Analysis – West, Russia manage limited cooperation in Arctic despite chill in ties
Oslo, Norway Reuters When Arctic nations simulated a large oil spill for a virtual training exercise in March off northern Norway, Russia also took part – a rare sign of cooperation between Moscow and the West that highlighted the special status of the polar region. Relations between Russia and Western nations have been in the […]
Essay: Haitians looking to escape violence and chaos face hostility in neighbouring Dominican Republic
EDLIN VERAS, in an article first published on The Conversation, looks at how those fleeing violence in Haiti are being received in the neighbouring Dominican Republic…
Summer 2023 was the hottest in 2,000 years, study says
London, UK Reuters The intense northern hemisphere summer heat that drove wildfires across the Mediterranean, buckled roads in Texas and strained power grids in China last year made it not just the warmest summer on record – but the warmest in some 2,000 years, new research suggests. The stark finding comes from one of two […]
Lifestory: Jesuit scientist who bridged faith and science recounted in PBS documentary
US Catholic commentator THOMAS REESE, in an article first published on Religion News Service, looks at the life of French Jesuit scientist, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, whose story is being told in a new documentary…
Ukraine pulls back in two areas of Kharkiv region, warns of buildup near Sumy region
Near Vovchansk, Ukraine Reuters Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday its forces pulled back to new positions in two areas of the north-eastern Kharkiv region where Moscow is pressing an offensive, and warned of a Russian force buildup to the north near its Sumy region. A cross-border attack on a new flank in Sumy region would […]
Trump’s lawyers assail estranged fixer Michael Cohen’s credibility at hush money trial
New York, US Reuters Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen sustained a withering assault from the Republican presidential candidate’s legal team on Tuesday, as Trump’s defence lawyers sought to undermine Cohen’s testimony that Trump was intricately involved in a scheme to buy a porn star’s silence. In sometimes aggressive questioning, Trump attorney Todd Blanche confronted […]
Georgian parliament passes ‘foreign agent’ bill, prompting US anger, new protests
Tbilisi, Georgia Reuters Georgia’s parliament on Tuesday passed the third and final reading of a “foreign agents” bill, prompting a warning from the United States that if the legislation failed to meet European Union standards, Washington could review relations. Thousands of protesters, who along with Western nations denounce the bill as authoritarian and Russian-inspired, massed […]
Blinken, in Kyiv, vows unwavering US support as Russian attacks intensify
Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters The US will stand by Ukraine until its security sovereignty is guaranteed, Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged on Tuesday in a visit to Kyiv, at a time when Russia is mounting fresh attacks in the country’s east. The top US diplomat is the first senior US official to travel to Ukraine […]
Israeli tanks push deeper into Rafah, battles rage in northern Gaza
Cairo, Egypt Reuters Israeli tanks pushed deeper into eastern Rafah on Tuesday, reaching some residential districts of the southern Gazan border city where more than a million people had been sheltering and stoking fears of further civilian casualties. Israel’s international allies and aid groups have repeatedly warned against a ground incursion into refugee-packed Rafah, where […]