Pope, hobbled by knee problem, looks forward to South Sudan trip
Rome, ItalyAP Pope Francis, whose mobility has been limited of late by a nagging knee problem, is looking forward to visiting South Sudan in July, according to a joint message by the pontiff, the Archbishop of Canterbury and a Scottish church official. The Vatican on Saturday released the text of the message, which refers to […]
Heat adds to despair of Indian women after decades of daily treks for water
Hinauti, India Reuters India’s scorching summer heat adds new risks this year to an energy-sapping challenge that tribal woman Munni Adhivasi has surmounted every day for two decades, by trudging for miles to carry home water. Munni, who said she feared dying in the heat, teared up as she railed against the government’s failure to provide drinking water to more than 200 tribal families in her hamlet of Hinauti in northern Uttar […]
Vatican astrophysicists offer new way to study gravity after the Big Bang
Vatican CityRNS Two Catholic priests, both astrophysicists from the Vatican Observatory, have suggested a radically new mathematical approach to studying the initial moments following the Big Bang that gave birth to our universe. Little is known about the first seconds of the universe’s existence, and one of the deeper puzzles is accounting for the role […]
As Beijing outbreak persists, China hits back at “zero COVID” doubters
Beijng/Shanghai, China Reuters Beijing residents fretted on Friday over tightening COVID curbs in its biggest district and dozens of new cases reported daily as China’s leaders reiterated their resolve to battle the virus and threatened action against critics of their strict measures. Incurring a heavy economic cost and facing rare public criticism on its tightly-policed […]
Posters appear in Moscow accusing famous Swedes of backing Nazism
Reuters Posters accusing some of the 20th century’s most famous Swedes of supporting Nazism have appeared on Moscow’s streets in a sign of worsening relations between Russia and Sweden as the Nordic country contemplates joining NATO. Outside the Swedish embassy two posters affixed to a bus stop featured photographs of Swedish King Gustaf V, writer […]
Bangladesh: Legalising ‘easy bike’ taxis could drive safer, greener industry
MD TAHMID ZAMI, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports that a court decision overturning an earlier ban on three-wheelers paves the way for them to be made legal, which transport experts say would support better design and potentially greener ways to power them…
In the US, White evangelicals oppose abortion; all other religious groups support it
RNS A number of polls in recent days have shown that a majority of Americans think abortion should be legal; a new Pew Research survey is no exception. The large survey of 11,044 Americans, released Friday, shows that 61 per cent of respondents said abortion should be legal in most or all cases – little […]
Anti-government protest strike in Sri Lanka shuts schools, businesses
Colombo, Sri Lanka Reuters Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency on Friday following a day of anti-government strikes and protests over a worsening economic crisis. The measure, which drew immediate criticism from opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and from Canada’s ambassador, is effective immediately and was taken in the interests of public […]