This Life: Jesus seeks and saves the lost
US columnist CAROL ROUND, in an article first published on ASSIST News Services, on how, even when we lose our way, Jesus never gives up on us…
Bavaria to leave medieval anti-Jewish sculptures on churches
Berlin, GermanyAP Authorities, churches and Jewish communities in Germany’s southern state of Bavaria have agreed that anti-Semitic statues and carvings dating back to the Middle Ages shouldn’t be removed from churches, an official said Tuesday. The Bavarian Government’s point man against anti-Semitism, Ludwig Spaenle, said that relics such as the “Judensau”, or “Jew pig”, sculptures […]
Many countries to miss Paris climate plan deadline due to COVID-19 delays, says UN
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters Many countries will miss a deadline to submit updated climate action plans by 2020 as mandated by the Paris climate pact due to COVID-19 delays, a UN report said on Tuesday. Compliance with the commitment to upgrade climate action plans every five years is seen as important to the success of the 2015 […]
Pope makes surprise early morning prayer visit in rainy Rome
Rome, ItalyAP Pope Francis on Tuesday made a surprise early morning visit to the Spanish Steps in Rome to pray for people worldwide struggling in the pandemic. The Vatican last week said that due to social distancing concerns Francis was cancelling the traditional 8th December afternoon visit to the square that draws big crowds. Pope […]
“Go for it”, says grandmother who got world’s first Pfizer COVID vaccine in Britain
London, UKReuters Margaret Keenan, the 90-year-old grandmother who became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine outside of a trial in Britain on Tuesday, has a message for others: “go for it” to beat the devastating disease. An early riser, Keenan, from Northern Ireland, received the Pfizer-BioNTech shot at her […]
Ex-youth worker spotlights UK child drug trafficking in ‘County Lines’ film
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation During a decade as a youth worker in Britain, Henry Blake worked with many children who had been trafficked by gangs to transport drugs and trapped in the illicit trade by debt and violence. The social worker turned filmmaker has drawn on his experiences to direct County Lines, a drama which […]
Chadwick Boseman, Trump and pop group BTS dominate Twitter in 2020
Los Angeles, USReuters The announcement of the death of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman was the most shared on Twitter worldwide in 2020, and got the most “likes” of any Tweet ever, the social media platform said on Monday. Chadwick Boseman poses backstage with his Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture award for Black Panther […]
In the US, COVID cancels Singing Christmas Trees, other Christmas extravaganzas
RNS There are no sheep or goats or even llamas at the Capital Christian Center, a 3,000-seat Assemblies of God megachurch in Sacramento this Christmas season. Not even a pair of church members dressed up in a camel suit. And for the first time in 63 years, no giant Singing Christmas Tree. “Tonight would have […]
Updated: New Zealand’s Ardern apologises as report into mosque attack faults focus on Islamist terror risks
Updated 6pm (AEDT)Wellington, New ZealandReuters New Zealand security agencies were “almost exclusively” focused on the perceived threat of Islamist terrorism before a white supremacist gunman killed 51 Muslim worshippers last year, a report into the country’s worst massacre found. The Royal Commission of Inquiry also criticised police for failing to enforce proper checks when granting […]
Do you see what I see? Planetary alignment to create a ‘Christmas star’
RNS A star, a star will dance in the night on 21st December. Actually, it won’t be a star, but the so-called “great conjunction” of two planets – Jupiter and Saturn – creating something similar to what some astronomers suggest the wise men may have seen in the biblical account of the birth of Jesus. PICTURE: Angeles […]