United Methodist meeting to consider split is still on…for now
RNS Organisers of the United Methodist Church’s General Conference announced last week they are moving forward with plans for the meeting next fall…for now. But, the Commission on the General Conference said on Friday that it hasn’t ruled out postponing the usually quadrennial meeting of the denomination’s global decision-making body yet again. That would mark the third […]
Wow!: Little-known nut helps Indonesian farmers build sustainable forest economy
HARRY JACQUES, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports from Indonesia that village-owned enterprises being set up around the country to boost rural livelihoods – based around the little known kenari nut – could have the added benefit of slowing tree loss…
“Healing will come”: Catholic community of Waukesha gathers in prayer after parade crash
RNS Hours after an SUV driver plowed into a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee, the Catholic Community of Waukesha gathered for a bilingual prayer service Monday evening for all those affected by the crash that killed at least five people and injured nearly 50 others. “We all come here tonight with a story of what […]
Children skipping meals in majority of families in Lebanon, UNICEF says
Beirut, LebanonReuters More than half of families in Lebanon had at least one child who skipped a meal by October, 2021, amid a “dramatic deterioration of living conditions”, the UN’s children’s fund said in a report released on Tuesday. Children have been hit hard by the country’s deep economic crisis exacerbated by the global coronavirus […]
Total COVID deaths in Europe could exceed 2.2 million by March – WHO
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The World Health Organization said on Tuesday a further 700,000 people could die from COVID-19 in Europe by March, taking the total to above 2.2 million, as it urged people to get vaccinated and to have booster shots. Total cumulative deaths from the respiratory disease in the 53 countries of the WHO’s European […]
Flaming bus crash in Bulgaria kills 45 Macedonian tourists
Sofia, BulgariaReuters At least 45 people, including 12 children, died as a bus carrying mostly North Macedonian tourists crashed in flames on a highway in western Bulgaria on Tuesday, officials said. Seven people who leapt from the burning bus were rushed to hospital in Sofia and were in stable conditions, hospital staff said. Bulgaria’s interior […]
US gun makers say Mexico’s lawsuit represents “clash of national values”
Boston, USReuters Gun makers including Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co on Monday asked a US judge to dismiss a lawsuit by the Mexican government accusing them of facilitating the trafficking of weapons to drug cartels, leading to thousands of deaths. The gun manufacturers in a brief told a federal judge in Boston that […]
Anger among Philippine victims’ families as ICC suspends war on drugs probe
Manila, The PhilippinesReuters Relatives of people killed in the Philippines’ war on drugs have accused the government of attempting to evade accountability by asking the International Criminal Court to defer its investigation. The ICC, which in September approved an investigation into President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs in which thousands of people have died, on […]
After a century-and-a-half, Ethiopian artefacts return home
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Reuters After a century-and-a-half hidden in private collections, 13 stolen Ethiopian artefacts have finally returned home following months of negotiations. “Our country’s ancient civilisation’s history, artefacts, fingerprints of indigenous knowledge, culture…have been looted in war and smuggled out illegally,” said Ethiopia’s tourism minister, Nasise Challa. Artefacts that were looted during the colonial-era […]
Coastal towns locked down in La Palma as lava crashes into ocean
Madrid, SpainReuters Authorities on the Spanish island of La Palma ordered residents of three coastal towns to stay indoors on Monday after a new stream of lava crashed into the ocean, sending thick clouds of potentially toxic gases high into the sky. A third tongue of lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano, which has been […]