Africa’s most vulnerable hit by Russia’s war in Ukraine, says IMF
Washington DC, US/London, UKReuters Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has delivered a further “huge negative shock” to sub-Saharan Africa, driving food and energy prices higher and putting the most vulnerable people at risk of hunger, the head of the IMF’s Africa Department told Reuters. The food security crisis had piled pressure on countries already grappling with […]
Blasts hit Kyiv while UN chief visiting, Ukraine blames Russian missiles
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Russia fired two missiles into the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Thursday during a visit by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and one hit the lower floor of a residential building, injuring at least three people, its mayor said. Reuters could not independently verify the cause of the explosions. Kyiv has enjoyed relative calm […]
Facing international criticism, Singapore defends Malaysian’s execution
Singapore Reuters Singapore authorities late on Wednesday defended a decision to execute a Malaysian drug trafficker, in response to international criticism over their use of the death penalty. Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, 34, had been convicted of smuggling at least 42 grams of heroin into Singapore, which has among the world’s harshest narcotics laws. He was hanged […]
In the US, amid controversy former Vineyard Anaheim becomes the Dwelling Place
RNS When leaders of a well-known Southern California congregation decided to leave the Vineyard USA – an influential charismatic movement – they knew the church would need a new name. On Sunday, Alan Scott, co-pastor of the former Vineyard Anaheim, announced the church would now be called the Dwelling Place. Pastors Alan and Kathryn Scott […]
Health Insight: The pandemic’s gardening boom shows how gardens can cultivate public health
Drawing on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, ALESSANDRO OSSOLA looks – in an article first published on The Conversation – at the role gardening can play in people’s life…
COVID-19, Israel-Gaza war fuelled anti-Semitism – researchers
Jerusalem, IsraelAP The coronavrius pandemic and Israel’s overwhelming force during the Gaza war helped fuel a worldwide spike in anti-Semitism last year, Israeli researchers reported on Wednesday. The prominence of political extremism and the reach of social media also may have intensified the ancient phenomenon of scapegoating Jews in recent years, the report said. The […]
What’s in a name? Ukraine plans to rename streets linked to Russia
Reuters A number of Ukrainian cities plan to rename streets and squares associated with Russia under a process of “derussification” following Moscow’s invasion. A day after the dismantling of a huge Soviet-era monument in Kyiv that was meant to symbolise friendship between Russia and Ukraine, the city council said on Wednesday it had compiled a […]
Families of Colombian victims urge soldiers to reveal who ordered killings
Bogota, ColombiaReuters Families of victims of extrajudicial executions committed by Colombian soldiers asked perpetrators to reveal who ordered the murders, during the latest public hearing of the country’s transitional justice court on Wednesday. The so-called “false positive” killings, when soldiers murdered at least 6,402 people and recorded them as guerrillas killed in combat in order […]
EU estimates up to 80 per cent of population has had COVID
Brussels, BelgiumReuters The European Commission said that between 60 per cent and 80 per cent of the EU population was estimated to have been infected with COVID-19, as the bloc enters a post-emergency phase in which mass reporting of cases was no longer necessary. In preparing for this less acute phase, European Union governments should ramp […]
Educational opportunities: Pastor-led shelters bring schooling options to migrant kids
GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO, of Associated Press, reports on how pastor-run shelters have partnered with educators to help ensure migrant children in Mexico have access to education…