Thousands of Rohingya feared trapped in fighting in western Myanmar
Reuters Tens of thousands of Muslim minority Rohingya are feared to be caught in fighting in western Myanmar, as a powerful armed ethnic group bears down on junta positions in a coastal town on the border with Bangladesh, which is reluctant to accept them. The Arakan Army (AA), which is fighting for autonomy for Myanmar’s […]
South Korea’s loudspeakers face questions over reach into North
Seoul, South Korea Reuters The loudspeakers deployed by South Korea to wage psychological warfare against North Korea faced audits and legal battles claiming they are too quiet, raising questions over how far into the reclusive North their propaganda messages can blast. South Korea resumed loudspeaker broadcasts directed at North Korea on 9th June for the […]
World falling behind on environment, health and hunger goals, UN report says
Singapore Reuters The world is way off track on most of the sustainable development targets agreed in 2015, such as tackling poverty and hunger, says a United Nations report which cites funding shortfalls, geopolitical tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic. The UN’s annual Sustainable Development Report ranks the performance of its 193 member states in implementing […]
Swedish diplomat in ‘seventh heaven’ following release from Iran
Stockholm, Sweden Reuters Swedish citizen Johan Floderus said he was in seventh heaven following his release from an Iranian prison on Saturday, in a recording published on the Swedish government’s website on Sunday. Sweden and Iran carried out a prisoner exchange on Saturday with Sweden freeing a former Iranian official convicted for his role in […]
UK polls point to ‘electoral extinction’ for Prime Minister Sunak’s Conservatives
London, UK Reuters Three British opinion polls released late on Saturday presented a grim picture for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party, and one pollster warned that the party faced “electoral extinction” in the 4th July election. The polls come just over halfway through the election campaign, after a week in which both the Conservatives […]
Australia’s Albanese, China’s Li to discuss trade, jailed writer
Canberra, Australia Reuters Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese Premier Li Qiang met on Monday in the first visit to the country by a Chinese premier in seven years, with trade ties, regional security and a jailed Australian writer on the host’s agenda. The visit by Li, China’s top-ranked official after President Xi Jinping, […]
Heavy rains trigger Ecuador landslide, killing six
Quito, Ecuador Reuters A landslide in Ecuador killed at least six people and left 19 others injured, amid a heavy rainstorm that battered parts of Central and South America, according to Ecuadorian authorities on Sunday. The “large-magnitude” landslide occurred in the centre of the country in the city of Banos de Agua Santa, the Ecuadorean […]
Church expansion: How this Maryland pastor ended up leading one of the fastest-growing churches in the US
DARREN SANDS, of Associated Press, speaks with Rev Matthew L Watley, pastor of Kingdom Fellowship AME Church in Maryland…
In northern Gaza, starved families survive on bread alone
Cairo, Egypt Reuters In the north of the Gaza Strip where Palestinians have been hit hardest by hunger, residents say acute shortages of vegetables, fruit and meat means they are surviving on bread alone. Food that can be found in the market is being sold at exorbitant prices, they said: a kilo of green peppers, […]
Essay: Breaking barriers – the transformative power of Deaf Missions’ Jesus Film
HOLLY NEWELL, executive development representative at the Jesus Film Project, says the release of ‘JESUS: A Deaf Missions Film’ in ASL is a “beacon of progress and a testament to the power of representation”…