Christian MP goes on trial in Finland for calling homosexuality a disorder
Helsinki, FinlandReuters A Finnish Christian democrat MP and former minister of the interior went on trial on Monday for agitation against gay people over comments in which she described homosexuality as a developmental disorder and a sin. In the unprecedented case over freedom of speech, the Helsinki district court must also decide whether citing the […]
This Life: Need to find rest? Put Jesus on speed dial
US columnist CAROL ROUND, in an article published on ASSIST News Service, writes about finding rests through Christ…
Poor nations pay highest debt service in 20 years – campaigners
Johannesburg, South AfricaReuters Developing countries are paying more to service their debt than at any other time in the past two decades, with a heavier burden on the horizon if the United States raises interest rates this year as expected, a leading debt campaigner said on Monday. Many developing nations have been hit hard by […]
Ex-Pope Benedict acknowledges faulty testimony in German abuse case
Vatican CityReuters Former Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged on Monday he had been at a 1980 meeting over a sexual abuse case when Archbishop of Munich, saying he mistakenly told German investigators he was not there. A report released last week on abuse in the archdiocese from 1945 to 2019 said then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger failed to […]
Burkina Faso army deposes President in West Africa’s latest coup
Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoReuters Burkina Faso’s army said on Monday it had ousted President Roch Kabore, suspended the constitution, dissolved the government and the national assembly, and closed the country’s borders. The announcement cited the deterioration of the security situation and what the army described as Kabore’s inability to unite the West African nation and effectively […]
Ecuador to increase police manpower in Guayaquil after killings
Quito, EcuadorReuters Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso said on Sunday he will send an additional 1,100 police officers to coastal Guayaquil and increase military presence there amid a spate of violent deaths the government says are connected to the fight against the drug trade. Violence and crime, including within the prison system, soared in Ecuador late […]
Pope to soon declare 37th doctor of the church: St Irenaeus
AP A second-century saint known as a bridge between eastern and western Christianity took another step last week toward being declared a doctor of the church, one of the highest honours in the Catholic Church. The head of the Vatican’s saint-making office, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, told Pope Francis that the office’s members had agreed that […]
Vatican fraud trial to resume with boost for prosecution
Vatican CityReuters The Vatican’s landmark fraud and embezzlement trial resumes after a long break on Tuesday with the beleaguered prosecution buoyed by two favourable decisions in related cases by Swiss and Italian courts. The trial, in which defendants are accused of fraud and other crimes around the Vatican’s €350 million purchase of a luxury building […]
Head of fund created by Anne Frank’s father criticises cold-case probe – paper
Vienna, AustriaReuters The head of a foundation set up by Anne Frank’s father has criticised an investigation into her betrayal to the Nazis that named a Jewish notary as a leading suspect, saying it was “full of errors” and offered no proof, a Swiss newspaper reported. Anne and seven other Jews were discovered by the […]
Rich countries’ access to foreign nurses during Omicron raises ethical concerns – group
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The Omicron-fuelled wave of COVID-19 infections has led wealthy countries to intensify their recruitment of nurses from poorer parts of the world, worsening dire staffing shortages in overstretched workforces there, the International Council of Nurses said. Sickness, burnout and staff departures amid surging Omicron cases have driven absentee rates to levels not yet […]