Colombia’s highest court legalises abortion up to 24 weeks
Updated: 11.15am (AEDT)Bogota, ColombiaReuters Judges on Colombia’s constitutional court voted on Monday to decriminalise abortion until 24 weeks of gestation, the court said in a statement, in a victory for abortion rights groups which sued to have the procedure removed from the penal code. The decision adds Colombia to a list of Latin American countries […]
Lifestory: Nightbirde, who shared music, message of hope on ‘America’s Got Talent’, dies at 31
EMILY MCFARLAN MILLER, of Religion News Service, reports that the singer, a Liberty University graduate who moved many viewers with her faith in the face of a terminal cancer diagnosis, withdrew from ‘America’s Got Talent’ as her health declined…
Israeli authority backs down from Mount of Olives park plan
Jerusalem, IsraelAP Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority on Monday said it was backing down from a contentious plan to encompass Christian holy sites on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives in a national park following vociferous outcry from major churches. The Mount of Olives in east Jerusalem rises above Jerusalem’s Old City and its sites are holy […]
Death toll in Brazil’s Petropolis mudslides, floods hits 176; more than 110 missing
Rio de Janeiro, BrazilReuters The death toll from last week’s mudslides and floods in the Brazilian city of Petropolis reached 176 as of Monday, Rio de Janeiro’s state civil defence said, with more than 110 people still missing. Downpours in the colonial-era city exceeded the average for the entire month of February last Tuesday alone, […]
Putin recognises Ukraine rebel regions, sends troops on what Moscow calls peacekeeping mission
Updated: 9.25am (AEDT)Moscow, Russia Reuters Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent on Monday and ordered the Russian army to launch what Moscow called a peacekeeping operation in the area, upping the ante in a crisis the West fears could unleash a major war. Putin told Russia’s defence ministry […]
Mali’s workers feel the squeeze as sanctions take hold
Bamako, MaliReuters Mohamed Cisse used to employ hundreds of workers in Mali’s capital Bamako before economic sanctions last month shut borders and cut the lifeblood of his construction business. Cement is scarce. Its key ingredient, clinker, comes from neighbouring Senegal, from which all but essential goods are blocked. Cisse has been forced to shut three […]
Biden agrees in principle to Ukraine summit with Putin
Reuters US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed in principle to a summit over Ukraine, the French leader said on Monday, offering a possible path out of one of the most dangerous European crises in decades. The office of French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement he had pitched to […]
Hong Kong’s ‘zero-COVID’ success now worsens strains of Omicron spike
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Hong Kong until recently had an enviable record battling COVID-19, but as an Omicron wave now overwhelms the city, the steps that saved lives are making life unbearable for many of its 7.4 million people. Like an immune system overreacting and harming the person it is meant to protect, the “dynamic zero-COVID” […]
Dominican Republic begins building border wall with Haiti
Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicReuters The Dominican Government on Sunday began building a wall that will cover more than half of the 392-kilometre border with Haiti, its only land neighbour, to stop irregular migration and the smuggling of goods, weapons and drugs. While the two countries share the island of Hispaniola, they are worlds apart in […]
Bosnian Croats say may push for own region unless election law changes
Sarajevo, Bosnia and HerzegoviaReuters Bosnian Croat nationalists said on Saturday they could launch a political process to form their own region in Bosnia unless an election law is changed in a way that bolsters their representation in national institutions. The Croatian National Parliament (HNS), a body representing Bosnian Croat political parties and led by the […]