece, one of the main gateways into the European Union for refugees and migrants from the Middle East, […]
Sight-Seeing: The raw beauty and difficulty of forgiveness, part two
NILS VON KALM continues his look at the Biblical concept of forgiveness…
Anti-Semitic riot in Russia’s Dagestan leaves some local Jews shaken
Derbent, Russia Reuters There were few visitors to Derbent’s sprawling Jewish cemetery in Russian’s Muslim-majority Dagestan region on Thursday, but some of those laying flowers on relatives’ graves said an anti-Semitic riot four days earlier had left them feeling unsettled. “Such things upset us a lot,” said Zoya Solomonova, who now lives in St Petersburg […]
Border crossing with Afghanistan swamped by Afghans after Pakistani expulsion order
Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Thousands of people swamped Pakistan’s main north-western border crossing seeking to cross into Afghanistan on Thursday, a day after the government’s deadline expired for undocumented foreigners to leave or face expulsion. Pakistani authorities began rounding up undocumented foreigners, most of them Afghans, hours before Wednesday’s deadline. More than a million Afghans could […]
Storm Ciaran kills six, lashes Europe with strong winds and rain
Paris, France/Brussels, BelgiumReuters Storm Ciaran smashed into western Europe on Thursday, killing six people and forcing schools, airports and train services to shut down. A truck driver was killed when a tree fell on him in France while a second death was reported in Le Havre, according to authorities. A person stands on the beach, […]
Putin revokes Russian ratification of global nuclear test ban treaty
Reuters President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a law withdrawing Russia’s ratification of the global treaty banning nuclear weapons tests, a step condemned by the organisation which promotes adherence to the landmark arms control pact. The move, though expected, is evidence of the deep chill between the United States and Russia, whose ties are at […]
Israel says it has encircled Gaza City; UN team talks of “grave risk of genocide”
Gaza/JerusalemReuters Israeli forces on Thursday encircled Gaza City – the Gaza Strip’s main city – in their assault on Hamas, the military said, but the Palestinian militant group resisted their drive with hit-and-run attacks from underground tunnels. The city in the north of the Gaza Strip has become the focus of attack for Israel, which […]
El Salvador lawmakers repeal media crackdown, declare “war on gangs won”
San SalvadorReuters El Salvador’s Congress repealed a law on Wednesday that criminalised the publication of gang messages, as ruling party leaders declared victory in their war against criminal groups. President Nayib Bukele launched a sweeping crackdown on the small Central American nation’s hyper-violent gangs early last year, sharply reducing crime rates while the incarceration skyrocketed, […]
Democracy under threat around the world -intergovernmental watchdog
Stockholm, SwedenReuters Half of the world’s countries are suffering democratic decline, ranging from flawed elections to curtailed rights including freedoms of expression and assembly, an intergovernmental watchdog group said on Thursday. In its annual report, the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance said 2022 was the sixth consecutive year in which countries with […]
A Sustainable Life: Growing your own food and foraging can help tackle your ballooning grocery bill. Here’s how
Amid growing food insecurity in Australia and elsewhere, KATE NEALE, a researcher at Southern Cross University, provides some tips for growing your own food…