Wow!: Three cats bring scintilla of joy to displaced children in Gaza
NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI, of Reuters, reports from Khan Younis…
Portugal President calls March snap election, leaves time to pass budget
Lisbon, PortugalReuters Portugal will hold a snap parliamentary election on 10th March, its second in as many years, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said on Thursday, following Tuesday’s abrupt resignation of the Socialist Prime Minister amid a corruption investigation. Yet, the President said he would only disband parliament, where the Socialist Party (PS) has a […]
Keeping lights off: Undocumented Afghans go underground in Pakistan
Karachi, Pakistan Reuters After living in Pakistan for years, thousands of Afghans have gone into hiding to escape a government order to expel undocumented foreigners because they fear persecution under a Taliban administration in their homeland, rights activists say. “The gate is locked from the outside… we are locked inside, we can’t come out, we […]
Colombia ELN guerrillas free kidnapped father of Liverpool soccer star Diaz
Bogota, ColombiaReuters Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas on Thursday freed the father of Liverpool soccer player Luis Diaz, after taking him hostage nearly two weeks ago, the government said. The kidnapping of Luis Manuel Diaz has disrupted the government’s peace talks with the ELN, which restarted last year in the hope of ending the […]
Germany’s Scholz “ashamed” at anti-Semitism wave as ‘Kristallnacht’ pogrom marked
Berlin, GermanyReuters Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was “ashamed and outraged” at a recent wave of anti-Semitic incidents in Germany, warning Berlin would not tolerate such anti-Jewish hatred as he marked the 85th anniversary of the Nazis’ “Kristallnacht” pogrom of Jews. Scholz was speaking at a ceremony at a Berlin synagogue to mark “Kristallnacht” alongside […]
Spain’s Sanchez set for new term as amnesty deal reached with Catalan separatists
Madrid, SpainReuters Spain’s acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez looked set to clinch another term in office after his Socialist Party (PSOE) on Thursday secured the backing of the Catalan separatist party Junts to form a government in a deal the country’s opposition condemned as “a humiliation”. A law granting amnesty to those prosecuted over Catalonia’s […]
Israel agrees to pauses in Gaza attacks, US says, but no reports of lull in fighting
Gaza/Washington DC, USReuters Israel has agreed to pause military operations in parts of north Gaza for four hours a day from Thursday, the White House said, raising hopes of a respite in more than a month of fighting that has killed thousands and stoked fears of regional conflict. The pauses, that would allow people to […]
Ukrainian forces hold line in shattered eastern town of Avdiivka – military
Reuters Russian forces, their numbers swelled by reserves, tightened their vise around the shattered eastern city of Avdiivka on Wednesday, but Ukrainian forces are holding defensive lines, Ukrainian military officials said. The Russian military has focused on eastern Ukraine after failing to advance on Kyiv in the early days of Russia’s February, 2022, invasion and […]
Trendspotter: ‘Manholers’ flock to see, collect Japan’s decorated manhole covers
DAVID ADAMS look at the trend for collecting Japan’s colourful manhole covers…
Myanmar President says country at risk of breaking apart due to border violence
Reuters The President of military-ruled Myanmar has said the country is at risk of breaking apart due to ineffective management of recent violence in its border regions with China. The Myanmar junta is facing the biggest challenge to its authority since it gained power in a 2021 coup, with attacks by revolutionary and ethnic armed forces on hundreds of […]