By AFP and published by CNA Rome – Scorching weather gripped three continents on Sunday (July 16), whipping up wildfires and threatening to topple temperature records as the dire consequences of global warming take shape. Predictions of historic heat hung over swathes of Asia, Europe and the United States. In the Vatican, 15,000 people
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Bank lifelines ease global financial crisis fears
By Reuters – published by US News & World Report, and INN News MULTI-BILLION dollar lifelines for troubled US and European banks shored up investor confidence on Friday (Mar. 17) and bolstered sentiment in battered stocks, although concerns now centre on whether a global financial crisis has been fully averted. Large US banks injected
Read moreCredit Suisse shares sink as top shareholder rules out more cash
By Agencies and published by CNA Paris – Credit Suisse lost almost a quarter of its value on Wednesday (Mar. 15), dropping to a new record low after its largest investor said it could not provide the Swiss bank with more financial assistance. “We cannot, because we would go above 10 percent. It’s a
Read moreUkraine’s Zelenskiy warns Europeans to brace for bleak winter
By Reuters and published by US News & World Report Kyiv – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has told Europeans to expect a difficult winter as the Russian assault on his country leads to cuts in oil and gas exports by Moscow. Zelenskiy was speaking on Saturday night after Moscow shut down a main pipeline that
Read moreBeer for sunflower oil? Munich pub finds way to beat frying crunch
By Reuters, published by The Straits Times Berlin – A Munich brewpub has found a novel way to beat Europe’s cooking oil shortages – letting customers pay for their beer with sunflower oil to ensure plentiful stocks for frying schnitzels. With Ukraine and Russia accounting for about 80 per cent of global exports of
Read morePutin gets what he didn’t want: Ukraine army closer to West
By AP, and published by US New & World Report Washington — The longer Ukraine’s army fends off the invading Russians, the more it absorbs the advantages of western weaponry and training — exactly the transformation President Vladimir Putin wanted to prevent by invading in the first place. The list of arms flowing to
Read moreAcademic: Yesterday’s Covid death toll third highest in the world
ISSUING another warning in a Facebook post today (Apr. 18) was Assoc. Prof. Thira Woratanarat of Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine pointing out that yesterday’s 128 Covid deaths was the third highest in the world with this clearing showing that the situation here is still severe, Sanook.com said. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA)
Read morePutin orders Russian troops into Ukraine after recognising breakaway regions
By Reuters and published by The Straits Times Moscow – Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent on Monday (Feb. 21) and ordered the Russian army to launch what Moscow called a peacekeeping operation into the area, a move that Washington said was part of Moscow’s attempt to create
Read morePutin says he may recognise breakaway regions of Ukraine
By Dmitry Antonov and Michel Rose, Reuters, and published by Swissinfo.ch Moscow/Paris –Russian President Vladimir Putin said today (Feb. 21) he was considering a request by two regions of eastern Ukraine held by Russian-backed separatists to be recognised as independent – a move that could give Moscow a reason to openly send troops. Separately,
Read moreAlarm as east Ukraine’s most intense shelling for years enters second day
By Reuters and published by Gulf News Moscow/Kyiv – Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian rebels reported increased shelling in eastern Ukraine for a second straight day today (Feb. 18), an escalation that Washington and other Western allies say could form part of a Russian pretext to invade. A diplomatic source with years of direct experience
Read moreGerman troops arrive to reinforce Baltics amid tensions over Ukraine
By Reuters and published by The Straits Times Kaunas Airport – A German military aircraft carrying troop reinforcements landed in Lithuania today (Feb. 14), the first of several planned Nato deployments amid fears in the region about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. The A400M airplane carried around 70 soldiers of what is expected to
Read morePutin, Biden plan high-stakes phone call on Ukraine
Moscow – Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden are to hold a high-stakes telephone call on Saturday as tensions over a possibly imminent invasion of Ukraine escalated sharply and the US announced plans to evacuate its embassy in the Ukrainian capital. Before talking to Biden, Putin is to have a call
Read moreWest warns of ‘dangerous moment’ in Ukraine standoff as Russia holds military drills
By Yuliya Talmazan, Oksana Parafeniuk, Tatyana Chistikova and Alan Kaytukov, NBC News and published by MSN News RUSSIA began major military drills with close ally Belarus today (Feb 10), the latest stage in a massive military buildup near Ukraine’s borders that has stoked fears Moscow could invade its neighbour. The joint exercises were expected to
Read moreWater cannon, tear gas at Covid-19 protests in Brussels
By AP and published by MSN News Brussels – Police fired water cannons and tear gas in Brussels today (Jan. 23) to disperse protesters marching against Covid-19 vaccinations and restrictions. The march followed demonstrations in other European capitals on Saturday that also drew thousands of people protesting vaccine passports and other requirements that European
Read moreFires rage across southern Europe, forcing hundreds to evacuate
By AFP and published by Channel NewsAsia Ankara – Dozens of villages were evacuated in tourist hotspots in southern Turkey on Sunday (August 1) as wildfires that have claimed eight lives raged for a fifth day, while blazes also hit Greece, Italy and Spain. Fanned by soaring temperatures and strong winds – with experts saying
Read moreExplainer: Topsy-turvy weather comes from polar vortex
By Seth Borenstein, AP, published by Microsoft News IT’S as if the world has been turned upside-down, or at least its weather. You can blame the increasingly familiar polar vortex, which has brought a taste of the Arctic to places where winter often requires no more than a jacket. Around the North Pole, winter’s ultra-cold
Read moreIn Covid-19 milestone for West, Britain starts mass vaccination
By Reuters Staff, published by US News London: A 90-year-old grandmother became the world’s first person to receive a fully-tested Covid-19 shot today (Dec. 8), as Britain began mass-vaccinating its people in a global drive that poses one of the biggest logistical challenges in peacetime history. Health workers started inoculating the most vulnerable with the
Read moreGerman Santas hope to bring cheer despite masks
By Reuters Staff, published by US News Berlin: A group of Germans dressed as Santa and angels who rent themselves out over the Christmas period gathered in Berlin on Saturday, keen to spread joy and practice their “Ho-ho-hos” even though they have to wear masks. Most years, several hundred “Rent-a-Santa” meet at the beginning of
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