Pope Francis receives death threat as he grapples with Vatican financial scandals
Vatican City RNS Italian police officers are investigating an envelope discovered on Monday containing three nine millimetre bullets and a letter referring to Vatican financial mismanagement, in an apparent threat aimed at Pope Francis. The message is the latest bizarre twist in a three-year-old scandal that is at the centre of a high-profile trial involving […]
Wildfire rips through Algeria, killing 42 people including soldiers
Algiers, Algeria Reuters Forest fires in Algeria killed 42 people on Tuesday, including 25 soldiers deployed to help put out the blaze, the government said, as thick clouds of smoke covered much of the mountainous Kabylie region east of the capital. Dozens of separate fires have raged through forest areas across northern Algeria since Monday […]
Bangladesh starts COVID-19 vaccine drive for Rohingya refugees
Updated 9.45pm Dhaka, Bangladesh Reuters Bangladesh began vaccinating thousands of Rohingya Muslims on Tuesday in the world’s largest refugee settlement, amid a surge in COVID-19 infections in the country, officials said. Aid workers have long warned of a potential humanitarian disaster if there is a significant outbreak in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, the […]
Poland reports record number of migrants at Belarusian border
Warsaw, Poland Reuters A record number of migrants have crossed the Polish border with Belarus since Friday, the Border Guard said on Monday, amid accusations Minsk is using illegal crossings to pressure European Union states. Poland and Lithuania have seen a surge in illegal migration in recent weeks that is so severe the countries have […]
Indian mining state shifts from coal to forest fruits and flowers
Chennai, India Thomson Reuters Foundation In the forests of Bastar in eastern India, indigenous women have been busy plucking the tan-coloured fruits of the tamarind tree – a tangy staple of Indian cooking that earned them rare profits this year thanks to a bumper harvest. For decades, mining has eaten into the forests of mineral-rich […]
China’s wild elephants head to safety after long trek
Shanghai, China Reuters Fourteen wild elephants are heading south towards their protected habitat in south-west China’s Yunnan province following a 1,300-kilometre trek that captured the public’s imagination, provincial officials said late on Monday. Wildlife protection officials told a press briefing the elephants safely crossed a bridge over the Yuan River, returning south towards a nature […]
Protesters block roads across Guatemala, urging President to step down
Guatemala City, Guatemala Reuters Members of one of Guatemala’s biggest farmers and Indigenous groups blocked roads across the nation on Monday, calling on President Alejandro Giammattei and his Attorney General to resign over the firing of a top anti-graft prosecutor. It was the third time in the last 15 days that people took to the […]
Redemptive community
I heard the story of a church in England who were doing great work in the community, connecting with the real down-and-out people. They were opening their doors for a mid-week service to the street workers and junkies. PICTURE: Jon Tyson/Unsplash One lady, let’s call her Sally, starting attending regularly. Through the help of the […]
Adapting to a changing climate: As oceans warm, Zanzibar’s women sea farmers grow sponges to stay afloat
KIM HARRISBERG, writing for Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how women on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar are adapting their work to changing climatic conditions…
US says it is up to Afghans to defend country as Taliban take more territory
Kabul, Afghanistan Reuters The United States said it was up to Afghan security forces to defend the country after Taliban militants captured a sixth provincial capital on Monday, along with border towns and trade routes. President Joe Biden has said the US military mission in Afghanistan will end on 31st August, arguing that the Afghan […]