Scottish nationalists vow independence vote after election win
Glasgow, ScotlandReuters Pro-independence parties won a majority in Scotland’s parliament on Saturday, paving the way to a high-stakes political, legal and constitutional battle with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the future of the United Kingdom. Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the result meant she would push ahead with plans for a second independence […]
Pope Francis backs waivers on intellectual property rights for vaccines
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis on Saturday supported waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, backing a proposal by US President Joe Biden that has been rebuffed by some European nations, including Germany. In a speech to a global fundraising concert to promote fair access to vaccines, the Pope said the world was infected with the […]
Updated: At least 68 killed in Afghan school blast, families bury victims
Updated: 9.15am, 10th May, 2021Kabul, AfghanistanReuters The death toll from a bomb attack outside a school in the Afghan capital Kabul has risen to 68, officials said on Sunday, with doctors struggling to care for 165 injured victims and families searching desperately for missing children. Explosions on Saturday evening shook the neighbourhood of Dasht-e-Barchi, home […]
Catholic archdiocese sues US state of Wisconsin over prisoner visit restrictions
Madison, Wisconsin, USAP The Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee filed a lawsuit Friday demanding state corrections officials relax COVID-19 protocols and allow ministers to visit inmates. The archdiocese alleges in the filing that the Department of Corrections adopted a policy in March, 2020, banning volunteer visits. The policy has prevented clergy from the archdiocese from meeting […]
Kings of Lagos – children learn chess to seek escape from Nigeria’s slums
Lagos, NigeriaReuters A dozen children crowd around plastic tables in the Majidun neighbourhood of Lagos. Intently focused on plastic mats printed with chess boards, the children thoughtfully move pieces on the board as supervisors observe their moves. The waterside shanty town is just across the lagoon from the mansions and towering office blocks of Nigeria’s […]
Biden administration joins global campaign against online extremism
Reuters The United States will join a New Zealand-led global campaign to stamp out violent extremism online, the White House said, making a policy change two years after the administration of former president Donald Trump declined to participate. The initiative was started by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron in […]
Global crisis: India’s disaster hangs over countries facing COVID-19 surges
SAMY MAGDY, of Associated Press, reports on how many nations, lead by India and Brazil, are grappling with mounting COVID-19 infections…