Myanmar junta announces census for promised 2025 election
Reuters Myanmar’s military government will conduct a nationwide population and household census in October, state media said on Monday, paving the way for a promised election next year amid raging conflict across swathes of the country. The census data collected between at and 15th October will be used to hold a general election next year, […]
Woman dead, 120,000 without power as damaging storms hit Australia
Sydney, Australia Reuters A woman has died and more than 120,000 were left without power after high winds and heavy rain hit southern Australia, authorities said on Monday. A 63-year-old woman was killed after a tree fell on a cabin at a holiday park on the state border between Victoria and New South Wales, emergency […]
Germany’s far right set to win eastern region vote
Berlin, Germany Reuters The Alternative for Germany (AfD) was on track to become the first far-right party to win a regional election in Germany since World War II, projections showed, giving it unprecedented power even if other parties are sure to exclude it from office. The AfD was set to win 33.2 per cent of […]
Libyan authorities dismantle human trafficking network
Cairo, Egypt Reuters Libyan authorities have dismantled a human trafficking network operating in the country’s south-west and arrested members of the group, the country’s Attorney General’s office said on its Facebook page on the weekend. Authorities arrested one of the network’s leaders and 10 members who are accused of murder, illegal detention, torture, and rape […]
Gabon junta allows regulated logging of rare kevazingo tree
Libreville, Gabon Reuters Gabon’s junta has relaxed rules covering the rare kevazingo tree, allowing logging under certain conditions of a hardwood species that can take 500 years to grow to its full height of 40 metres. There is high demand in Asia for kevazingo wood, which is used to make chic tables and speciality guitars, […]
More than 80 teenagers arrested in Venezuela’s post-election protests released from prison
Caracas, Venezuela Reuters More than 80 teenagers have been released from prison over the weekend in Venezuela, according to a human rights group, after being arrested during anti-government protests following Venezuela’s disputed presidential election in late July. Venezuela’s electoral council and its top court have proclaimed President Nicolas Maduro, in power since 2013, as the […]
Indonesian Catholicism: Catholics face a shortage of priests. But one seminary is overwhelmed with applicants
NINIEK KARMINI, of Associated Press, reports from Maumere in Indonesia…
Catholic diocese sues US Government, worried some foreign-born priests might be forced to leave
United States AP For more than a year, religious organisations have lobbied Congress and the Biden administration to fix a sudden procedural change in how the government processes green cards for religious workers, which threatens the ability of thousands of them to continue to minister in the United States. The Catholic Diocese of Paterson, New […]
Essay: In the DRC fighting with rebels in the country’s east has intensified, sparking fears of a wider war
Scholar DALE PANKHURST explains the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo in an article first published on The Conversation…
Conversations: Want a better life? Spend more time thinking about sin, says Elizabeth Oldfield
In her book ‘Fully Alive’, the podcaster and author argues that admitting we aren’t as great as we think we are opens the door to a better life. Oldfield speaks with BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service…