Pope blesses those everyone loves to hate – tax collectors
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis on Monday encouraged the people everyone loves to hate – tax collectors – telling them that while they will never win popularity contests, they were vital for the functioning of a fair society. “Your work appears to be thankless…” he told a delegation from the Agenzia delle Entrate, Italy’s revenue agency, […]
Wow!: COVID and war push Yemen’s businesswomen to smash taboos
AMAL MAMOON, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports from Taiz in Yemen on how women are defying conservative notions about gender roles to open new ventures…
Priest’s killing in Pakistan reignites fear in Christian community
Peshawar, PakistanReuters The killing of a Christian priest in the city of Peshawar has reignited fear amongst local parishioners and brought back painful memories of one of Pakistan’s bloodiest attacks on the community in the same city. Gunmen shot and killed Pastor William Siraj and wounded another Christian cleric as they drove home from Sunday […]
Johnson vows changes after lockdown parties report condemns UK leadership failures
London, UKReuters British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced renewed calls to resign on Monday after a report found that alcohol-fuelled parties at his offices and residence when COVID-19 lockdown rules were in force should never have taken place. The report by senior civil servant Sue Gray into the lockdown gatherings – at a time when […]
UN chief presses Myanmar junta for aid access
Reuters The UN Secretary-General has urged Myanmar’s ruling military to allow humanitarian aid access and address the “desperate needs” of its people, highlighting a year since a coup ended a decade of democracy and plunged the country into turmoil. The 1st February overthrow of an elected government triggered months of nationwide protests and a bloody […]
Christians call for amnesty for Hong Kongers charged under national security law
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters A coalition of Protestant and Catholic Christian groups on Monday called on Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to drop charges against media tycoon Jimmy Lai and other political activists jailed or in custody under a China-imposed national security law. The petition by more than a dozen Christian groups and leaders was handed […]
Chile anti-migrant protesters destroy camps in tense north
Santiago, ChileReuters Chilean protesters marched against immigration and crime in the Andean country’s far north on Sunday, with some violent factions destroying belongings from migrant camps in the streets amid growing tension in the region over border controls. Photos showed protesters, many carrying Chilean flags, breaking up tent structures and bedding in the northern city […]
Hong Kong university covers up Tiananmen crackdown memorial slogan
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters A leading Hong Kong university on Saturday covered a painted slogan commemorating China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown, the latest instance of a public June 4 memorial being removed in China-ruled Hong Kong. A Reuters journalist saw about a dozen construction workers wearing yellow hard hats erect grey metal construction hoardings around a “martyrs slogan” painted […]
Heavy rains cause landslides and flooding in São Paulo, killing 18
Brasilia, BrazilReuters Landslides and flooding from heavy rains in Sao Paulo state have killed at least 18 people since Friday, including seven children, public safety officials said on Sunday. According to São Paulo state authorities, nine other people were injured in the rains and five more were missing, while some 500 families were left homeless […]
Lebanese Patriarch warns against calls for postponing vote
Beirut, LebanonReuters A decision by Lebanon’s leading Sunni Muslim politician to step back from politics and boycott a parliamentary election in May must not be used as an excuse to call for a delay, the Maronite Christian Patriarch said on Sunday. Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al-Rai said he was surprised by three times-former Prime Minister Saad […]