Patriarch of Jerusalem’s edict puts unity on Holy Land’s Christmas in doubt
Amman, JordanRNS The Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, whose authority extends over some 130,000 Middle Eastern Christians, has posted a memo on the patriarchate website that appears to overturn a 45-year-old agreement with Western Christian churches to unify the celebration of Christian holidays. Since 1975, Western and Eastern Christians in Jordan, the Palestinian territories (with the […]
Wow!: Indigenous video game streamers advocate for representation and education
JESSICA MUNDIE, of Religion News Services, reports on how some Indigenous gamers in Cananda are bringing their culture to the online community…
A weary Pope urges Greek, Turkish Cypriots to heal division
Nicosia, CyprusAP Pope Francis on Thursday urged Greek Cypriots and the breakaway Turkish Cypriots to resume talks on reunifying the Mediterranean island nation, saying threats and shows of force were only prolonging the “terrible laceration” its people have endured for nearly a half-century. A weary-looking Francis made the appeal as he arrived in the ethnically […]
Portugal urges victims of clergy sexual abuse to break the silence
Lisbon, PortugalReuters A commission investigating allegations of historical child sexual abuse by members of the Portuguese Catholic church urged victims on Thursday to speak up and help them lift a veil of silence around the issue. “We want [victims] to report, finally and without fear, what happened to them,” the head of the newly-created commission, […]
US steps up fight against Omicron as variant spreads across globe
Washington DC, US/Berlin, GermanyReuters The United States reported its first known case of community transmission of Omicron on Thursday hours before President Joe Biden was due to lay out his strategy to fight the coronavirus in the winter as the highly contagious variant spread across the globe. With authorities around the world scrambling to contain […]
Thousands of Haitians gather at encampment in southern Mexico, demanding help
Tapachula, MexicoReuters Several thousand Haitian migrants have camped outside a stadium in the southern Mexican city of Tapachula, pleading to be transferred to other states and given authorization to travel freely through Mexico and seek employment. Mexican officials last week began moving hundreds of migrants to other states after they had endured lengthy waits for […]
Madagascar food crisis caused more by poverty, natural weather than climate change – study
Reuters Poverty, poor infrastructure and natural weather variability are bigger contributors to Madagascar’s food crisis than climate change, according to a study released on Thursday by international research collective World Weather Attribution. But the crisis still highlights vulnerabilities that will only worsen as global temperatures continue to rise, scientists for the organisation said. Malagasy children […]
UN says about half of Myanmar’s people could sink into poverty in 2022
Reuters Urban poverty is on course to triple in Myanmar, pushing nearly half the population below the poverty line next year, the United Nations said on Wednesday, as the twin impact of the pandemic and a military coup threaten progress made in the past decade. The army seized power from the elected civilian government of […]
Hundreds of Ugandan troops cross into Congo as offensive widens
Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo Reuters Hundreds of Ugandan soldiers in armoured vehicles crossed the border into eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday, two witnesses said, as a joint offensive against an Islamic State-linked armed group appeared to expand. Late on Tuesday Congo said special forces from both countries would be deployed to secure […]
Ethiopian Government says it has recaptured Lalibela, UN World Heritage site
Addis Ababa Reuters Ethiopian Government forces and their regional allies have recaptured the town of Lalibela – a United Nations World Heritage Site – from Tigrayan forces, the Prime Minister’s office said on Wednesday. Forces aligned with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front had taken control of the town, in the Amhara region, in early August. […]