Iran’s Raisi warns against “acts of chaos” over Mahsa Amini’s death

New York, US/Dubai, United Arab Emirates Reuters Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Thursday that “acts of chaos” are not acceptable, in a warning to protesters who have taken to the streets across the country in fury over the death of a woman in the morality police’s custody. Speaking at a news conference on the […]
More than 30 migrants dead, more than a dozen rescued in Syrian waters

Beirut, Lebanon Reuters Syrian authorities have found 34 bodies and rescued more than a dozen migrants off the coast of the northern port city of Tartus on Thursday suspected of having left north Lebanon bound towards Europe earlier this week. Samer Qubrusli, the Syrian director-general of ports, told Reuters that authorities had found 34 bodies […]
Some Russians flee war call-up as world powers face off at UN

Kyiv, Ukraine/New York City, US Reuters Some draft-age Russians rushed to the borders on Thursday to escape their country’s biggest conscription drive since World War II, as world powers rounded on Moscow at the United Nations, accusing it of escalating the conflict in Ukraine. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, responded with defiance, defending Moscow’s record […]
Demonstrators in Ecuador protest woman’s killing, demand payment to pension system

Quito, Ecuador Reuters Demonstrators took to the streets in Ecuador on Wednesday to protest the death of a woman the government says was killed by her police officer husband, while union workers demanded the government pay what it owes the state social security system, threatening to escalate protests if there was no agreement. Ecuadorians gathered […]
Australia mourns Queen Elizabeth II from home of “world’s oldest continuous culture”

Sydney, Australia Reuters Australia held a national day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying the greatest tribute the nation could offer was not a statue but “a renewed embrace of service to the community”. With the day declared a national holiday, a memorial ceremony attended by 600 […]
GreenSight: The ‘avattich’ or watermelon

ALVIN JOHNSON looks at the one Biblical mention of a well-known fruit…
Collectors clamour for rare Queen Elizabeth II coins and notes

Ottawa, Canada Reuters The death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has collectors scrambling to secure rare coins and bills bearing her likeness, even as her portrait is set to remain in circulation for years to come on money throughout the Commonwealth. Coin dealers say demand for rare-issue notes and coins – such as such as […]
World leaders pledge billions to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria on UN sidelines

United Nations/New York City, US Reuters The Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria on Wednesday reached $US14.25 billion pledged as world leaders seek to fight the killer diseases after progress was knocked off course by the COVID-19 pandemic. US President Joe Biden, who hosted the conference in New York on the sidelines of […]
Iran protests spread, death toll rises as internet curbed

Dubai, United Arab Emirates Reuters Iranian authorities and a Kurdish rights group reported rising death tolls on Wednesday as anger at the death of a woman detained by the morality police fuelled protests for a fifth day and fresh restrictions were placed on social media. Iranian media and a local prosecutor said four people were […]
Nearly a million people face starvation in hunger hotspots – UN agencies

London, UK Reuters Nearly one million people in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen are starving or will face starvation this year in the absence of aid, as the global food crisis worsens, United Nations agencies warned on Wednesday. Local conflict and weather extremes remain the primary drivers of acute hunger, aggravated this year […]