Serbia-Montenegro tensions escalate amid church dispute
Belgrade, SerbiaAP Serbia’s President has pledged to protect Serbs in Montenegro who he says are threatened by the possible formation of an independent Orthodox Church in the small state, as tensions escalated between the two former Balkan allies. President Aleksandar Vucic said after meeting Wednesday with the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade […]
Global coronavirus cases surpass five million, infections rising in South America
Reuters Global coronavirus cases surpassed five million on Wednesday, with Latin America overtaking the United States and Europe in the past week to report the largest portion of new daily cases globally. It represents a new phase in the virus’ spread, which initially peaked in China in February, before large-scale outbreaks followed in Europe and […]
US says California order discriminates against churches
Los Angeles, USAP The head of the US federal Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division told Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday that his plan to reopen California discriminates against churches. In a letter to the governor, Eric S Dreiband said that despite a coronavirus pandemic “that is unprecedented in our lifetimes,” Newsom should allow some in-person […]
New UN envoy warns closed borders embolden human traffickers
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Human traffickers will profit from rising nationalism fuelled by the coronavirus pandemic, the new United Nations expert on modern slavery said, warning that anti-migrant policies and rhetoric may prevent victims of exploitation from seeking help. Lockdowns and business closures worldwide are pushing many vulnerable workers – particularly migrant labourers – into […]
StrangeSights: Bumper tables for social distancing; that’s Dr Moose to you; and, a ‘rebrickculous’ Lego walk…
DAVID ADAMS takes a look at the odder side of life…
Dig near Jerusalem’s Western Wall yields “puzzling” chambers
Jerusalem, IsraelAP Israeli archaeologists on Tuesday exhibited a recently uncovered, unusual series of 2,000-year-old chambers carved out of the bedrock beneath the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem. The Israel Antiquities Authority’s excavations are uncovering new sections of a sprawling network of ancient subterranean passageways running alongside a contested Jerusalem holy site known to Jews as […]
Cyclone dumps rain on India, Bangladesh, two million head to shelters
Updated 6.20pmNew Delhi, IndiaAP A strong cyclone blew heavy rains and strong winds into coastal India and Bangladesh on Wednesday after more than 2.6 million people were moved to shelters in a frantic evacuation made more challenging by coronavirus. Cyclone Amphan slowed slightly as it reached cooler waters near the coast. But with wind speeds […]
Russia says many coronavirus patients died of other causes. Some disagree
Moscow, RussiaReuters Before she died in a Moscow hospital earlier this month, Liubov Kashaeva, 74, twice tested positive for the new coronavirus. Her death was not attributed to the virus, however. It was put down to the cancer she had been suffering from. “The medical death certificate…said she died of a malignant tumour,” Kashaeva’s daughter-in-law, […]
A 24-hour online vigil will name some of the people who have died of COVID-19
RNS Ahead of Memorial Day in the US, which honours the nation’s wartime dead, a coalition of activists from across the country will hold a 24-hour online vigil naming some of the people who have died of COVID-19. The #NamingTheLost vigil will begin Wednesday, 20th May, at 2pm Eastern time on Facebook and end at 2pm Thursday. Health service […]
The Interview: Chicago preacher Otis Moss III on his new film to honour Ahmaud Arbery and address racism
ADELLE M BANKS, of Religion News Service, speaks with Rev Otis Moss III about his latest film…