Blinken urges Israel to avoid “massive” civilian losses in southern Gaza
Jerusalem/Tel Aviv Reuters US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel’s military operations in southern Gaza must not repeat the massive loss of civilian life and displacement seen during its offensive in the north. At a news conference in Tel Aviv following a marathon day of meetings with […]
The Explainer: Hanukkah
GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO, of Associated Press, explains what Judaism’s “festival of lights” is all about…
Leading African ecumenical group elects first female president
Nairobi, Kenya RNS The All Africa Conference of Churches has elected its first woman as president of the ecumenical organisation, which represents some 200 million Christians on the continent. On 22nd November, Rev Lydia Chituku Neshangwe, a Presbyterian minister, became the first woman to lead the 60-year-old organisation, which consists of Protestant, Orthodox and Indigenous […]
World at risk of losing malaria fight as cases rise, report says
Reuters The world is in danger of losing the fight against malaria, as cases of the disease rose by around five million year-on-year in 2022, exceeding global targets to contain it, a new World Health Organization report showed on Thursday. Pandemic-related disruptions and extreme weather events linked to climate change have hindered the fight against […]
World to hit 1.4 degrees of warming in record hot 2023
Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters With a month to run, 2023 will reach global warming of about 1.4 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, adding to “a deafening cacophony” of broken climate records, the World Meteorological Organization said on Thursday. The WMO’s provisional State of the Global Climate report confirms that 2023 will be the warmest year on […]
Russian missile strikes kill two, wound 10 in east Ukraine, Kyiv says
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Two people were killed, 10 were wounded and a family of three were believed to be still trapped under rubble following overnight Russian missile attacks in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday. Earlier, officials had said one person was killed after six missiles struck the three settlements of Pokrovsk, Novohrodivka […]
COP28 kicks off with climate disaster fund victory
Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters The UN climate summit clinched an early victory Thursday, with delegates adopting a new fund to help poor nations cope with costly climate disasters. COP28 President Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber said the decision sent a “positive signal of momentum to the world and to our work here in Dubai”. Attendees arrive for […]
Hamas frees eight hostages to Israel as talks seek to extend Gaza truce
Updated: 11am (AEDT)Gaza/Tel Aviv, IsraelReuters Hamas on Thursday released eight Israeli hostages in Gaza under a last-minute truce deal and Israel was expected to free 30 Palestinian prisoners as negotiators sought to extend a ceasefire again. Israel identified two women who were released first on Thursday as 21-year-old Mia Schem, among those seized at a […]
Israel and Hamas agree to extend temporary truce
Gaza/JerusalemReuters Israel and Hamas struck a last-minute agreement on Thursday to extend their six-day ceasefire by at least one more day to allow negotiators to keep working on deals to swap hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners. The truce has allowed much needed humanitarian aid into Gaza after much of the coastal territory of […]
Kyrgyzstan moves to rid national flag of likeness to “fickle” sunflower
Bishkek, KyrgyzstanReuters Kyrgyzstan’s parliament voted on Wednesday to tweak the design of the national flag after critics, including President Sadyr Japarov, said its central element looked like a sunflower which in the local culture symbolises fickleness and servility. A man wearing a Kyrgyz national hat poses with national flags before a rally marking the Day of […]