Open Book: That time when Jesus made a scene. Again.
NILS VON KALM looks at what we can learn from Mary’s “unbelievably extravagant act” of pouring expensive perfume over Jesus’ feet…
After Harvard rejects US demands, Trump adds new threat
New York, US Reuters US President Donald Trump threatened to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status on Tuesday and said the university should apologise, a day after it rejected what it called unlawful demands to overhaul academic programs or lose federal grants. Beginning with Columbia University, the Trump administration has rebuked universities across the country […]
Italian teen set to be first millennial saint was “ordinary child”, says mother
Assisi, Italy Reuters Carlo Acutis, a British-born Italian boy who built websites to spread his faith, will be proclaimed the Catholic Church’s first saint of the millennial generation this month, elevating him to the same level as Mother Teresa and Francis of Assisi. There is no doubt he was special, his mother Antonia Salzano Acutis […]
Europe had most widespread floods for more than a decade in 2024, scientists say
Brussels, Belgium Reuters Europe faced its most widespread flooding last year since 2013, with 30 per cent of the continent’s river network hit by significant floods, scientists said on Tuesday, as fossil fuel-driven climate change continued to prompt torrential rain and other extreme weather. Flooding killed at least 335 people in Europe in 2024 and […]
Hamas armed wing says it lost contact with group holding Israeli-US hostage Alexander
Cairo, Egypt Reuters The armed wing of Hamas said on Tuesday it had lost contact with a group of militants holding Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander in the Gaza Strip. Abu Ubaida, the armed wing’s spokesperson, said on the Telegram that it lost contact after the Israeli army attacked the place where the militants were holding […]
EU and Britain boost aid for Sudan at London conference; UN agency warns rape being used as a weapon of war
Updated: 9:15am (AEST) London, UK Reuters The European Union and Britain pledged on Tuesday to increase aid for Sudan, at a conference in London marking the second anniversary of a conflict that has displaced millions and devastated the country. Britain said the conference aimed to improve the coherence of the international response to the crisis, […]
French prisons targeted in “terrorist attack” amid drug crackdown, minister says
Paris, France Reuters France’s justice minister said on Tuesday gun and arson attacks on at least six prisons around the country were acts of terrorism directed at security officials charged with guarding some of the nation’s most hardened crime kingpins. Visiting Toulon prison in southern France, whose entrance was shot at with an AK-47 automatic […]