Subscribe
World
In Syria’s quake-hit Aleppo, survivors try to reach the missing
ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) – After Monday’s earthquake brought down his family’s building in Syria’s battle-scarred second city of Aleppo, Youssef managed to reach one of his trapped relatives by phone, hearing voices despite a bad...
Amid rows of bodies, Turks check for relatives one by one after earthquake
ANTAKYA/KAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey (Reuters) – Turks stepped over hundreds of bodies in stadiums and parking lots on Wednesday, carefully lifting blankets from their faces to try to identify dead relatives after a once-in-a-generation earthquake devastated the region. Nada, a Syrian woman, and her Turkish husband asked a staff member how best to find their niece and...
Children accused of witchcraft find solace in east Congo shelter
BUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – After Ornella lost several family members within three years, relatives and neighbours in her east Congo village of Kabare began suspecting the 14-year-old girl of witchcraft. The hushed rumours and purifying rituals that ensued prompted one of Ornella’s brothers to take her to the police, concerned about the...
Sweden increasingly a focus for Islamic extremists, security police say
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Sweden has moved into the spotlight for violent Islamic extremists after a number of incidents including the recent public burning of the Muslim holy book, the Koran, the security services said on Wednesday. “Recent developments with threats targeted at Sweden and Swedish interests are serious and affect Sweden’s security,” the Swedish Security Service...
WHO sending medics and supplies to Turkey and Syria earthquake zone
LONDON (Reuters) -The World Health Organization is deploying expert teams and flights with medical supplies to Turkey and Syria after Monday’s devastating earthquake. It will send a high-level delegation to coordinate its response as well as three flights with medical supplies, one of which is already on its way to Istanbul, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom...
Australia denies permission for coal mine near Great Barrier Reef
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s environment minister on Wednesday declined to grant permission for a new thermal coal project owned by mining magnate Clive Palmer near the Great Barrier Reef. The Central Queensland Coal owned mine is in the Styx Coal Basin, just off the coast of central Queensland. “I’ve decided that the adverse environmental impacts...
Netflix lays out plans to crack down on account sharing
(Reuters) – Netflix Inc on Wednesday laid out plans to crack down on password sharing for accounts on its streaming platform, including setting up primary location and paying a couple of dollars for an extra member. The video-streaming giant, which has estimated that 100 million around the world use a shared account, said that members...
Australia acknowledges suspension of probe into MH17 downing
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The Australian government on Thursday said it had acknowledged the decision by international prosecutors to suspend their investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) over Ukraine in 2014. MH17 was shot down by a Russian BUK missile system as it flew over eastern Ukraine from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur...
Australia to expand rollout of fifth COVID vaccine shot
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia will roll out a fifth dose of COVID-19 vaccine later this month to all citizens aged 18 and above who have not contracted coronavirus or been vaccinated in the past six months, Health Minister Mark Butler said on Wednesday. The decision expands eligibility for the booster shot to include about 14...
Fewer than one in 200 companies have credible climate plans – CDP
LONDON (Reuters) – Fewer than one in 200 companies who submit climate change-related data to a leading environmental disclosure platform have credible climate transition plans, the nonprofit platform CDP said on Wednesday in its latest review of corporate submissions. The data underlines the scale of the gap between company pledges to transition to net-zero carbon...
Investigators may name more suspects in downing of Flight MH17
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – International investigators probing the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) over eastern Ukraine are set to present new findings on Wednesday, including possibly naming additional suspects. In November a Dutch court convicted two former Russian intelligence agents and a Ukrainian separatist leader of murder for helping arrange the Russian...
Third wave of French pension protests keeps pressure on Macron
PARIS (Reuters) – Public transport, schools and refinery supplies in France were disrupted on Tuesday as trade unions led a third wave of nationwide strikes against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to make the French work longer before retirement. Tuesday’s multi-sector walkouts come a day after pension reform legislation began its bumpy passage through parliament, and...
Owner of Spain’s Cosentino admits negligence over silicosis in workers – documents
MADRID (Reuters) -A Spanish businessman has admitted in court that he covered up the dangers of his company’s star product, which allegedly led to nearly 1,900 workers contracting the occupational lung disease silicosis, court documents showed on Tuesday. Francisco Martinez, who owns Spain’s leading kitchen worktop manufacturer Cosentino, accepted a six-month suspended prison sentence for...
U.S. seeks Chinese balloon remnants, says approach to China will stay calm
WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) -The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday imposed a temporary security zone in waters off South Carolina during the military’s search for debris from a suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down by a U.S. fighter jet, and the White House said it would keep a calm approach to relations with Beijing. President Joe Biden...
Earthquake knocks out Syrian aid lifeline, UN says
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Aid flows from Turkey to northwest Syria have temporarily stopped due to the fallout of a devastating earthquake, a U.N. spokesperson said on Tuesday, leaving aid workers grappling with the problem of how to help people in a country fractured by war. The cross-border aid operation overseen by the United Nations since...
