Wow!: Steady hearts, steady hands as Vatican experts restore masterpieces
PHILIP PULLELLA, of Reuters, reports on the work of the artwork restorers at the Vatican Museums…
Thousands of Slovaks continue protesting government’s criminal law reforms
Bratislava, Slovakia Reuters At least 15,000 people demonstrated in Slovakia’s capital on Tuesday as protests grew against plans of Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government to fast-track criminal law changes that include scrapping a special prosecutor’s office focused on corruption. Opposition parties led protests in cities around the central European country of 5.4 million for a […]
Iceland volcano lava missing town for now, flight impact unlikely
Copenhagen, Denmark Reuters Lava spewing from a volcano in Iceland appeared to be flowing away from the only nearby town and the intensity of the eruption was dropping, offering hope that homes would be safe even though seismic activity could last months, officials said on Tuesday. The government said flights were unlikely to be affected, […]
Fuel shortages grip Conakry after deadly oil storage blast
Conakry, Guinea Reuters Guineans should brace for power cuts, the government has warned, as the country grapples with the aftermath of a deadly explosion at an oil terminal in the capital Conakry that destroyed fuel tanks and forced hundreds to flee damaged homes. Fourteen people were killed and 190 injured in the blast at the […]
Ukraine proposes mobilising up to 500,000 more people into army – Zelenskiy
Kyiv, Ukraine/London, UK Reuters Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday the military had proposed mobilising 450,000 to 500,000 more Ukrainians into the armed forces in what would mark a dramatic step up of Kyiv’s war with Russia. The Ukrainian leader told his end-of-year news conference it was a “highly sensitive” issue that the military […]
Homes collapse as earthquake kills at least 127 in China’s rural Gansu
Beijing, China Reuters A magnitude-6.2 earthquake struck one of China’s poorest regions just before midnight on Monday, killing at least 127 people, injuring hundreds and bringing down mud houses in remote villages that never stood a chance. Chinese state media arriving at the sixth commune of Dahe village, one of the worst-hit areas in China’s […]
Israel keeps pounding Gaza, Houthis vow more Red Sea attacks
Cairo, Egypt/Gaza Reuters Israeli forces pounded the shattered Gaza Strip on Tuesday while Yemen’s Houthis vowed to defy a US-led naval mission and keep targeting Red Sea shipping in support of the Palestinian enclave’s ruling Hamas movement. Israel’s campaign to eradicate Hamas militants behind a 7th October massacre has left the coastal enclave in ruins, […]
Ex-Jesuit’s religious community in Slovenia ordered to dissolve in one year over widespread abuse
Rome, ItalyAP The Vatican has decided to shut down a Slovenian-based female religious community founded by a controversial ex-Jesuit artist accused by some women of spiritual, psychological and sexual abuses. The Archdiocese of Ljubljana, Slovenia said in a statement Friday that the Loyola Community would have one year to implement the 20th October decree ordering […]
Australians assess flood damages from cyclone as rescue efforts ramp up
Sydney, Australia Reuters Residents in Australia’s north-east on Tuesday took stock of flood damages from former Tropical Cyclone Jasper and authorities accelerated efforts to rescue people stranded in remote towns as rivers stayed above dangerous levels. Jasper made landfall last week as a category 2 storm, three rungs below the most dangerous wind speed level, […]
Books: Memoir explores the agony – and gift – of chronic pain
JO KADLECEK read’s Eileen F Sommi’s ‘What I Got Instead: A Story of Pain, Doubt and Faith’…