At least 50 insurgents killed, seven Nigerian officers missing after convoy attack
Abuja, Nigeria Reuters At least 50 Boko Haram fighters were killed on Tuesday and seven members of Nigeria’s infrastructure security force were missing following an insurgent ambush on a convoy monitoring the country’s power grid installations, a spokesperson said. Boko Haram, which has waged an insurgency for 15 years mainly in the north-east, has been […]
Australia launches “landmark” bill to ban social media for children under 16
Sydney, Australia Reuters Australia’s centre-left government on Thursday introduced a bill in parliament that aims to ban social media for children under 16 and proposed fines of up to $A49.5 million for social media platforms for systemic breaches. Australia plans to trial an age-verification system that may include biometrics or government identification to enforce a […]
Helpdesk: Rethinking screen time – a better understanding of what people do on their devices is key to digital well-being
In an article first published on The Conversation, RINANDA SHALEHA explains how researchers can better identify which digital activities are beneficial or potentially harmful…
More than 50 countries sign UN sustainable tourism declaration
Baku, Azerbaijan Reuters More than 50 governments have signed a UN declaration to make tourism around the globe more climate friendly, the United Nations said on Wednesday, in what it hailed as a major achievement of the climate summit in Azerbaijan. “At COP29 we have achieved today an historic milestone by being included in the […]
Nicaragua’s Ortega seeks to expand presidential powers
Reuters Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega proposed a constitutional reform to expand presidential powers over other branches of government, according to an official document seen by Reuters on Wednesday. The reform also seeks to increase the presidential term to six years from five and formally change the role of vice president, held by the 79-year-old Ortega’s […]
Israeli attack on Syria’s Palmyra kills 36 people, Syrian state media says
Dubai, United Arab Emirates Reuters An Israeli attack on Syria’s historic city of Palmyra killed 36 people and wounded more than 50 on Wednesday after it hit residential buildings and an industrial zone, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported. The Israeli military declined to comment when asked about the attack. “At approximately 1:30 pm […]
Deadly storm pounds north-west US, leaving half a million without power
Reuters A powerful storm clobbered Washington state on Wednesday, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people while disrupting road travel and causing at least two deaths and two injuries. Winds should die down across the region by midday, but the storm has moved to California and is set to bring extreme rainfall by […]
Pope to make late Italian millennial Carlo Acutis a saint in April
Vatican City Reuters An Italian teenager who used his computer skills to spread the Catholic faith will become the first saint from the millennial generation when he is canonized next April. Carlo Acutis, who died of leukaemia in 2006 aged 15, was dubbed “God’s influencer”. Born in London, he grew up in Milan where he […]
After the election: In Tennessee’s evangelical heartland, pastors say Trump’s win won’t solve America’s woes
For some Tennessee pastors, US evangelical support was mostly about the economy – and they hope Trump will lead to lower gas and food prices, but not a revival of Christian power. BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, reports…
Chair of US bishops’ ‘pro-life’ committee wants Catholics to see abortion’s impact on families
Baltimore, US RNS Ever since the 2022 Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court case struck down the national right to abortion, anti-abortion advocates, including the Unites States’ Catholic bishops, have struggled to gain voters’ support in limiting access to the procedure at the state level. On Election Day, abortion rights amendments passed in […]