Franklin Graham sends disaster response teams to Europe; says he opposes war

RNS Rev Franklin Graham said his Christian humanitarian relief organisation was sending disaster response teams to Poland, Romania and Moldova to assess how it can meet the needs of Ukrainians fleeing their country. Graham said at least 24 Samaritan’s Purse personnel will be on the ground in those countries bordering Ukraine this weekend. “First of […]
Sight-Seeing: Youth ministries must innovate to survive

In an article published by Religion News Service, JOSH PACKARD, of Springtide Research Institute, and Rev ABIGAIL RUSERT, of the Institute for Youth Ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary, say youth ministries need to respond to the changing religious landscape…
“Delay means death” – UN climate report urges immediate, drastic action

Reuters Climate change is already disrupting billions of lives and humanity is not doing enough to limit the suffering, the United Nations climate science panel warned in a major report on Monday. Noting that nearly half the world’s population was already vulnerable to increasingly dangerous climate impacts, the report calls for drastic action on a […]
Vatican offers to mediate negotiations between Russia and Ukraine; Ukrainian Orthodox bishops call for end to war

Vatican City RNS Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state and Pope Francis’ top lieutenant, said in an interview to Italian papers on Monday that the Holy See is willing to mediate between the two warring parties in the conflict in Ukraine. The Vatican, the cardinal said, is “willing to facilitate dialogue with Russia” […]
Russian artillery pounds Ukraine’s Kharkiv as ceasefire talks end with no breakthrough

Kyiv, Lviv, Ukraine/Moscow, Russia Reuters Russian artillery bombarded residential districts of Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv on Monday, killing possibly dozens of people, Ukrainian officials said, as Moscow’s invading forces met stiff resistance from Ukrainians on a fifth day of conflict. The attacks took place while Russian and Ukrainian officials met on the Belarusian border, […]
Mass arrests as Belarus confirms ditching non-nuclear status in referendum vote

Reuters About 800 people were arrested as Belarus voted to ditch its non-nuclear status in a referendum that raises the stakes at a time when the country has become a staging ground for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the government said on Monday. The vote sparked the biggest protests in months as thousands took to […]
People flee to rooftops as “weather bomb” submerges Australian towns

Updated: 5:20pm (AEDT) Sydney, Australia Reuters Tens of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate as heavy rains smashed Australia’s east coast on Monday, submerging towns and stranding residents on rooftops, with authorities warning of life-threatening flash floods. Nine people have been killed since the deluge began last Thursday, and rescue teams were searching on […]
Hong Kong facilities for storing dead bodies stretched as COVID deaths climb

Hong Kong, China Reuters Facilities for storing dead bodies at hospitals and public mortuaries in Hong Kong are struggling to keep pace with a record number of COVID-19 infections and deaths, eclipsing authorities attempts to control a deepening outbreak. Dozens of bodies are waiting in hospital accident and emergency rooms across the global financial hub […]
Explainer – As climate change wreaks havoc globally, IPCC report flags ways to adapt

Barcelona, Spain Thomson Reuters Foundation From Madagascar, where hunger is surging after a recent storm destroyed drought-withered crops, to Brazil’s historic mountain town of Petropolis, hit by a deluge that has caused about 200 deaths, the impacts of wilder weather are being felt worldwide. Worse is to come, faster than expected, even if efforts to […]
Medical oxygen running out in Ukraine as war rages, WHO warns

Zurich, Switzerland Reuters Ukraine is running out of oxygen supplies that critically ill people need, the World Health Organization said on Sunday, calling for safe passage for emergency imports as combat rages. A man carries oxygen cylinders as he enters a hospital for patients infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 9th […]