Lebanon patriarch calls for end to meddling in judiciary after blast probe stalls
Amman, JordanReuters Lebanon’s top Christian cleric said on Sunday the government should put an end to any meddling in the judiciary after the probe into last year’s vast Beirut port blast was halted by the latest of a series of complaints against the lead investigator. The investigation was frozen on Monday when a former minister […]
Sight-Seeing: Beauty is the extravagance that makes us human
KAREN SWALLOW PRIOR, in an article first published on Religion News Service, writes that humans’ ability to appreciate beauty reflects our nature as beings made in the image of God…
French Catholic Church had an estimated 3,000 paedophiles since 1950s – commission head
Paris, FranceReuters The French Catholic Church has had an estimated 3,000 paedophiles in its ranks over the past 70 years, the head of an independent commission investigating the sex abuse scandal said in an interview published on Sunday. The scandal in the French Church is the latest to hit the Roman Catholic Church, which has […]
Pope calls for more humane prison life after Ecuador deaths
Vatican CityAP Pope Francis on Sunday called for “more humane” prison life in the wake of bloodshed in a prison in Ecuador in which 118 people died and dozens more were injured. Pope Francis waves as he arrives for the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St Peter’s Square, at the […]
Cyclone Shaheen hits Oman with ferocious winds, killing three
Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters Tropical Cyclone Shaheen killed at least three people as it slammed into Oman on Sunday with ferocious winds and heavy rain, flooding streets, prompting evacuations from coastal areas and delaying flights to and from the capital, Muscat. As the cyclone approached, a child who had been swept away by water was […]
Global COVID-19 deaths hit five million as Delta variant sweeps the world
Reuters Worldwide deaths related to COVID-19 surpassed five million on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, with unvaccinated people particularly exposed to the virulent Delta strain. The variant has exposed the wide disparities in vaccination rates between rich and poor nations, and the upshot of vaccine hesitancy in some western nations. Grave diggers bury a […]
Explainer: How does the Nobel Peace Prize work?
Oslo, NorwayReuters The winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on 8th October in Oslo. Here is a look at how the award works: Who can win?The prize should go to the person “who has done the most or best to advance fellowship among nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies, […]
Afghan girls stuck at home, waiting for Taliban plan to re-open schools
Reuters As the weeks pass in Afghanistan, the new Taliban administration has yet to announce when it will re-open secondary schools for girls, leaving them stuck at home while their brothers return to class. Two weeks since boys in classes above the sixth grade were told to go back to school, the government says it […]
The Long Read: On day of remembrance, churches confront their role in Indigenous boarding schools
EMILY MCFARLAN MILLER, of Religion News Service, reports on how US churches are grappling with the role they played in the country’s boarding school system for Indigenous children…