Myanmar urged to avoid violence after junta opponents declare revolt
Reuters South-East Asian and Western countries have urged all sides in Myanmar to refrain from violence and allow in humanitarian aid, after a shadow government, formed by opponents of military rule, declared a nationwide uprising against the junta. The National Unity Government said on Tuesday it was launching a “people’s defensive war” in a bid to […]
Afghanistan needs you, Red Cross tells other aid groups; UN official says women live in “incredible fear”
Reuters The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross appealed on Wednesday to other humanitarian organisations to return to Afghanistan and for the World Bank to unlock funds to support the tottering healthcare system. Peter Maurer made the comments in a briefing with reporters at the end of a four-day trip to Afghanistan […]
Texas death row inmate seeks pastor’s touch at execution
Houston, Texas, USAP A Texas death row inmate set to be executed Wednesday for killing a convenience store worker more than 17 years ago in a robbery that garnered $US1.25 is asking that his pastor be allowed to lay hands on him as he dies by lethal injection. The request by John Henry Ramirez, 37, […]
Hong Kong police arrest four members of group behind Tiananmen vigil
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Hong Kong police on Wednesday arrested four members of a pro-democracy group that organises the annual 4th June rally to commemorate those who died in the bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, in the latest blow to the opposition movement. Activist and barrister Chow Hang Tung of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support […]
Vatican won’t say if women can vote in 2023 church meeting
Rome, ItalyAP Vatican officials declined on Tuesday to say if women would be able to vote on concrete proposals about the future of the Catholic Church at the end of a two-year process of consultation of ordinary faithful that Pope Francis kicks off next month. For years, women activists and even nuns have pressed to […]
StrangeSights: Golden Gate Bridge “sings” duets; Swiss canton rewards centenarians with wine; and, unusual McDonald’s…
DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
In the US, Trump and his religion advisers launch new national faith advisory board
Washington DC, USRNS In another sign Donald Trump is eyeing a run to regain the White House, the former President and his religious advisers announced the launch of a national faith advisory board last Thursday, apparently aimed at reinvigorating his conservative Christian base. The new initiative, first reported by the Jewish news outlet The Forward, was […]
COVID-19 disruption causing many deaths from TB, AIDS in poorest countries, fund says
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters Hundreds of thousands of people will die of tuberculosis left untreated because of disruption to healthcare systems in poor countries caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a global aid fund said. In a few of the world’s poorest countries, excess deaths from AIDS and tuberculosis could even exceed those from the coronavirus itself, said […]
Mexico’s Supreme Court rules that abortion is not a crime
Mexico City, MexicoAP Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that it is unconstitutional to punish abortion, unanimously annulling several provisions of a law from Coahuila – a state on the Texas border – that had made abortion a criminal act. The decision will immediately affect only the northern border state, but it establishes a historic precedent […]
Terror in France: Emotions raw before Paris trial for 2015 Islamic State carnage
LORI HINNANT and NICOLAS VAUX-MONTAGNY, of Associated Press, report…