Former South African leader Zuma sentenced to 15 months in jail
Johannesburg, South AfricaReuters South Africa’s highest court sentenced former President Jacob Zuma to 15 months in jail on Tuesday for failing to appear at a corruption inquiry, and gave him five days to appear before police. Zuma failed to appear at the inquiry led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo in February, and the inquiry’s […]
Stung by pandemic, G20 foreign ministers urge greater cooperation
Matera, ItalyReuters G20 foreign ministers called on Tuesday for multilateral cures for global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and climate emergency at their first face-to-face meeting in two years. The one-day gathering in the heat-soaked southern city of Matera focused on how to improve cooperation and revive the world’s economy following the pandemic and how […]
Record heat forces western Canada province to shut schools, universities
Vancouver, CanadaReuters British Columbia closed schools and universities on Monday due to extreme heat which pushed temperature in the western Canadian province to a national record over the weekend, in a country that is widely known for its brutal winter and snows. Lytton, a town in central British Columbia roughly 200 kilometres north of Vancouver, […]
“Space is for everyone”: Europe’s Space Agency to hire first disabled astronaut
Berlin, GermanyReuters The European Space Agency hopes to hire and launch the world’s first physically disabled astronaut and several hundred would-be para-astronauts have already applied for the role, ESA head Josef Aschbacher told Reuters. The 22-member space program has just closed its latest decennial recruitment call for astronauts and received 22,000 applicants, Aschbacher said. “We […]
Young brides’ deaths trigger dowry crackdown in southern India
Chennai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation India’s Kerala state has launched a crackdown on the payment of dowry after the deaths of four young married women highlighted domestic abuse linked to the custom, which remains common despite being banned 60 years ago. Traditionally gold jewellery that parents hand over when their daughters wed, nowadays dowries can include […]
Settlements locked down as Fiji endures deadly coronavirus wave
Suva, Fiji/Sydney, AustraliaReuters At the Qauia settlement, a community of more than 2,000 near Fiji’s capital of Suva, police stand guard to ensure no one other than health workers comes in – or out – of an area that has become a hotspot of COVID-19 infections. After keeping the coronavirus at bay last year, Fiji, […]
Polish church report lists sex abuse of over 300 children
Warsaw, PolandAP In its latest report released Monday on the sexual abuse of minors, Poland’s Catholic Church lists 292 clergymen who are alleged to have abused over 300 boys and girls from 1958 though 2020. The cases were reported to church authorities from mid-2018 until the end of 2020. The reports came from the victims, […]
What is Christianity about?
Sometimes Christianity is sold as a ‘blessing train’ – “get on board and everything will be grand”. PICTURE: James/Unsplash That’s not the Christianity I know. Christianity for me makes sense of the pain, suffering – yet joy and love – in the world. I’ve come to understand that Christianity is the permission and ability to […]
Low vaccination rates: Amish put faith in God’s will and herd immunity over vaccine
JOHN SEEWER, of Associated Press, reports on how Amish communities across the US are lagging behind when it comes to COVID-19 vaccinations…
New SBC President Ed Litton apologises for using JD Greear sermon quotes without credit
RNS The newly elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention has apologised for giving a sermon where he used material from his predecessor without revealing where it came from. A video posted on YouTube on Thursday showed clips of a January 2020 sermon on the New Testament book of Romans from Litton and clips from a January, […]