Remember Ukraine’s smileless children this Christmas, Pope says
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis on Wednesday called on people to remember Ukrainian children suffering in the cold this Christmas. “Let us think of the many children in Ukraine who suffer, suffer so much, because of this war,” he said in unprepared remarks at the end of his weekly general audience in the Vatican. Pope Francis […]
Syrians brace for long, cold winter as fuel crisis bites
Damascus/Hama, Syria Reuters Mohammed Abu Ramadan can’t afford to keep his children warm this winter so he and his sister’s family in Damascus take it in turn to look after them – heating their homes only for the weeks that the young ones are staying. Like millions of Syrians who are unable to afford – or […]
Vatican in crowdfunding campaign to send thermal underwear to Ukraine
Vatican CityReuters The Vatican on Thursday launched a crowdfunding campaign on Thursday to send thermal underwear to Ukraine to help residents survive the winter as they face power shortages amid the war with Russia. The Vatican’s charity office said in a statement that it had linked up with the Italian crowdfunding site eppela.com to raise […]
Russia won’t stop strikes until it runs out of missiles, Ukraine’s Zelenskiy says
Kyiv/Kherson, UkraineReuters President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned Ukrainians to expect another brutal week of cold and darkness ahead, predicting more Russian attacks on infrastructure that would not cease until Moscow ran out of missiles. Russia has been carrying out massive missile bombardments on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure roughly weekly since early October, with each barrage having greater […]
Ukrainians work to restore power to nuclear plants as country freezes
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Ukraine restored power on Thursday to two of its four nuclear power plants but much of the country remained consigned to freezing darkness by the most devastating Russian air strikes on its energy infrastructure so far. Viewed from space, Ukraine has become a dark patch on the globe at night, satellite images released […]
East Europeans prepare for possible new Ukrainian refugee wave as winter nears
Prague, Czech Republic/Budapest, Hungary/Warsaw, Poland Reuters Eastern European countries are preparing to reopen reception centres and are restocking food supplies in anticipation of a possible fresh surge in Ukrainian refugees as winter looms and Russia targets Ukraine’s power grid and heating plants. Some 6.9 million people are believed displaced internally within Ukraine, often living in […]
COVID wave looms in Europe as booster campaign makes slow start
Reuters A new COVID-19 wave appears to be brewing in Europe as cooler weather arrives, with public health experts warning that vaccine fatigue and confusion over types of available vaccines will likely limit booster uptake. Omicron subvariants BA.4/5 that dominated this summer are still behind the majority of infections, but newer Omicron subvariants are gaining […]
Grim winter looms as wartime Ukraine braces for infrastructure attacks
Kharkiv, Ukraine Reuters In an abandoned tower block damaged by Russian shelling in Ukraine’s second city, Olga Kobzar plans to tough out winter for as long as she can without electricity, water and central heating by lighting the gas stove in her kitchen for warmth. The 70-year-old, who lives alone in a devastated district of […]
Heat or eat?: Winter protests loom as energy poverty sweeps Europe
JOANNA GILL, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how spreading strikes and protests over energy-fuelled inflation is forcing politicians into a corner over climate goals…
IMMIGRATION: AS WINTER LOOMS, MIGRANT CHILDREN SLEEP ROUGH IN NORTHERN FRANCE
LIN TAYLOR, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on what life’s like for migrants in northern France, a year on from the closure of the ‘Jungle’ camp…