Israel-Hamas ceasefire holds, UN to launch Gaza aid appeal
Jerusalem/Gaza Reuters A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held into a third day on Sunday as mediators spoke to all sides about extending the period of calm after the worst outbreak of fighting in years. Egyptian mediators have been shuttling between Israel and the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Hamas, to try to sustain […]
Congo volcano leaves death and smoking wreckage, but major city spared
Goma, Central African RepublicReuters A volcanic eruption in eastern Congo left a smoking trail of destruction half a mile wide on Sunday that buried hundreds of houses and left residents searching for missing loved ones, before halting just short of the city of Goma. Goma was thrown into panic on Saturday evening as Mount Nyiragongo, […]
Paths through bones: mass graves from Stalin’s purges found near Moscow
Moscow, RussiaReuters Mass grave pits have been found near Moscow containing the remains of thousands of people executed by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin’s secret police during his “Great Terror” campaign of purges. The graves were found over the course of three years at the Kommunarka shooting ground, a large wooded area southwest of Moscow that […]
Bangladesh orders lockdown in Rohingya camps as COVID-19 cases jump
Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation Bangladesh ordered a strict lockdown in five camps that are home to nearly 100,000 Rohingya refugees following a sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the world’s largest refugee settlement this week, government officials said on Friday. Nearly a million Rohingya refugees who fled persecution in Myanmar live in 34 sprawling camps […]
Romania’s biggest Catholic service offers faith, vaccines
Miercurea Ciuc, Romania AP More than 35,000 Roman Catholic pilgrims congregated Saturday at an open-air shrine in Romania for a centuries-old procession that was cancelled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The service in Sumuleu Ciuc, located in Romania’s Transylvania region, is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and dates back more than 450 years. […]
Cardinal Pell eyes a Vatican scandal he suspected long ago
Rome, ItalyAP Cardinal George Pell is enjoying his first Roman spring since being exonerated of sex abuse charges in his native Australia: He receives visitors to his Vatican flat, sips midday Aperol Spritz’s at the outdoor cafe downstairs and keeps up religiously with news of a Holy See financial scandal that he suspected years ago. […]
COVID-19 deaths in Latin America surpass one million as outbreak worsens
Rio de Janeiro, BrazilReuters The death toll from COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean passed one million people on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, with the pandemic worsening in the part of the world with the highest per capita death rate. From the dusty highlands of Bolivia to the Brazilian metropolis of São […]
Southern Baptists: Russell Moore leaves leadership, but denomination’s troubles remain
BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, looks at the issues facing the largest Protestant denomination in the US…
Volcano erupts in eastern Congo, thousands flee Goma
Goma, Democratic Republic of CongoReuters Lava from a volcanic eruption reached the airport of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s main city of Goma on Saturday, as thousands evacuated the city. Goma residents, recalling Mount Nyiragongo’s last eruption in 2002, which killed 250 people and left 120,000 homeless, grabbed mattresses and other belongings. A general view […]