Lifestory: First came the floods. Then “an amazing thing happened”…
SAMANTHA ELLEY writes about how her life was dramatically upended when flood waters inundated her home and her community…
Pope says increased defence spending after Ukraine is “madness”
Vatican City Reuters Pope Francis on Thursday criticised increased defence spending by Western nations following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “madness” and said a new way must be found to balance world power. Speaking to a coalition of women’s groups, the Pope said the conflict in Ukraine was a product of “the old logic of […]
Escape from Mariupol: “I didn’t want to die on the road”
Reuters It took two days of searching under heavy shelling before twin sisters Hanna and Anastasiya Hrechkina from Mariupol managed to find a ride out of the city. “I lost any hope because people were not stopping,” said Anastasiya, a 22-year-old psychology student. Service members of pro-Russian troops check cars during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the […]
North Korea says Thursday launch was ‘new-type’ ICBM Hwasong-17 – state media
Seoul, South Korea Reuters North Korea said it tested a new, powerful type of intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday, marking an end to a self-imposed moratorium on long-range testing in place since 2017 and drawing international condemnation. State media said leader Kim Jong-un directly guided the test of the Hwasong-17, a “new type” of intercontinental […]
Ethiopian Government declares unilateral truce to allow aid into Tigray
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Reuters Ethiopia’s government on Thursday declared an immediate, unilateral truce in its conflict with rebellious Tigrayan forces to allow aid into the northern province, although it was not clear how it would enforce it. “The government of Ethiopia hopes that this truce will substantially improve the humanitarian situation on the ground and […]
US to welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing war amid broader aid effort
Brussels, Belgium/Washington DC, US Reuters The United States plans to accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion and is pledging $US1 billion in new humanitarian aid, the Biden administration said on Thursday after a month of bombardments touched off Europe’s fastest-moving refugee crisis since the end of World War II. The announcement coincided with […]
West stands by Ukraine and assails Russian “barbarism”
Updated: 8.20am (AEDT) Brussels, Belgium/Lviv/Mariupol, Ukraine Reuters Western leaders piled on military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine on Thursday with US President Joe Biden calling Russian leader Vladimir Putin a “brute” and Britain denouncing Moscow’s invasion of its neigbour as “barbarism”. At an unprecedented triple summit in Brussels, transatlantic alliance NATO, G7 rich nations and […]
Portuguese volcanic island hit by multiple quakes draws up evacuation plan
Lisbon, Portugal Reuters Authorities on a mid-Atlantic Portuguese volcanic island hit by thousands of small earthquakes in recent days are drawing up plans to evacuate people in case the situation worsens. Since Saturday, about 2,000 quakes have been recorded on Sao Jorge in the Azores archipelago, Luis Silveira, mayor of the municipality of Velas, told […]
War story: Ukraine’s children use crayons to channel trauma
Reuters One drawing shows a Ukrainian soldier looking through a rifle scope, red flowers crowning her long black hair. Another depicts a girl playing on a swing under a smiling sun – a happy scene but for the Russian bombers flying overhead. Artem and Anastasiia Bykovets fled Ukraine’s capital Kyiv when Russian troops invaded a […]
Pastors’ role in education funding creates uproar in Brazil
Rio de Janerio, Brazil AP Allegations that two evangelical pastors have used their influence with Brazil’s Education Ministry to steer federal funding to friends – and in at least one case seek a bribe – are causing a new election-year controversy for the government of President Jair Bolsonaro. Major Brazilian news media published a series […]