Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

News

Hard Numbers: Real snow disrupts Winter Games, French airstrikes in the Sahel, “blasphemy” lynching in Pakistan, Canadian cops arrest protesters

2022 Beijing Olympics - Cross-Country Skiing -

Cross country skiing at the 2022 Beijing Olympics

REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson

222 million: Several ski and slalom events had to be pushed back at the Beijing Olympics Sunday due to heavy snow and poor visibility. Ironically, China has been criticized for using 222 million liters of water to create artificial snow conditions for the Games.


40: In coordination with local forces, the French military conducted airstrikes in Burkina Faso Saturday, killing 40 militants believed to be linked to local terror cells. The French, who have been operating in a counterterrorism capacity in the jihadist-plagued Sahel region, said the targets were responsible for recent attacks in neighboring Benin, which killed a French national.

80: More than 80 people have been arrested in Pakistan’s Punjab province for lynching a man who allegedly burned pages of the Quran. Pakistan’s British-era blasphemy law triggers a potential death sentence for anyone who insults Islam, but critics say that the law is often used by vigilantes to target minorities and settle personal scores.

1.6: Canadian police started arresting protesters Sunday in Windsor, Canada, in an attempt to unblock the 1.6 mile Ambassador Bridge that runs from there to Detroit, Michigan, and accommodates more than a quarter of all trade between the US and Canada. This comes as weeks-long protests against vaccine mandates and other measures that have crippled Ottawa, the capital, continue to grow.

More For You

Europe’s first full solar eclipse in decades
Natalie Johnson
The skies over Greenland, Iceland, and Spain will briefly darken today as continental Europe experiences its first total solar eclipse in over 25 years. Millions more across Canada, the northern US, and northwest Africa will see a partial eclipse. The celestial spectacle has also revived an earthly debate: Do you really need special glasses to [...]
Oil tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz, December 21, 2018.

Oil tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz, December 21, 2018.

REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
The Strait escape Iran refused again on Tuesday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz unless the US meets its demands, flexing its leverage over the world’s most important artery for oil and gas shipping. But now, that leverage is prompting a rethink of global shipping routes. Saudi Arabia, one of the top oil producers in the world, plans to increase [...]
Residents dig through the debris of a collapsed building after an earthquake.

Residents dig through the debris of a collapsed building after an earthquake, in Cali, Colombia August 10, 2026.

REUTERS/Juan Pablo Arbelaez
Earthquake rocks Colombia days into new president’s termA 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Colombia yesterday – at least 160 people have died, though officials expect the toll to rise as rescue efforts continue. The quake’s epicenter was in the Chocó region – one of Colombia’s poorest areas that has also been wracked with clashes in recent years [...]
Zambia’s elections put its democratic reputation to the test
Will Fitzpatrick
Zambians head to the polls this week in national elections that will test a country that’s garnered a reputation as one of southern Africa’s most stable democracies. Since Zambia returned to multiparty elections in 1991, it has had six different presidents from three different parties. President Hakainde Hichilema is seeking reelection after [...]