Russia intensifies push for Donbas, halts gas to Finland
Kyiv, Ukraine/Oslo, Norway Reuters Russia intensified an offensive in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine on Saturday and stopped providing gas to Finland, escalating Moscow’s dispute with the West over energy payments. After ending weeks of resistance by the last Ukrainian fighters in the strategic south-eastern city of Mariupol, Russia is waging what appears to […]
Updated: Australia ousts conservatives after nine years, PM Morrison concedes
Last updated: 8am, 22nd May, 2022 (AEST)Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia’s Labor Party was set to end almost a decade of conservative rule as the government was swept away in Saturday’s election by a wave of support for candidates who campaigned for more action on climate change and may hold the balance of power. Partial results showed […]
Australian voters head to polls in close-run election
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australians were voting in a national election on Saturday, with opinion polls showing the opposition Labor Party narrowly ahead of the ruling conservative coalition although a strong showing by climate-focussed independents could mean a hung parliament. Centre-left Labor held a decent lead going into the campaign after nine years in opposition, but recent […]
Rwanda expects first 50 asylum seekers transferred from UK by end of May
Kigali, RwandaReuters Rwanda expects the first group of 50 asylum seekers to be transferred from Britain by the end of May, a government spokesperson said this week. In April the British Government announced plans to send people seeking asylum to the East African country, but earlier this month said it expected lawyers to lodge claims […]
UN cutting refugee rations in Africa’s Sahel amid “alarming” food insecurity
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters Food rations for refugees and displaced people are being cut by up to half in parts of the Sahel due to a massive funding shortfall with millions set to go hungry as prices rise and climate shocks hit yields, UN agencies said on Friday. The UN humanitarian office (OCHA) estimates that some […]
In the US, McLean Bible Church leaders hope a new church election will resolve lawsuit
United StatesRNS Leaders of a prominent Washington, DC-area congregation hope to end an ongoing conflict by redoing a contested church election. That election is the subject of a lawsuit pending in Virginia state court. Several current and former members claim McLean Bible Church leaders failed to follow the church’s constitution during an election for church […]
US Archbishop: US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be denied communion over abortion
San Francisco, USRNS Archbishop Salvatore J Cordileone, who oversees the Archdiocese of San Francisco, announced on Friday that he is barring House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from taking Communion in churches he oversees, citing her support for abortion rights. “After numerous attempts to speak with her to help her understand the grave evil she is perpetrating, […]
Protecting children: Italy’s Catholic Church at crossroads over sexual abuse investigation
ANGELO AMANTE and PHILIP PULLELLA, of Reuters, report on how the Catholic Church in Italy’s response to the issue of the sexual abuse of children…
Thousands queue for petrol, gas in Sri Lanka amid warnings of food shortages
Colombo, Sri LankaReuters Thousands of people queued for cooking gas and petrol in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital on Friday and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe warned of a food shortage as the island nation battles a devastating economic crisis. Lines formed in many parts of Colombo, a city of around 900,000 people, as residents tried to […]
Nicaraguan bishop fasts to protest police harassment
Mexico City, MexicoAP A Roman Catholic bishop in Nicaragua began an “indefinite fast” Friday inside a church to protest increasing harassment from national police, who he said followed him throughout the entire previous day. Rolando Álvarez, the Bishop of Matagalpa and a fierce critic of President Daniel Ortega’s government, said in a video published by […]