South Asia home to world’s highest number of child brides – UN
New Delhi, India Reuters South Asia is home to highest number of child brides in the world as increased financial pressures and school closures due to COVID-19 forced families to marry off their young daughters, according to new estimates released by UNICEF on Wednesday. There were 290 million child brides in the region, accounting for […]
Poland marks 80th anniversary of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Warsaw, Poland Reuters Eighty years on from the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising – the largest Jewish revolt against Nazi Germany during World War II – Poland marked the heroism of those who took part with a warning to the world against sowing hatred. In 1940, German Nazi occupiers corralled over 400,000 Jews into a small section […]
New Sudan ceasefire attempt fails with vital supplies running short
Khartoum, Sudan Reuters A new attempt at a ceasefire in fierce fighting between Sudanese troops and paramilitary forces in Khartoum failed on Wednesday, leaving people fearful about dwindling food supplies and a breakdown in medical services. The 24-hour ceasefire – lobbied for by countries trying to evacuate their citizens after days of conflict – was […]
Spain to help young citizens fly the nest with foreclosed homes
Madrid, Spain Reuters Spain is aiming to help millions of young adults still living with their parents to rent their own homes by offering them properties abandoned when its housing market collapsed a decade ago. The rising cost of rent is set to become a key campaign issue as Spain gears up for regional ballots […]
Zambians struggle with cost of living as debt rework drags on
Lusaka, Zambia Reuters The Comesa market in Zambia’s capital Lusaka appears to be bustling, but traders say business is suffering as a weak local currency pushes up prices, adding to the hardships of a population already struggling with soaring living costs. “The dollar is killing us,” said Ben Mwandila, who sold 15 imported blankets a […]
StrangeSights: 500 days in a cave; a king’s quiche; and, sneaker art…
DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
Quick facts – Why does King Charles III have a coronation ceremony and what happens?
London, UK Reuters King Charles III became monarch of the United Kingdom and 14 other realms on the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth in September, but in May he will be crowned in a ceremony full of pomp, pageantry and solemn religious significance. Why is he crowned and what does it all mean? Britain’s […]
In the US, SBC official Brent Leatherwood urges Tennessee lawmakers to pass red flag law
United States RNS In late March, Brent Leatherwood got what he called “the most terrifying call a parent could imagine.” There was a shooter at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, where his three children attend. His children survived the attack. Three of their schoolmates did not. Three of the staff at the school were also killed. […]
US must stem “iron river” of guns flowing to Latin America, activists say
Reuters US guns, many of them exported legally, are flowing into Latin America in an “iron river” ending in the hands of drug cartels and abusive security forces, activists said Monday, calling for greater oversight from US law and federal agencies. More than half of “crime guns” recovered and traced in Central America are sourced […]
Charles Stanley, influential US Baptist preacher, dies at 90
Atlanta, US AP Charles Stanley, a prominent televangelist who once led the Southern Baptist Convention, died Tuesday at his home in Atlanta at age 90, In Touch Ministries announced. No cause of death was announced. Born in rural Dry Fork, Virginia, Stanley was senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta for 50 years. The […]