Pope highlights Japan’s commitment to peace after Abe killed
Rome, Italy AP Pope Francis prays that Japan will strengthen its commitment to peace and nonviolence despite the “senseless” assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the Vatican said Saturday. In a telegram, Francis said he was “deeply saddened” to learn of the assassination and offered his condolences to Abe’s family and the people of Japan. […]
Sri Lankan President to step down, parliamentary speaker says, amid storm of protests
Colombo, Sri Lanka Reuters Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa plans to step down, the country’s parliamentary speaker said on Saturday, bowing to intense pressure after a violent day of protests in which demonstrators stormed the president’s official residence and set fire to the Prime Minister’s home in Colombo. The announcement, following the dramatic escalation in […]
Sri Lanka protesters storm President’s house, clash with police
Colombo, Sri Lanka Reuters Thousands of protesters in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital Colombo broke through police barricades and stormed the President’s official residence on Saturday in one of the largest anti-government marches in the crisis-hit country this year. Some protesters, holding Sri Lankan flags and helmets, broke into the President’s residence, video footage from local […]
On the Screen: Thor returns – but lacks the power he once had
DAVID ADAMS watches the next instalment in Marvel’s ‘Thor’…
UN rights body seeks reversal of Taliban policies making Afghan women “invisible”
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters The United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution on Friday condemning rights violations against women and girls in Afghanistan, urging the ruling Taliban to end restrictive practices described as making them “invisible” in society. The Taliban seized power for a second time in Afghanistan last August as international forces backing a […]
EU agrees to improve migration cooperation with Morocco after Melilla tragedy
Madrid, Spain Reuters Morocco and the European Union have agreed to cooperate more closely in combatting human trafficking after at least 23 migrants died during an attempted mass border crossing from Morocco into the neighbouring Spanish enclave of Melilla, Spain and Morocco said in a joint statement on Friday. The announcement came after Spanish Interior […]
Thousands march in Bosnia in memory of Srebrenica massacre
Nezuk, Bosnia-Herzegovina AP Thousands of people joined a peace march on Friday through forests in eastern Bosnia in memory of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, Europe’s only acknowledged genocide since World War II. The 100-kilometre march traces a route taken by men and boys from the Bosniak ethnic group, which is made up primarily of Muslims, […]
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon hits record for first half of 2022
Manaus, Brazil Reuters Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest reached a record high for the first six months of the year, as an area five times the size of New York City was destroyed, preliminary government data showed on Friday. From January to June, 3,988 square kilometres were cleared in the region, according to national space […]
“Liturgy of Domestic Church Life”: Couple’s model for living faith at home could change Catholicism one family at a time
CLAIRE GIANGRAVÉ, of Religion News Service, speaks to Gregory and Lisa Popcak about their vision for empowering the laity by sacralising the small things families do every day…
Pope Francis calls steps against clerical abuse irreversible, despite resistance
Vatican City Reuters Pope Francis has acknowledged that there is resistance by some national Catholic Churches on implementing measures to protect children from sexual abuse by clergy but said that there is no turning back on an “irreversible” path. Sexual abuse in the Church and measures to combat it were among one of the many […]