Czechs mourn victims of university shooting as police patrol public areas
Prague, Czech RepublicReuters Czechs mourned the victims of the country’s worst mass shooting as police tightened security around schools and other public buildings across the country on Friday after a student gunman killed 14 people at a Prague university building on Thursday. At the Charles University headquarters, crowds that included Prime Minister Petr Fiala and […]
UN pushes for more aid into Gaza, Israel widens offensive
United Nations/Cairo, Egypt/JerusalemReuters The UN Security Council approved a toned-down bid to boost humanitarian aid to Gaza on Friday that stopped short of a call for a ceasefire, hours after Israel signalled it was widening its ground offensive in the Palestinian enclave. The US, which is Israel’s main ally and had threatened to veto the […]
At least 31 killed in floods in India’s Tamil Nadu
Chennai, IndiaReuters At least 31 people were killed in floods and heavy rain in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu this week, a top federal minister said on Friday, as rescuers struggled to reach scores still stranded in high waters. Heavy rains have paralysed several districts of the state, inundating entire neighbourhoods, roads and railway […]
Second North Korean nuclear reactor appears to be operational, IAEA says
Vienna, AustriaReuters A new reactor at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear complex appears to be operating for the first time, the UN nuclear watchdog and independent experts said on Thursday, which would mean an additional potential source of plutonium for nuclear weapons. North Korea has for years used spent fuel from a 5-megawatt nuclear reactor at […]
Snapshot: Christmas in Warsaw, Poland
See ELIJAH G’s image…
Mass drone attack hits several Kyiv districts
Reuters Russian drones bore down on the city of Kyiv early on Friday, with Mayor Vitali Klitschko and other officials reporting strikes on widely separated residential districts. It was the sixth drone attack on the capital this month. Two people were injured. Emergency staff work at a site of an apartment building damaged during a […]
More than 20 countries now part of US-led Red Sea coalition – Pentagon
Washington DC, USReuters A total of more than 20 countries have agreed to participate in the new US-led coalition safeguarding commercial traffic in the Red Sea from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi movement as more nations join the effort, the Pentagon said on Thursday. Still, the new Pentagon total would suggest that at least eight of […]
Brazil police launch raids over Braskem’s sinking ground havoc
Sao Paulo, BrazilReuters Brazil’s federal police on Thursday conducted raids as part of a probe into petrochemical producer Braskem’s sinking ground havoc in the city of Maceio, which has forced about 60,000 people to be moved since 2018. The subsidence related to the operations of Braskem’s more than thirty salt mines under the coastal city […]
Greek government says it stands by same-sex marriage pledge even after opposition from the church
Athens, GreeceAP Greece’s centre-right government said Thursday it would fulfill a commitment to legalize same-sex marriage, sidestepping staunch opposition from the country’s influential Orthodox Church. The legislation would be brought to parliament during the house’s current term, which ends in 2027, said government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis. The statement comes after the church’s governing Holy Synod issued […]
China’s Shanghai endures worst cold snap in 40 years
Shanghai, ChinaReuters China’s financial hub Shanghai was set to record its chilliest period in December in four decades, spurring authorities to issue warnings for low temperatures and wind, while northern cities battled icy conditions forecast to ease only next week. The city’s lowest temperatures on Thursday will be minus four to minus six degrees Celsius […]