Pope Francis returns to Vatican 10 days after surgery
Rome, ItalyAP Pope Francis was discharged from a Rome hospital and returned home to the Vatican on Wednesday, 10 days after undergoing surgery to remove half his colon. Francis, 84, stopped at St Mary Major Basilica to give thanks for the success of the operation and pray for others before returning home, the Vatican said. […]
South African Government plans troop surge to quell unrest – reports
Durban, South AfricaReuters South Africa plans to deploy up to 25,000 soldiers in two provinces where security forces are struggling to quell days of looting, arson and violence, its defence minister told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday, according to local news channel eNCA. A military surge of that size would increase tenfold the number of […]
Blinken calls on South-East Asian nations to take action on Myanmar
Hanoi, VietnamReuters The United States has “deep concerns” about the military coup in Myanmar and called on South-East Asian nations to take action to end violence and restore democracy in the country, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday. The Association of Southeast Nations has been leading the main diplomatic effort on member country […]
Afghanistan on brink of humanitarian crisis – UN refugee agency
Reuters More Afghans are likely to flee their homes due to escalating violence, the UN refugee agency warned on Tuesday, as the Taliban take control of more territory in response to the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces. “Afghanistan is on the brink of another humanitarian crisis. This can be avoided. This should be avoided,” Babar […]
StrangeSights: Book returned to British cathedral – 300 years on; 150 bowling balls found under a house; and, the world’s tallest sandcastle?…
DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…
Florida condo collapse: Weighing how to honour dead a “holy site”
Surfside, Florida, USAP As crews keep searching for the last missing remains of the souls who perished in their collapsing beachfront condos nearly three weeks ago, the question is swirling across the ruins of the Champlain Towers South: What will become of the ground that bears so much pain? “There’s a lot of emotion. People […]
Mexican Navy offers rare apology over missing people in border town
Nuevo Laredo, MexicoReuters The Mexican Navy offered a rare public apology on Tuesday for its potential role in the abductions of dozens of people who went missing from a northern border town in 2018 during operations against drug cartels. As many as 40 people disappeared between February and May of 2018 in Nuevo Laredo, across […]
Brazil’s Bolsonaro picks evangelical for Supreme Court seat
Rio de Janeiro, BrazilAP President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday named Attorney General Andre Mendonca, who is also an evangelical pastor, to fill a vacated seat on Brazil’s Supreme Court, the conservative President’s second appointment to the 11-member court. The 48-year-old Mendonca, whose appointment still needs to be confirmed by the Senate, replaces retiring justice Marco […]
“How is there no money?”: Tunisian garment workers fight for unpaid wages in pandemic’s shadow
LAYLI FOROUDI, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how the coronavirus pandemic has shone a light on widespread labour abuses in Tunisia’s garment industry…
Trump religious freedom ambassador launches international religious freedom meeting
Washington DC, USRNS Sam Brownback, former US ambassador for international religious freedom in the Trump administration, helped launch a conference on international religious freedom in the nation’s capital on Tuesday, bringing together an array of faith and political leaders with the goal of tackling discrimination around the globe. The three-day IRF Summit 2021 “is about […]