Putin likens Western sanctions to war as Russian assault traps Ukrainian civilians
Lviv/Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters Russian President Vladimir Putin said Western sanctions were akin to war as his forces pressed their assault on Ukraine on Saturday for a 10th day and the IMF warned the conflict would have a “severe impact” on the global economy. Moscow and Kyiv traded blame over failed plans for a brief ceasefire […]
Death toll climbs to 63 in deadly Pakistan IS mosque attack
Peshawar, Pakistan AP Officials vowed Saturday to hunt down and arrest the masterminds behind a deadly mosque attack in Pakistan a day earlier claimed by an Islamic State affiliate. The assault killed 63 people and wounded nearly 200. IS said in a statement the lone suicide bomber was from neighboring Afghanistan. He shot two police […]
Russia announces limited ceasefire in Ukraine to allow evacuations but continues broad offensive
Lviv/Kyiv. UkraineReuters Russia said its forces had stopped firing near two besieged Ukrainian cities on Saturday to allow safe passage to civilians fleeing fighting, but officials in one of the cities said Moscow was not fully observing the limited ceasefire. The Russian defence ministry said its units had opened humanitarian corridors near the cities of […]
African students say they faced guns, hostile guards as they fled Ukraine
Abuja, NigeriaReuters Nigerian medical student Oduola Adebowale said he and some friends were trying to get on a train to flee Ukraine when the soldiers pointed guns at them and ordered them back. The Ukrainian troops told him they were only letting pregnant woman on the service from the city of Lviv to the Polish […]
Food prices jump 24.1 per cent in a year to hit record high in February, UN agency says
Rome, ItalyReuters World food prices hit a record high in February, led by a surge in vegetable oils and dairy products, to post a 24.1 per cent increase year-on-year, the UN food agency said on Friday. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s food price index which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 140.7 points last […]
In the US, United Methodist Church delays General Conference, prompting some conservatives to leave
RNS The United Methodist Church has delayed its General Conference meeting for a third time due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. In response, some conservative United Methodists have announced they will preemptively leave the denomination rather than wait for the long-anticipated meeting. Delegates to the General Conference were expected to take up a proposal to […]
US calls for help to rehome Afghans who fled chaos of Taliban takeover
Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesReuters The United States still needs other nations to take Afghans who fled their homeland last year, a senior US State Department official said on Friday, six months after Washington’s chaotic withdrawal as the hard-line Islamist Taliban took control. Washington has been urging its partners to take Afghans who do not […]
Russian Orthodox Church: Glimmers of dissent against invasion of Ukraine
JACK JENKINS, of Religion News Service, reports that the spiritual dissent exists on a spectrum, ranging from calls for peace to threats of breaking away from the Russian Orthodox Church…
WFP ramps up food aid to Ukraine amid reports of severe shortages
London, UKReuters The World Food Programme said on Friday it is ramping up food aid to war-torn Ukraine, citing reports of severe shortages of food and water in Kyiv, the capital, and the north-eastern city of Kharkiv. The UN agency said it is in the process of finding partners in Ukraine to help it distribute […]
Argentine bishop defended by Pope sentenced in abuse case
Buenos Aires, Argentina AP An Argentine court on Friday sentenced a Roman Catholic bishop to four-and-a-half years in prison for sexual abuse of two former seminarians in a major blow to Pope Francis, who had defended Gustavo Zanchetta following initial allegations. The prosecutors’ office in the northern province of Salta reported the conviction and sentence […]