Some may find comfort of home in a tub of gelato — and it appears Pope Francis isn't too different. To welcome the 87-year-old pontiff, a fridge in his residence in Singapore was stocked with the icy treats. Pope Francis stayed several days in a retreat centre tucked in a sleepy estate in Punggol during his visit to Singapore from Sept 11 to 13. On Monday (Sept 16), AsiaOne had the opportunity to take a look inside his room at the St Francis Xavier Retreat Centre, amid preparations for Chancery archival of items used in the trip. «It was a special request by the Vatican team to fill the fridge up with gelatos,» Helen Seah, property manager of the retreat centre, told AsiaOne.  «Apparently, the Holy Father's favourite treat is gelato.»

[allAfrica]

[allAfrica] Online victim blaming and efforts to justify intimate partner violence are still prevalent, according to a new report by the Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change (CABC).

[allAfrica] Monrovia -- The head of the U.S-Africa Command (Africom) - a unit of the U.S. military responsible for operations on the continent - said the U.S. strategy on the continent will remain «partnership-centric» and led by Africans themselves, whether they are «dealing with violent extremism or transnational crimes».

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to set the strength of the country’s armed forces at nearly 2.4 million people Read Full Article at RT.com

'Because of my age, I might not be able to go back there,' said John Rupert, 71, of his trapline. He says he wants to know when it will be safe to hunt there.

Several harvesters around Lac La Ronge, Morin Lake and Pinehouse Lake in northern Saskatchewan say that when they began the first round of harvesting earlier this month, they discovered many kernels empty and small, worm-like creatures eating the plants.

Three sisters who are all survivors of the Sixties Scoop have found each other and reunited in Fort Providence, a community they call home, for first time.

How can the federal government prevent other countries from trying to meddle in Canada’s elections? That will be the focus as the public inquiry into foreign interference begins its second phase of hearings on Monday.

Members of Parliament all receive the same base salary — $203,100 — but some spend much less time on their feet in the House of Commons than others.

US authorities are investigating what appears to be a second attempted assassination of Donald Trump Read Full Article at RT.com

A student has injured three of his classmates and a teacher in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, health authorities have said Read Full Article at RT.com

Arvind Kejriwal, leader of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which rules India’s national capital, has said he will resign Read Full Article at RT.com

How an attempt by Islamic militants to pressure Moscow led to the seizure of a school and the taking of more than a thousand hostages Read Full Article at RT.com

Congress has attacked the Mahayuti government for awarding a significant power supply contract to the Adani Group, alleging manipulation of tender conditions and potential financial burdens on Maharashtra consumers. The party questions cost discrepancies and financing, claiming higher tariffs for solar power will affect 2.7 crore consumers in Maharashtra.

Master had sexually abused her multiple times.

The Chinese Ambassador to Seychelles described President Wavel Ramkalawan's attendance at the ninth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing as successful. Ambassador Lin Nan made the statement at a press conference on Thursday at the Chinese Embassy in the central district of St. Louis. «The President and his delegation proactively attended the Summit. We appreciate the contribution from the Seychellois delegation to the success of the Summit. From the perspective of bilateral cooperation, the highlights of the visit are the important meeting between our two leaders and the delegation's visit to Chengdu city of Sichuan Province,» she said. She told reporters that Ramkalawan met President Xi Jinping on September 2 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and the two heads of state announced the elevation of the China-Seychelles relationship to a strategic partnership. «President Xi Jinping pointed out that China-Seychelles relations are a model of sincere friendship, equality, mutual assistance, and win-win cooperation between countries of different sizes. The two countries should continue to prioritise supporting each other's core interests and major concerns, and adhere to strategic mutual trust, common development, common security, and traditional friendship,» said the ambassador. She added that «President Xi Jinping stressed that China is ready to strengthen cooperation with Seychelles in emergency response and disaster prevention and mitigation, supports the country in combatting piracy and other illegal activities, supports the opening of direct flights between China and Seychelles, and encourages two-way tourism between the two countries.» Additionally, more excellent Seychelles students are welcome to study in China and carry forward the friendly cause between the two countries. The ambassador said that President Ramkalawan stated that the friendship between Seychelles and China is based on mutual respect, mutual benefit, and win-win outcomes, and bilateral relations have always maintained sound development. «Seychelles is willing to continue to be true friends with China, and firmly pursues the one-China policy and supports China in achieving national reunification. Seychelles is willing to deepen exchanges and cooperation with China in various fields and enhance international collaboration. During the summit, China and Seychelles signed a number of bilateral cooperation documents, including those related to Belt and Road cooperation plans,» she added. The third Belt and Road Forum, held in Beijing last year, primarily aims to stimulate and encourage global trade infrastructure. China will also work more with the Indian Ocean small island state in combatting piracy and other illegal activities as well as encouraging two-way tourism between the two countries through direct flights between both destinations. Ramkalawan's delegation also visited Chengdu, in Sichuan Province,  and representatives from China and Seychelles signed a memorandum of understanding between the City of Chengdu and the City of Victoria on the establishment of friendly cooperative relations. The agreement will facilitate the exchange between Chengdu and Victoria. According to the Chinese ambassador, the senior leaders from Sichuan province stressed that they are committed to deepening local government cooperation, and expanding mutually beneficial cooperation with Seychelles in commerce, trade, investment, education, medical service, tourism and people-to-people exchange. The Sichuan side will also promote the reopening of direct flights between Chengdu and Seychelles in November, which was launched officially by Ramkalawan during his visit in Chengdu. Lin said, China «will continue cooperation with Seychelles to implement the 10 partnership actions under the framework of strategic partnership. I am looking forward to elevating the bilateral relations to a new high in cooperation with all Seychellois partners, including the media friends.» Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, established diplomatic relations over four decades ago and is home to a significant Chinese community. 

