CDE News

Global Witness reports 227 land and environmental activists murdered in a single year, the worst figure on record

As the climate crisis intensifies, violence against defenders of the earth is escalating. A new report reveals that 227 land and environmental activists were murdered in 2020 for defending their…

Read More Here

The case for, and against, COVID-19 vaccine boosters

The U.S. government aims to begin offering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots widely next week to Americans age 16 and up. A panel of outside advisers to the Food and Drug…

Read More Here

EU priorities in Indo-Pacific shift to counter China

The European Union set out a formal strategy on Thursday to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific and counter China's rising power, although Australia's decision to cancel an arms contract…

Read More Here

Tougher EU airport slot rules trigger Asia retaliation threat, risk industry trade war

Regulators in Asian hubs like Singapore and Hong Kong have threatened to retaliate against European Union plans to force airlines to start using take-off and landing slots frozen during the…

Read More Here

European nations’ plans for coping with COVID-19

France has introduced mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for health and care home workers in an effort to prevent a new wave of the virus in the autumn that would throttle the…

Read More Here

What happened on Sept. 11, 2001

(Reuters) - Here is a timeline for Sept. 11, 2001, when commercial airliners crashed into the New York World Trade Center twin towers, the Pentagon and, after passengers mounted a…

Read More Here

A glimpse under the hood of El Salvador’s bitcoin experiment

El Salvador on Tuesday rolled out cryptocurrency bitcoin as legal tender, an unprecedented move that faced some technical hiccups on its first day and left many wondering how it will…

Read More Here

Paris Nov. 2015 attacks: key facts about the trial

Twenty people go on trial in Paris on Wednesday suspected of involvement in a jihadist assault on Nov. 13, 2015, the most deadly attack ever seen in peacetime France, in…

Read More Here

Afghanistan pullout spurs EU to revive rapid reaction force

The chaotic withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan has shown that the European Union needs to intervene militarily in a crisis without relying on U.S. troops, senior EU officials say.…

Read More Here

Fall of Japan PM Suga triggered by criticism over pandemic, failure to communicate

When Yoshihide Suga took over as Japan's prime minister last year, hopes were high that skills honed over years as a keen backroom operator, and a common touch from his…

Read More Here

Islamic State attack signals West’s least bad option for Afghanistan: the Taliban

The deadly attack on Kabul airport has underlined the realpolitik facing Western powers in Afghanistan: engaging with the Taliban may be their best chance to prevent the country sliding into…

Read More Here

What we know about Japan’s contaminated Moderna COVID-19 vaccine supplies

Japan's COVID-19 vaccination push has been dealt a blow by widening reports of contamination in supplies of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine. Here are some key points in the issue so…

Read More Here

A look at the Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K)

Following are some facts about the Afghan affiliate of Islamic State, which was behind suspected suicide bomb attacks outside Kabul airport. Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), named after an old term…

Read More Here

Evacuations from Afghanistan by country

The United States and allies are hurrying to evacuate as many people from Afghanistan as possible before an Aug. 31 deadline amid growing security fears at Kabul airport. Roughly 13,400…

Read More Here

Binance: The crypto giant facing pressure from regulators

Financial regulators across the world have targeted major cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Some have banned the platform from certain activities, while others have warned consumers that it was unlicensed to operate.…

Read More Here

Will the Afghan crisis trigger a new refugee crisis for Europe?

The Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan has stoked fears of an exodus of Afghans and a repeat of Europe's 2016/16 migration crisis, when more than a million people from the Middle…

Read More Here

Britain asks: Is America back or has it turned its back?

