By Tim Cocks JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Africa’s first COVID-19 vaccination plant, touted last year as a trailblazer for an under-vaccinated continent frustrated by sluggish Western handouts, risks shutting down after receiving not a single order, a comp…
Residents of New Mexico town prepare to evacuate amid wildfire
By Andrew Hay TAOS, N.M. (Reuters) -Thousands of residents of a historic Old West town in New Mexico were told to prepare for possible evacuation on Sunday as fierce winds drove the largest active U.S. wildfire through drought-parched forests. People i…
Greek workers protest at energy cost surge in May Day rallies
ATHENS (Reuters) – Metro trains ground to a halt and ships were docked in ports as thousands of workers joined May Day rallies in the Greek capital to protest against soaring energy and food prices. Gas and power bills have surged, with price rises exa…
Cubans take to streets on Worker’s Day for first time in three years
By Dave Sherwood HAVANA (Reuters) – Cubans poured onto the streets in celebration of International Worker’s Day on Sunday, the first such parade since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, touting fluttering flags, posters of former leader Fidel Castr…
Russian oligarchs to be targeted in U.S. aid package for Ukraine, Schumer says
By Katharine Jackson (Reuters) -U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Sunday he would act on a Biden administration request to add provisions to a $33 billion Ukraine aid package to allow the United States to seize Russian oligarchs’ asse…
Violence erupts in May Day protests in Paris, marchers criticise re-elected Macron
By Dominique Vidalon and Noemie Olive PARIS (Reuters) -Police fired tear gas to push back black-clad anarchists who ransacked business premises in Paris on Sunday during May Day protests against the policies of newly re-elected President Emmanuel Macro…
Analysis-From boom to glut: Canada’s housing plan could backfire on Trudeau
By Julie Gordon OTTAWA (Reuters) – The Canadian government’s plan to ease runaway housing prices by rapidly ramping up the pace of home construction risks pushing up construction costs in the near term and could lead to oversupply in the long run, expe…
Trump faces biggest test of his ‘king-maker’ clout since leaving White House
By Alexandra Ulmer and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) – The month of May brings Donald Trump the biggest test of his political clout since the end of his presidency, as candidates he has endorsed contest Republican primaries that will set the stage for Nove…
As Beijing tightens COVID curbs, hard-hit Shanghai sees signs of life
By Ryan Woo and Brenda Goh BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The Chinese capital Beijing tightened COVID restrictions on Sunday as it battled an outbreak, while Shanghai let more of its 25 million residents venture out for light and air after reporting a se…
Pope says Mariupol ‘barbarously bombarded’, implicitly criticising Russia
By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Francis on Sunday described the war in Ukraine as a “macabre regression of humanity” that makes him “suffer and cry”, calling for humanitarian corridors to evacuate people trapped in the Mariupol steelwor…