Switzerland to set up a dedicated embassy to the Vatican
Geneva, SwitzerlandAP The Swiss Government decided Friday to set up a dedicated embassy to the Vatican, for which Switzerland’s ambassador to Slovenia is currently responsible. Switzerland’s governing Federal Council determined the current arrangement “no longer allows all the work entailed by Switzerland’s diplomatic relations with the Holy See to be accomplished efficiently”, a government statement […]
Sarah Everard case pushes Brits to learn how to stop street abuse
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation The murder of Sarah Everard has led to a spike in demand for training on how to help if you see someone being harassed on the street, course providers in Britain said, as her killer was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. Everard’s abduction from a residential street […]
Pat Robertson steps down as host of long-running ‘700 Club’
Norfolk, VirginiaAP Pat Robertson, who turned a tiny Virginia television station into a global religious broadcasting network, is stepping down after a half-century running the 700 Club on daily TV, the Christian Broadcasting Network announced on Friday. Robertson, 91, said in a statement that he hosted the network’s flagship program for the last time on […]
UN chief tells Ethiopia’s Abiy he does not accept staff expulsions
New York City, USReuters The United Nations does not accept Ethiopia’s decision to expel seven senior UN officials as famine looms in the war-torn region of Tigray, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday. Ethiopia declared the officials personae non grata on Thursday and gave them 72 hours to leave, […]
El Salvador: Bitcoin “experiment” leaves digital poor on the sidelines
ANNA-CATHERINE BRIGIDA and ANASTASIA MOLONEY, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, report on fears El Salvador’s poorest people and those who do not own smartphones or have digital literacy skills could be further marginalised by the country’s introduction of bitcoin…
Faith leaders, including Francis, to present joint appeal for COP26 climate summit
Vatican CityRNS Pope Francis, along with other religious leaders and scientists, will present a joint declaration to the president of the COP26 environmental summit on Monday at the Vatican, promising to encourage the faithful to care for creation and, in turn, urging governments to do their part to curb climate change. “We were very glad […]
Ecuador to pardon thousands after 118 die in worst-ever prison riot
Quito/Guayaquil, EcuadorReuters Ecuador is planning to pardon up to 2,000 inmates in order to relieve overcrowding at its detention centres after 118 inmates died and a further 79 were injured in the country’s worst-ever prison riot earlier this week, an official said on Friday. Family members of inmates block the road outside the Penitenciaria del […]