The humiliation of the lightning Taliban takeover in Afghanistan after a 20-year war that cost hundreds of thousands of lives has raised a question for the United States' staunchest European…

Read More Here

Blood and billions of dollars: NATO’s long war in Afghanistan

Here are some facts about NATO's military involvement in support of the United States in Afghanistan: * On Sept. 12, 2001, NATO allies invoked their mutual defence clause for the…

Read More Here

Factbox: What to watch for as the Taliban inch closer to Kabul

Aug 14 (Reuters) - The insurgent Taliban have captured Afghanistan's second- and third-largest cities, and a town just south of Kabul, and now have their sights set on the capital.…

Read More Here

The U.N. climate report’s five futures – decoded

The U.N. climate panel report released Monday on the physical science of climate change uses five possible scenarios for the future. The scenarios are the result of complex calculations that…

Read More Here

Key takeaways from the U.N. climate panel’s report

The U.N. climate panel has released its most comprehensive assessment of climate change yet. Here are some of the report's main conclusions: See report here HUMANS ARE TO BLAME…

Read More Here

Tunisian president’s feud with party elites drove him to seize reins of power

As he was driven to an urgently scheduled national security meeting with the president, Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi was unable to reach the phones of senior officers to discuss…

Read More Here

U.N. climate report likely to deliver stark warnings on global warming

Eight years after its last update on climate science, the United Nations is set to publish a report Monday that will likely deliver even starker warnings about how quickly the…

Read More Here

Retail coffee prices to go up as frost and freight costs bite

LONDON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - The most devastating frost in decades in top coffee producer Brazil and record freight costs sparked by COVID-19 causing massive shipping logjams are expected to…

Read More Here

Lebanese demand justice on port blast anniversary

Lebanon's leading Christian cleric said there could be no immunity from prosecution over the catastrophic Beirut port blast and that officials were evading investigation, as many Lebanese marked the first…

Read More Here

Peru’s new leftist president prioritizes China ties during early days in office

In his first week in office, Peru's new left-wing administration under President Pedro Castillo has been quick to extend a friendly hand to China, the Andean nation's most important commercial…

Read More Here

Northern Ireland protocol: here’s what a compromise between EU and UK could look like

The EU has announced it will suspend its legal action against the UK for allegedly breaching the Northern Ireland protocol by unilaterally extending grace periods related to trade between Great…

Read More Here

COVID: the beta variant has spread to Europe – should UK be worried?

Most of the world, the UK included, is currently grappling with the delta variant of the coronavirus. But in parts of Europe there has also been a resurgence of an…

Read More Here

Male fertility is declining – studies show that environmental toxins could be a reason

In the U.S., nearly 1 in 8 couples struggles with infertility. Unfortunately, physicians like me who specialize in reproductive medicine are unable to determine the cause of male infertility around…

Read More Here

A look at Australia’s path to reopening international borders

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a four-stage plan to greater freedom from coronavirus restrictions, saying Australia will have to vaccinate 80% of its adults against COVID-19 before it can…

Read More Here

Extreme weather renews focus on climate change as scientists update forecasts

As scientists gather online to finalize a long-awaited update on global climate research, recent extreme weather events across the globe highlight the need for more research on how it will…

Read More Here

A look at Biden’s new COVID push: vaccine rules, testing plans, hard cash

President Joe Biden announced new measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 and the new Delta variant in the United States that will impact millions of federal workers, contractors and…

Read More Here

Sport begins self-reflection after Biles and Osaka highlight stress

Simone Biles arrived in Tokyo as a superstar gymnast many believed would change the perception of her sport across the world. She has done that although not in the expected…

Read More Here

Possible scenarios for Tunisia’s political crisis

Tunisian democracy faces its biggest test since the 2011 revolution after President Kais Saied ousted the government and froze parliament late on Sunday, leading to confrontations between his supporters and…

Read More Here

From China to Germany, floods expose climate vulnerability

Deadly floods that have upended life in both China and Germany have sent a stark reminder that climate change is making weather more extreme across the globe. At least 25…

Read More Here

Preparing to bow out, Merkel too busy to think about life after office

Germany's Angela Merkel made clear on Thursday she would keep working on issues such as climate change till her last day as chancellor but, inscrutable as ever, gave little away…

Read More Here

What is Britain demanding on Brexit?

Britain is demanding the European Union agree to rework the post-Brexit rules governing trade with Northern Ireland, saying it had considered taking unilateral action but would try once more to…

Read More Here

Lebanon faces even tougher times

France urged Lebanon on Friday to designate a prime minister as soon as possible after Saad al-Hariri abandoned efforts to form a government, but prospects for a new cabinet being…

Read More Here

Europe’s climate masterplan aims to slash emissions within a decade

The European Union is set to take the lead in climate policy action among the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters this week, with a raft of ambitious plans designed to…

Read More Here

Why did Pope Francis need surgery?

