Sight-Seeing: Tips to get news junkies through a distracting Lent
US Catholic columnist THOMAS REESE talks about why he’s spending time in prayer and fasting this Lent…
Famine may have been averted, but Afghan economic crisis deepens – UN envoy
Reuters Humanitarian agencies may have distributed enough aid in Afghanistan to avert famine and large-scale starvation, but the country’s economic collapse is “approaching a point of irreversibility,” the UN envoy to Kabul said this week. UN Special Representative Deborah Lyons told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that it is “most urgent” to resolve the root problems […]
Fearing martial law or conscription, some Russians try to flee abroad
Moscow, RussiaReuters As Russian troops slowly advanced on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv on Thursday, some people back in Moscow were attempting to flee to destinations abroad that have not banned flights from Russia, stomaching soaring prices in the rush to escape. The Kremlin dismissed speculation that Russian authorities plan to introduce martial law following the invasion […]
Tens of millions at risk in Ukraine, UN says; ICC team leaves to investigate war crimes
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The United Nations’ human rights chief said on Thursday that tens of millions of lives were at risk in Ukraine as the conflict there intensified. Michelle Bachelet called for an immediate halt to hostilities as she opened a debate at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on setting up an international commission of […]
Pope Francis plans to visit Congo and South Sudan in July
Rome, ItalyAP Pope Francis is planning to visit Congo and South Sudan in July, fulfilling a wish to minister to the faithful in the African countries that have sizeable Catholic populations and long histories of conflict. The Archbishop of Canterbury will join him for the South Sudan leg in the latest ecumenical effort to solidify […]
Ukraine, Russia agree on need for evacuation corridors as US sanctions oligarchs
Borodyanka/Lviv, Ukraine Reuters Russia and Ukraine agreed on Thursday to the need for humanitarian corridors to help civilians escape Moscow’s eight-day-long invasion, the first apparent progress in talks, as the United States and Britain hit more oligarchs with sanctions. Thousands are thought to have died or been wounded as the biggest attack on a European state […]
New Zealand’s Ardern faces down frustration over pandemic curbs
Wellington, New ZealandReuters New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern sought to cool simmering resentment over the slow unlocking of the country’s pandemic restrictions on Thursday, a day after police cleared a weeks-long Canada-style protest outside parliament. Police in riot gear battled protesters late into the night on Wednesday, finally bringing an end to the occupation […]
Quick facts – Russia hit with sanctions from around the world after Ukraine invasion
London, UKReuters The European Union, the United States, Britain and others have hit Russia with a wide range of sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine. They have also imposed asset freezes, travel bans and other restrictions on numerous Russian individuals including President Vladimir Putin himself. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with the head […]
Germany to give $US720 million to Holocaust survivors globally
Berlin, GermanyAP The organisation that handles claims on behalf of Jews who suffered under the Nazis said Wednesday that Germany has agreed to extend another $US720 million to provide home care and supportive services for frail and vulnerable Holocaust survivors. The New York-based Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, also referred to as the […]
A Sustainable Life: Why I’m cutting my wardrobe down to ten items this month
UK charity Tearfund is holding The Great Fashion Fast this month. Sustainable fashion expert AMBER MARTIN-WOODHEAD talks, in an article published on The Conversation, about why she’s taking part and some tips for how to make your wardrobe more sustainable…