A woman who was caught on video using her body to block a car at the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link on Sunday (Sept 15) has spoken out about the matter. The woman, surnamed Zhuang, said that she and her husband had been forced out of their lane earlier by the other driver. Facebook user Elexio Kim had uploaded dashcam footage of the incident, which shows the woman signalling to a Toyota Prius driving on leftmost lane to cut in front of the car. But Zhuang told Chinese publication 8world that the clip did not show the full story, adding that she and her husband were not queue cutters. The woman explained that they had just exited a toll booth and had joined the leftmost lane when a black car from the right lane tried to cut into their lane. «My husband felt that [the space] was too tight and there wasn't a safe distance between the cars, so he didn't let the other driver cut in,» she said.

SINGAPORE — A restaurant in North Bridge Road with ties to a Malaysian conglomerate embroiled in an alleged child abuse case in Malaysia has denied having direct involvement with the investigations. In a statement on Facebook on Sept 15, Mihrimah Restaurant said that Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISB) Holdings, which has links to the religious sect Al-Arqam that is banned in Malaysia due to its deviant religious teachings, serves only as its business consultant. The restaurant added that it is concerned about the potential reputational impact on its business due to the investigations. The eatery serves Malaysian-inspired dishes including roti canai. The Malaysian police have rescued 402 children from 20 welfare homes in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan linked to GISB, where some children had allegedly been sodomised by their caregivers and forced to do the same to others. Some children were also physically abused, Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain said on Sept 11.

LYON, France — Over four days, 19-year-old Victoria Cheong's task was to create eye-catching visual displays for the windows and interiors of shops and department stores, to maximise sales. The third-year student in experiential product and interior design from Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) did so well, she beat 13 others from around the world to win a gold medal in the visual merchandising category at the biennial WorldSkills international competition. This was the first time Singapore has won a gold in this skill area, and it was one of two gold medals for the Republic at the contest of vocational skills, which was held in Lyon, France. The event was held from Sept 10 to 15. The Singapore contingent also won four silver medals, two bronze medals and 11 medallions of excellence which are given to competitors who score 700 or more points, but are not awarded a gold, silver, or bronze medal. Overall, China emerged top with 49 medals, 36 of which were gold, while Korea came in second with 10 golds among its 32 medals.

«One of the key parameters is the gross metropolitan product's growth, that is, it is the added value that emerges inside the agglomeration,» expert said

«The name TASS, proposed by scientists and supported by the region, will be put on the federal catalog of geographical names and will appear on all maps,» the expedition's head of headquarters Oksana Tolstykh said

The expedition is due to finish in 2026 - despite this planned long term in the Arctic, several participants of the previous expedition have chosen to join North Pole - 42 after just a little more than three months on the Mainland

Maria Zakharova emphasized the need for a consolidated reaction from the Russian community to what she called unlawful restrictions

Over the day, Ukraine lost over 350 servicemen and 13 armored vehicles, including two tanks and 11 armored fighting vehicles, as well as two artillery pieces, three mortars, two multiple rocket launchers, including one US-made M270 MLRS, and eight vehicles

Authorities in the Comoros say the country’s leader has survived a knife attack, but the man who tried to kill him has died in custody Read Full Article at RT.com

Russian troops continue to push Ukrainian forces back in Kursk Region, according to the Defense Ministry Read Full Article at RT.com

Nomsa Chabeli has advocated for more media freedom and a variety of viewpoints in global journalism Read Full Article at RT.com

A Ukrainian court will hear an opposition lawmaker’s claim that Vladimir Zelensky is holding office illegally Read Full Article at RT.com

US authorities are investigating what appears to be a second attempted assassination of Donald Trump Read Full Article at RT.com

The majority of clients seeking post-abortion care in Malawi in government and private health facilities are young people, officials have said. Dr. Juliana Kanyengambeta, Deputy Director of Reproductive Health Directorate said this at an interface meeting, the Centre for Solutions Journalism(CSJ) held with Ministry of Health officials and district health officials in Lilongwe at the […] The post Youths dominate in seeking post-abortion care, health officials say appeared first on Malawi Nyasa Times - News from Malawi about Malawi.

Malawi Leader President Lazarus Chakwera has re -confirmed his commitment towards leading the country beyond 2025. Chakwera was speaking today at a political rally at Area 24 ground in Lilongwe where among others political veterans including former secretary general for DPP Grezeder Jeffrey has joined the ruling Malawi Congress Party. The president commended National Executive […] The post President Chakwera says, ready to serve second term in office as Malawi President appeared first on Malawi Nyasa Times - News from Malawi about Malawi.

Nthambi yowona za Nyengo ndi kusintha kwa Nyengo mdziko muno yalosera nyengo la dzinja mchaka chino ndi cha mawa (2024/2025) kuti kukhala mvula yochuluka poyelekeza ndi dzinja lapitali. Mkulu woyang’anira nthambiyi, a Lucy Mtilatila awuza atolankhani mu mzinda wa Lilongwe la chisanu kuti ngakhale zili chomwechi, Pali chiyembekezo chakuti mwezi wa November utha kukhala ndi […] The post Nthambi ya za Nyengo alosera mvula yochuluka mnyengo ya mchaka chino ndi cha mawa appeared first on Malawi Nyasa Times - News from Malawi about Malawi.

Government has disclosed that it requires over $60 million to effectively implement the National Framework for Water and Climate Services (NFWCS) from 2024 to 2029. Principal Secretary for Natural Resources and Climate Change, Yusuf Mkungula made the remarks in Lilongwe during the launch of the 2024-2029 National Framework for Water and Climate services. “We require […] The post Government requires over $60m to implement National Framework for Water and Climate Services appeared first on Malawi Nyasa Times - News from Malawi about Malawi.