Pope begins trip to DR Congo and South Sudan Francis to meet victims of war in Congo Trip postponed from July due to pope’s knee ailment KINSHASA, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Pope Francis denounced the “poison of greed” driving conflicts in Africa as he began a visit to Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, saying … Read more
Shootings follow Israeli West Bank raid, Gaza strikes Israel boosts West Bank forces Abbas blames Israel for escalation JERUSALEM, Jan 28 (Reuters) – Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Saturday a “strong, swift and precise” response to a deadly Palestinian shooting attack near a synagogue on Jerusalem’s outskirts, as its military sent more troops … Read more
Government wants to raise retirement age by two years to 64 Railways, schools and refineries among those hit by strike Macron’s reformist credentials at stake in dispute Polls show widespread opposition to pension reform NICE/TOURS, Jan 19 (Reuters) – French workers went on strike and joined marches across the country on Thursday, halting trains and … Read more
BERLIN, Jan 18 (Reuters) – Europeans have dialed down their heating this winter, apparently heeding government calls to conserve energy amid the Ukraine crisis, with some delaying switching it on by almost a month and setting the temperature lower, data shows. The data, from hundreds of thousands of smart thermometers installed in households across the … Read more
LONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Iranian oil exports hit new highs in the last two months of 2022 and are making a strong start to 2023 despite US sanctions, according to companies that track the flows, on higher shipments to China and Venezuela. Tehran’s oil exports have been limited since former US President Donald Trump … Read more
Jan 15 (Reuters) – One year on from the massive eruption of an underwater volcano in the South Pacific, the island nation of Tonga is still dealing with the damage to its coastal waters. When Hunga-Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai went off, it sent a shockwave around the world, produced a plume of water and ash that soared … Read more
WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) – US President Joe Biden told Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday that the United States remained strongly committed to its alliance with Japan and praised Tokyo’s “historic” defense reforms. Kishida is in Washington on the last stop in a tour of the G7 industrial powers and has been seeking … Read more
Around 50,000 mourners attended the outdoor ceremony Ex-pope was standard-bearer for traditionalist Catholics Pope Benedict buried under St. Peter’s Basilica VATICAN CITY, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Pope Francis led the funeral of former Pope Benedict on Thursday, tenderly touching the coffin of his predecessor as he stood supported on a cane before tens of thousands … Read more
Dec 31 (Reuters) – With fireworks planned in Paris, hopes for an end to war in Kyiv, and a return to post-COVID normality in Australia and China, Europe and Asia bid farewell to 2022. It was a year marked for many by the conflict in Ukraine, economic stress and the effects of global warming. But … Read more
WUHAN/BEIJING, Dec 31 (Reuters) – New Year’s Eve in China prompted an outpouring of reflection online, some of it critical, about the strict zero-COVID policy the country adhered to for almost three years and the impact of its abrupt reversal this month. The sudden change to live with the virus has prompted a wave of … Read more