UN experts to Pakistan: Release man charged with blasphemy
Islamabad, PakistanAP United Nations human rights experts urged Pakistan on Thursday to release a Christian man who was detained two years ago for insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and is believed to be mentally ill. Stephen Masih, who was arrested in March, 2019, has yet to face trial, the experts said. He is a Pakistani jailed […]
This Life: Tomorrow is promised to no-one
US columnist CAROL ROUND, in an article published on ASSIST News Service, on the importance of living each day as though it’s your last…
Vatican census shows Catholicism growing everywhere but Europe
Vatican CityRNS A Vatican census released ahead of World Mission Day reveals growing numbers of Catholics in what Pope Francis often refers to as “the global peripheries,” even as the number of believers continues to diminish in Europe. The number of Catholics in the world grew by more than 15 million from 2018 to 2019, […]
Updated: Haiti gang leader threatens to kill kidnapped American missionaries
Last updated: 12.50pm (AEDT)Port-au-Prince, HaitiReuters A Haitian man identifying himself as the leader of the gang that kidnapped a group of American and Canadian missionaries said in a video posted on YouTube on Thursday that he was willing to kill “these Americans” if he does not get what he needs. The speaker in the video, […]
Mass protests held in Sudan against prospect of military rule
Khartoum, SudanReuters Huge crowds of people marched in several parts of the Sudanese capital and other cities on Thursday in demonstrations against the prospect of military rule, as the crisis in the country’s troubled transition from authoritarian rule deepened. The military has shared power with civilian parties in a transitional authority since the removal of […]
New Zealand swears in first Indigenous woman as Governor-General
Wellington, New ZealandReuters New Zealand’s first Indigenous Māori woman to be named Governor-General, Dame Cindy Kiro, was formally sworn into the largely ceremonial role in parliament in Wellington on Thursday, pledging to reach out to migrants and marginalised citizens. Speaking to a small audience at the swearing-in ceremony, Dame Cindy said she was proud of […]
Texans will vote in November on whether governments can limit religious services
RNS Texas voters will decide on Election Day whether state and local governments can impose limits on religious services, such as the public health orders that shut down houses of worship and businesses earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic. If voters approve the measure, known as Proposition 3, it would add a clause to the Texas Constitution […]
Significant Sights: A Rocky Mountain high
SAMANTHA ELLEY writes about why the Rocky Mountains are such a special space for her…
Goodbye, Columbus: Vikings crossed the Atlantic 1,000 years ago
Washington DC, USReuters Long before Columbus crossed the Atlantic, eight timber-framed buildings covered in sod stood on a terrace above a peat bog and stream at the northern tip of Canada’s island of Newfoundland, evidence that the Vikings had reached the New World first. But precisely when the Vikings journeyed to establish the L’Anse aux […]
Books: When Christians face mental health challenges
DARREN and JESSIE CRONSHAW read a book focused on the interaction between Christian spirituality and mental health challenges…