UK PM Johnson, Prince William condemn racist abuse of England soccer team
London, UK Reuters British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday condemned the racist abuse on social media aimed at England soccer players after their narrow defeat in the final of Euro 2020, drawing accusations of hypocrisy from political opponents. Black players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were subjected to “disgusting” online abuse after […]
World hunger, malnutrition soared last year mostly due to COVID-19 – UN agencies
London, UK Reuters World hunger and malnutrition levels worsened dramatically last year, with most of the increase likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a multi-agency United Nations report published on Monday. After remaining virtually unchanged for five years, the number of undernourished people rose to around 768 million last year – equivalent to […]
India’s most populous state seeks to promote two-child policy
New Delhi, India Reuters India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, has proposed legislation that aims to discourage couples from having more than two children, becoming the second state ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party to make such a proposal. If Uttar Pradesh were a country, its 240 million people would make it the world’s […]
Bosnia commemorates 26th anniversary of Srebrenica massacre
Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina AP Nineteen newly identified victims were honoured and buried Sunday in Bosnia as thousands gathered to commemorate the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, Europe’s only acknowledged genocide since World War II. The slaughter of more than 8,000 Muslim Bosniaks, most of them men and boys, by Bosnian Serb forces was commemorated in speeches, prayers and […]
Thousands of protesters take to the streets in Cuba
Havana, Cuba Reuters Thousands of Cubans took to the streets from Havana to Santiago on Sunday in rarely seen protests, expressing frustration over economic conditions, the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations and what they said was government neglect. President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who also heads the Communist Party, blamed the United States for the unrest in a […]
Updated: Haiti police arrest suspect in President’s assassination
Updated: 2.30pm (AEST) Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters Haitian police said on Sunday they had arrested one of the suspected masterminds in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, a Haitian man whom authorities accused of hiring mercenaries to oust and replace Moise. Moise was shot dead early on Wednesday at his Port-au-Prince home by what Haitian authorities describe […]
In the US, Wisconsin Catholic bishop takes rare step of removing defiant priest
Madison, Wisconsin, US AP A Wisconsin Catholic bishop has taken the unusual step of removing a priest from the ministry after he made a series of divisive remarks about politics and the pandemic. The Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse said in a statement Friday that Bishop William Patrick Callahan has issued a decree immediately […]
Israeli Supreme Court upholds contentious Jewish state law
Jerusalem, IsraelAP Israel’s Supreme Court last week upheld a controversial law that defines the country as the nation state of the Jewish people – rejecting claims by opponents that it discriminates against minorities. In its ruling, the court acknowledged shortcomings in the so-called Nation State Law. But it said the law “did not negate Israel’s […]
Fighting deforestation: Uganda helps farmers grow trees for money in bid to reverse forest loss
CHRISTOPHER BENDANA, writing for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how deforestation in Uganda is not only being slowed – but reversed…
Quick facts – Grief and neglect: 10 factory disasters in South Asia
New Delhi, India Thomson Reuters Foundation A massive fire raged through a juice-making factory in Bangladesh on Friday, killing at least 52 workers as the flames forced many of them to jump from upper floors. Many others were feared trapped in the fire, which broke out on the ground floor of a six-storey building late […]