UN rights office decries Ethiopia air strikes, says 108 killed this month
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The UN human rights office on Friday expressed alarm at “multiple, deeply disturbing reports” of air strikes in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, saying at least 108 civilians had been killed since the start of January. A woman stands in line to receive food donations, at the Tsehaye primary school, which was turned […]
Snapshot: Winter fishing in Belarus
See SLAVA TAUKACHOU’s image…
Ex-officer jailed for Syrian war crimes after landmark German trial
Koblenz, GermanyReuters A German court on Thursday jailed a Syrian ex-intelligence officer for life for murder, rape and crimes against humanity, handing down the first ever conviction for state-backed torture committed during Syria’s civil war after a landmark trial. Anwar Raslan was found guilty on 27 of out 58 counts of murder, rape and sexual […]
With most Gaza homes wrecked by war still in ruins, smiles for the lucky few
GazaReuters Palestinian Zeyad Abu Odah watched with a smile as his four-storey house, destroyed in an Israeli air strike in last May’s fierce fighting, was slowly being rebuilt in Gaza’s Beach refugee camp. He is one of the lucky few. Only 50 of 1,650 homes wrecked in an 11-day war between Gaza militants and Israel […]
Polish diocese apologises for asking if abuse victim is gay
Warsaw, PolandAP A Catholic diocese in Poland apologised on Thursday for having asked a court to determine whether a man who was sexually abused as a child by a priest is gay, and whether the sexual contact may have consequently been pleasurable for him. Following wide criticism, the Bielsko-Zywiec diocese said that its letter to […]
UN chief appeals for release of money to save Afghan lives
United NationsReuters UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed on Thursday for a suspension of rules preventing the use of money in Afghanistan to save lives and the economy and for a path to the conditional release of frozen Afghan foreign currency reserves. “International funding should be allowed to pay the salaries of public-sector workers, and to […]
Art in sacred spaces: How UK cathedrals are using art to prompt people to reflection and thought
ANGELA YOUNGMAN reports on how UK cathedrals are using art installations to engage with congregations and visitors…
Ten years on, Costa Concordia shipwreck still haunts survivors, islanders
Giglio, Italy Reuters Ester Percossi can still hear the screams, feel the cold and see the terror in people’s eyes. She is one of the survivors of the shipwreck of the Costa Concordia, the luxury cruise liner that capsized after hitting rocks just off the coast of the small Italian island of Giglio on 13th […]
Essay: Love All – Djokovic’s courts and the fickle privilege of the spotlight
MEREDITH WRIGHT, of Baptist World Aid Australia, says the case of Novak Djokovic has shone a renewed light on those held in Australian immigration detention…