Families beg for help to find loved ones in snow-covered earthquake debris
MALATYA, Turkey (Reuters) – Desperate and cold from the snow lying thick on the ground, relatives of earthquake victims in the Turkish city of Malatya expressed their frustration on Tuesday at what they said was the lack of help as they searched for missing loved ones. With no specialist equipment or even gloves or winter...
Turkish port of Iskenderun damaged, ships diverting -Maersk
LONDON (Reuters) – The southern Turkish port of Iskenderun has suffered severe structural damage due to an earthquake with all operations halted until further notice, container shipping firm AP Moller Maersk said on Tuesday. Maersk said in an advisory it was not yet clear when the port would return to normal operations. “Given the situation...
8th February
Kenya Power to convert its 2,000 vehicles to electric over 4 years
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s sole power distributor Kenya Power aims to convert its 2,000 petrol and diesel-driven vehicles to electric over the next four years, it said on Tuesday. The move is part of a rising trend in the East African economy to take advantage of the abundant electricity supply from renewable sources, and switch...
South Korea court orders first compensation for Vietnam war victim
SEOUL (Reuters) – A South Korean court ordered the government on Tuesday to compensate a Vietnamese victim of atrocities during the Vietnam War in the 1970s, when about 300,000 South Korean troops fought alongside U.S. forces. The ruling marked the first legal acknowledgement of South Korea’s liability for atrocities during the war and could potentially...
UNICEF says Turkey-Syria earthquake may have killed thousands of children
GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations children’s agency said on Tuesday that the earthquake and aftershocks that destroyed scores of buildings in Turkey and Syria may have killed thousands of children. “The earthquakes that hit southern Turkey and northern Syria early yesterday morning may have killed thousands of children,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters...
Solomon Islands ousts official critical of close relations with China
SYDNEY (Reuters) – A vocal critic of China and leader of the most populous province in the Solomon Islands has been removed from office after a no-confidence vote by the provincial legislature on Tuesday, Australian state broadcaster ABC reported. Daniel Suidani, premier of the South Pacific nation’s Malaita province, is a longtime critic of the...
Erdogan declares state of emergency for Turkey quake zone
ISTANBUL (Reuters) -President Tayyip Erdogan declared on Tuesday a three-month state of emergency covering Turkey’s 10 southern provinces hit by devastating earthquakes, and called it a disaster zone in a move meant to bolster rescue efforts. The move came as the death toll from Monday’s two major earthquakes, which hit a wide area of Turkey...
Glacial lake floods threaten communities in Asia, South America
(Reuters) – Melting mountain glaciers pose a growing flood risk to some 15 million people around the world, researchers said in a report published on Tuesday, with communities in Asia facing the biggest danger. Runoff from melting glaciers often pools in shallow lakes, held back by rocks and debris. The risk comes when a lake...
Doctor says bodies “everywhere” in collapsed Iskenderun hospital
ISKENDERUN, Turkey (Reuters) – Rescue teams and survivors peered through the twisted remains of an Iskenderun hospital on Tuesday, searching for signs of life a day after a major earthquake struck Turkey and neighbouring Syria. There was little amongst the debris to suggest the building was a busy medical facility less than two days before....
Switzerland’s solar dam: Sun and snow the perfect mix for green energy drive
LINTHAL, Switzerland (Reuters) – A snaking wall of solar panels has been attached to Switzerland’s longest dam as the landlocked nation looks to maximise its green energy production in the winter months. The Lake Muttsee dam, in the central Swiss canton of Glarus, is over 2,400 metres above sea level and surrounded by snow-capped peaks...
Chile heat wave could further fan the flames of deadly wildfires
QUILLON, Chile (Reuters) – Chilean authorities on Tuesday warned of a “very complex” situation as a new heat wave in the country’s south-central region threatened to further fan the flames of dangerous forest fires that have already left 26 dead. Over 290,000 hectares (716,606 acres) have been ravaged by fires this season and forecasts for...
At least 15 dead from Peru landslide, president pledges to speed help
(Reuters) -The death toll from a massive landslide that struck southern Peru rose to at least 15 on Tuesday, according to a government tally, after dozens of homes were swallowed up by dirt and mud following heavy rainfall last weekend. Another 20 people were injured after the landslide struck on Sunday near the riverside town...
At least 1,932 killed in Syria following deadly earthquakes
BEIRUT (Reuters) – At least 1,932 people were killed and thousands injured in Syria following a number of deadly earthquakes and aftershocks in neighbouring Turkey, authorities and rescuers said on Tuesday. State news agency SANA said at least 812 people were killed and 1,449 people injured in the government-held provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, Idlib...
Australia, New Zealand talk up their relationships with China
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia and New Zealand talked up their relationships with China at a joint prime ministerial news conference on Tuesday in the latest sign of strengthening ties with their biggest trading partner. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his counterpart Chris Hipkins said they discussed climate change, security, migration and the economy at their...
Disney’s Hong Kong service drops ‘Simpsons’ episode with ‘forced labor’ reference
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co has cut an episode from the hit cartoon series “The Simpsons” that contains a reference to “forced labour camps” in China from its streaming service in Hong Kong, according to a check of the service. The episode “One Angry Lisa”, which first aired in October on television, is...
