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Lily Thompson

Farmers cultivate an opium-free future for Lao PDR

“I get up at 4 am in harvesting season to pick the red berries which are taken to the processing plant,” 22-year-old Phuperp told the United Nations. Phuperp comes from a family of farmers which grows corn, rice, and legumes and…

Twenty years on: Indonesia ‘better prepared’ following tsunami

The lyrics include references to an earthquake, a massive wave, land submerged under water and locating to higher ground. “When there is an earthquake and a tsunami, you are in panic, you cannot be expected to think. This is why…

Sudan: Refugee numbers swell as war continues to drive displacement

South Sudan now ranks as the second largest recipient of people fleeing Sudan, with more than 810,000 new arrivals since April 2023, including returning South Sudanese refugees who were sheltering in Sudan and refugee and asylum seekers from other countries….

Middle East crisis: UN human rights office condemns worsening violence

In an appeal for an end to the “killing, destruction [and] bellicose posturing” by those in power, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said that the situation for civilians on the ground “in Lebanon, Gaza, Israel and Syria is getting…

Russian strikes on Ukraine’s Odesa region kill 4, governor says

kyiv, Ukraine —  A Russian missile slammed into a commercial building in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region overnight, killing four people including a 16-year-old girl, regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Friday. It was the fourth Russian attack on the Black…

Zelenskyy continues European tour with visits to Germany, Vatican

ROME —  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continued his European tour Friday, with a visit to Germany and the Vatican, as he talks about his formula for victory in his country’s war with Russia, which he said can bring an end…

Russian propagandists push fake story that Zelenskyy bought Hitler’s car

washington —  The article in the Seattle Tribune had everything: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Adolf Hitler and a $15 million classic car. Unsurprisingly, it spread like wildfire across Russia’s state and pro-Kremlin media. But the subject was a strange one…

Ukrainian journalist dies in Russian custody

A journalist taken captive by Russia while reporting in eastern Ukraine has died in custody, Ukrainian officials announced Thursday. Viktoria Roshchyna, 28, had been in detention for over a year. Her death in Russian custody was announced by a spokesperson…

China to lift 4-year ban on Australian lobster imports, Australia’s prime minister says

MELBOURNE, Australia —  China will resume importing Australian live lobsters by the end of the year, removing the final major obstacle to bilateral trade that once cost Australian exporters more than 20 billion Australian dollars ($13 billion) a year, Australia’s…

Prayer camps in Nigeria attract ‘miracle seekers’

The power of simple prayer to heal illness is not clear, according to scientists, and is difficult to study. Whatever your faith, when you’re sick, you should seek treatment from a doctor. But in Nigeria, some people choose spiritual healers…