Nigeria train kidnappers using victims as human shields, says President
Abuja, Nigeria Reuters Armed gangs who kidnapped dozens of passengers in an attack on a train in northern Nigeria are using civilians as human shields, making it difficult for the military to carry out a rescue mission, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Monday. Nigeria’s state railway company said last month that 168 people were missing […]
Israel demands apology after Russia says Hitler had Jewish roots
Jerusalem, Israel Reuters Israel lambasted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday for claiming that Adolf Hitler had Jewish origins, saying it was an “unforgivable” falsehood that debased the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust. In a signal of sharply deteriorating relations with Moscow, the Israeli foreign ministry summoned the Russian ambassador and demanded an apology. […]
Ukraine evacuees flee to safety after ordeal in Mariupol steel works
Zaporizhzhia/Beziemme, Ukraine Reuters The first evacuees from the ruins of Mariupol’s Azovstal steel works were expected to arrive in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia later on Monday after weeks of cowering from Russian shelling in underground bunkers. The sprawling industrial complex in the Sea of Azov port city that has been devastated by weeks of […]
Mariupol evacuee recounts heart-stopping terror in the bunkers of Azovstal
Bezimenne, Ukraine Reuters Cowering in the labyrinth of Soviet-era bunkers far beneath the vast Azovstal steel works, Natalia Usmanova felt her heart would stop she was so terrified as Russian bombs rained down on Mariupol, sprinkling her with concrete dust. Usmanova, 37, spoke to Reuters on Sunday after being evacuated from the plant, a sprawling […]
All-female ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ album bolsters show’s groundbreaking legacy
United States RNS Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s 1970 concept album Jesus Christ Superstar – from which the 1971 rock musical was born – delivered one radio hit, with Australian pop artist Helen Reddy channeling Mary Magdalene’s confused feelings about her rabbi in I Don’t Know How To Love Him. But otherwise, the album and […]
Musk’s Twitter deal stirs fears of abuse in Asia, Middle East
Bangkok, Thailand/Beirut, Lebanon Thomson Reuters Foundation Elon Musk’s plan to acquire Twitter has alarmed human rights activists in Asia and the Middle East, where social media platforms have been accused of inciting violence. Musk has called himself a free speech absolutist and criticised Twitter’s policy of moderating content. But rolling back such curbs on hate […]
South Sudan Christian leaders welcome sentencing of four convicted of Catholic bishop’s attempted murder
Nairobi, Kenya Religious leaders in South Sudan have welcomed the sentencing of four men, including a clergyman, for the attempted murder of the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Rumbek. The leaders said the sentencing would likely bring to an end a series of murders targeting church leaders across the country. The High Court in […]
An overlooked contribution: A new compelling new history of Black Catholic nuns in the US
DAVID CRARY, of Associated Press, reports on a new comprehensive history of Black Catholic nuns in the US…
Melissa Lipsett answering “God’s plan for humanity” to end poverty as the first female CEO of Baptist World Aid Australia
Sydney, Australia Melissa Lipsett may have made her small mark in history by becoming the first female CEO of Baptist World Aid Australia in its 63-year history, but she’s making big plans to answer God’s call to create a world without poverty. In a unanimous board decision, and after only nine months with the organisation, […]
Essay: Thirty years after Rodney King unrest, one faith leader’s vision still inspires LA
The USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture’s RICHARD FLORY and NJUMA SMITH-POLLARD, reflect – in an article first published on Religion News Service – on the role faith-based organisations have played in creating positive social change in Los Angeles in the wake of the 1992 unrest…