Pope Francis is currently in hospital, recovering after a planned surgery to remove one side of his intestine for a medical condition known as symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon.…

Read More Here

Why were Colombian ex-soldiers in Haiti? Experts say they are popular mercenaries

Highly-trained Colombian soldiers left at a loose end after retirement have frequently been tempted by opportunities to ply their trade abroad as private military contractors from Iraq to Yemen, military…

Read More Here

Slow progress in Balkan countries’ bids to join EU

German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week hosted a summit with six Balkan countries to forge closer cooperation as they make slow progress in their goal of joining the European Union.…

Read More Here

A look at the unmarked graves found at Canadian former residential school sites

Canada has been rocked by the disclosures of more than 1,000 unmarked graves at the sites of former residential schools - institutions that were part of an abusive system that…

Read More Here

Rising Delta virus, absent Brits dampen Europe’s tourism hopes

While not a complete wash-out, the summer tourism season vital to southern Europe's economies will be less than sizzling as the Delta coronavirus spreads and travel hurdles keep British and…

Read More Here

EU digital COVID certificate, the key to summer travel

The European Union launched on Thursday it digital COVID certificate system designed to help citizens travel more freely across the 27-nation bloc and open up summer tourism. WHAT IS IT?…

Read More Here

A hundred years on, how the Communist Party dominates China

China's ruling Communist Party celebrates the 100th anniversary of its founding on July 1. WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF THE PARTY? The Communist Party of China (CCP) was founded in…

Read More Here

COVID-19: The first study to look at whether fake news actually changes people’s behaviour

“The spread of COVID-19 is linked to 5G mobile networks.” “Place a halved onion in the corner of your room to catch the COVID-19 germs.” “Sunny weather protects you from…

Read More Here

What is the Delta variant of coronavirus with K417N mutation?

India said on Wednesday it has found around 40 cases of the Delta coronavirus variant carrying a mutation that appears to make it more transmissible, and advised states to increase…

Read More Here

Brexit: five years after the referendum, here are five things we’ve learned

On June 23 2016 the UK went to the polls to decide the future of the country’s EU membership. The vote to leave the EU – decided by a slim…

Read More Here

EXPLAINER-Untangling the crisis in Libya

Germany and the United Nations host an international conference on Libya in Berlin on Tuesday. On the agenda will be political progress there, national elections scheduled for December, and the…

Read More Here

‘We are not communists’: Castillo seeks to allay fears in divided Peru

Pedro Castillo, a former teacher and political outsider on the verge of being named president of Peru, has looked to temper fears in the divided Andean nation after a slow…

Read More Here

Reaction to Biden-Putin summit ranges from ‘positive’ to ‘disturbing’

U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed at their first summit on Wednesday to hold talks on arms control and cybersecurity. Here is some reaction to their…

Read More Here

U.S.-Russia summit: The American presidents Putin has confronted

Russia's Vladimir Putin has been in power as president or prime minister since 1999 and has held talks with and seen four U.S. presidents leave office. Joe Biden, whom the…

Read More Here

Biden and Putin summit: Where they disagree and where they might compromise

Don’t expect a major breakthrough at a summit on Wednesday between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, given relations between…

Read More Here

Who’s who in Israel’s new patchwork coalition government

Israel's new government is a hodgepodge of political parties that had little in common other than a desire to unseat veteran right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The coalition, sworn in…

Read More Here

Out, but not down, Netanyahu could be tough opposition leader

Long the familiar face of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu is headed to the political sidelines after serving as prime minister for more than a decade. But even as he battles in…

Read More Here

Biden’s to-do list on foreign trip: Rally allies against COVID, Putin

President Joe Biden’s meeting with leaders of the G7 leading industrial economies in an English seaside village this week will usher in a new focus on rallying U.S. allies against…

Read More Here