Italian judge throws out case against migrant NGOs after seven years
Rome, Italy Reuters An Italian judge on Friday cleared three migrant sea rescue charities that had been accused of abetting irregular immigration in complicity with human traffickers, throwing out a case opened more than seven years ago. A pre-trial judge in Trapani, Sicily, said there were no grounds to proceed against international charities Doctors Without […]
Foes Azerbaijan and Armenia agree ‘historic’ return of villages
Baku, Azerbaijan Reuters Armenia has agreed to return several villages to Azerbaijan in what both sides said on Friday was an important milestone as they edge towards a peace deal after fighting two wars since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada posted on X that Armenia would return four […]
South Korea government to compromise on medical reforms, meet opposition
Seoul, South Korea Reuters South Korea’s government announced a compromise in its medical reform plans on Friday in a bid to end a two-month walkout by doctors, and also said President Yoon Suk Yeol would meet the opposition leader for the first time after two years in office. The conciliatory moves followed a crushing election […]
Mandisa, Grammy-winning singer and ‘American Idol’ alum, dies at 47
Nashville, Tennessee, US AP Mandisa, a contemporary Christian singer who appeared on American Idol and won a Grammy for her 2013 album Overcomer, has died. She was 47. A representative for the singer told The Associated Press that the singer was found dead in her home in Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday. The representative said the cause […]
UN rights chief urges states to act on slavery reparations
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters The United Nations human rights chief called for countries to take concrete steps on reparations for people of African descent at a UN meeting on Friday, adding his voice to calls for justice for slavery atrocities. Support is building among Africa and Caribbean nations for the creation of a tribunal to address […]
Myanmar: In a rebel-held town, fragile unity pushes junta to the brink
PANU WONGCHA-UM, of Reuters, reports that the seizure of a critical trading post by rebels forces last week provides some insights into the ongoing conflict in Myanmar…
Maurizio Cattalan, Zoe Saldana join iconoclastic Vatican Biennale exhibition inside women’s prison
Venice, Italy AP A pair of nude feet – dirty, wounded and vulnerable – are painted on the façade of the Venice women’s prison chapel. It’s the work of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and part of the Vatican’s pavilion at the Venice Biennale contemporary art show in an innovative collaboration between inmates and artists. That […]
Indians vote in huge election dominated by jobs, Hindu pride and Modi
Kairana/Chennai, India Reuters The first of India’s almost one billion voters cast ballots on Friday in the country’s multi-day election, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a rare third term on the back of issues such as growth, welfare and Hindu nationalism. The vote pits Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against an alliance of two […]
UN warns 800,000 people in Sudan city in “extreme, immediate danger”
United Nations Reuters Some 800,000 people in a Sudanese city are in “extreme and immediate danger” as worsening violence advances and threatens to “unleash bloody intercommunal strife throughout Darfur,” top UN officials warned the Security Council on Friday. War erupted in Sudan one year ago between the Sudanese army (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces […]
Ukraine downs Russian strategic bomber after airstrike kills eight, Kyiv says
Kyiv/Dnipro, Ukraine Reuters Ukraine shot down a Russian strategic bomber 300 kilometres from its border on Friday after the warplane took part in an airstrike that killed at least eight people, including two children, in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, Kyiv said. Missiles rained down on the city of Dnipro and the surrounding region in the […]