Despite partisan divides, Pope retains high marks among US Catholics – survey
RNS A new survey finds that Pope Francis retains high levels of support among US Catholics across the board, and most church members either aren’t aware of or have no opinion about recent controversial changes the Pope has made to rules about the Latin Mass. But researchers pointed to persistent partisan divides in how the […]
IS bomber kills 46 inside Afghan mosque, challenges Taliban
Kabul, AfghanistanAP An Islamic State suicide bomber struck at a mosque packed with Shi’ite Muslim worshippers in northern Afghanistan on Friday, killing at least 46 people and wounding dozens in the latest security challenge to the Taliban as they transition from insurgency to governance. In its claim of responsibility, the region’s IS affiliate identified the […]
UN expert calls for North Korea sanctions to be eased as starvation risk looms
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters North Korea’s most vulnerable risk starvation after it slipped deeper into isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and UN sanctions imposed for its nuclear and missile programs should be eased, a UN rights investigator said in report seen by Reuters. The worsening humanitarian situation could turn into a crisis and it is coinciding with […]
Tokyo trains crowded but little other damage day after strong quake
Tokyo, JapanReuters Tokyo area commuters faced packed trains on Friday on some lines due to delays, but there was little other impact after a strong quake rocked the Japanese capital late the night before, although authorities warned of aftershocks for up to a week. The quake struck at 10:41pm, centred just east of Tokyo and […]
Snapshot: Laguna Cristal, Dominican Republic
See WILSON PAULINO’s image…
City of London backs “retain and explain” for two slavery-linked statues
London, UKReuters Representatives of the City of London municipal authority on Thursday voted in favour of retaining in their Guildhall headquarters two statues linked to the transatlantic slave trade. The councillors who run the Square Mile financial district agreed to add plaques to statues of former Lord Mayor William Beckford and merchant John Cass to […]
Cash airlifts planned to bypass Taliban and help Afghans – sources
Brussels, Belgium/Frankfurt, Germany/Washington DC, US Reuters As desperate Afghans resort to selling their belongings to buy food, international officials are preparing to fly in cash for the needy while avoiding financing the Taliban government, according to people familiar with the confidential plans. Planning for the cash airlifts is going ahead against the background of a […]
In the US state of Missouri, Catholic bishops urge leaders to end executions
AP Leaders of the four Roman Catholic dioceses in Missouri are urging state leaders to end the use of the death penalty, after a convicted killer of three was executed despite a request for clemency from the Pope. Ernest Johnson was executed Tuesday evening, the first Missouri execution in 16 months and the seventh in the […]
Pope, at peace meeting with Merkel, says divert arms money for food, vaccines
Rome, ItalyReuters Pope Francis, closing a peace meeting of world religions, called the arms trade a bane of humanity on Thursday, saying that money spent on weapons should be diverted to feed the hungry and distribute vaccines fairly. “Fewer arms and more food, less hypocrisy and more transparency, more vaccines distributed fairly and fewer weapons […]
South Africa celebrates Archbishop Tutu as he turns 90
Cape Town, South AfricaReuters Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and veteran of South Africa’s struggle against white minority rule, turned 90 on Thursday, celebrating his birthday with a low-key church service at Cape Town’s St George’s Cathedral. Tutu, who has struggled with ill health in recent years, is often hailed as South Africa’s moral […]