Kyiv rocked by blasts from Russian cruise missiles, Ukraine says
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Russia struck Ukraine’s capital Kyiv with missiles early on Sunday for the first time in more than a month, while Ukrainian officials said a counter-attack on the main battlefield in the east had retaken half of the city of Sievierodonetsk. Dark smoke could be seen from many miles away after the attack on […]
Firefighters still working to put out deadly Bangladesh container blaze
Dhaka, Bangladesh Reuters Firefighters worked for a second day on Sunday to extinguish a massive blaze that killed at least 49 people at a container depot in south-east Bangladesh, the latest incident highlighting the country’s poor industrial safety track record. The fire that also injured more than 200 broke out at the shipping container facility […]
Queen Elizabeth II “humbled” by cheering Jubilee crowds
London, UK Reuters Queen Elizabeth II said she was humbled by the support she had received during her Platinum Jubilee after crowds of royal fans cheered her appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, flanked by her heir Prince Charles and two other future kings. The 96-year-old monarch had withdrawn from several events during the […]
More than 50 feared dead in Nigeria church attack, officials say
Abuja, Nigeria AP Gunmen opened fire on worshippers and detonated explosives at a Catholic church in south-western Nigeria on Sunday, leaving dozens feared dead, state lawmakers said. The attackers targeted the St Francis Catholic Church in Ondo state just as the worshippers gathered on Pentecost Sunday, legislator Ogunmolasuyi Oluwole said. Among the dead were many […]
Europe’s south expects over 150,000 migrant arrivals this year – minister
Milan, ItalyReuters Mediterranean countries on major migrant routes into Europe expect over 150,000 arrivals this year as food shortages caused by the Ukraine conflict threaten a new migration wave from Africa and the Middle East. “This year the frontline member states are expected, as we have discussed between us, to receive more than 150,000 migrants,” […]
Distant rumble of Ukraine war disturbs calm of Baltic islands
Mariehamn, Finland Reuters The fighting may be more than 2,000 kilometres away across sea and land, but on their remote, rocky outcrop off the southern coast of Finland, the inhabitants of Aland fear the Russian invasion of Ukraine could change their lives for good. The war has turned decades of European security policy on its […]
Yemenis face daily struggle to survive in besieged Taiz
Taiz, Yemen Reuters Yemeni cancer patient Mohsen al-Najdi has to drive more than three hours along narrow mountain roads to receive chemotherapy he can barely afford in Taiz, a city which has been largely cut off from the rest of Yemen during a seven-year war. Like other residents of the south-western governorate, Najdi misses easier […]
Challenging times: In the US, clergy of colour face unprecedented mental health challenges
DEEPA BHARATH, of The Associated Press, and ADELLE M BANKS, of Religion News Service, report on how exhausted faith leaders are being left with serious questions about how to care for their own physical and mental well-being while helping congregants in a meaningful way…
Pope says he will meet Ukraine officials to discuss possible trip
Vatican City Reuters Pope Francis said on Saturday he would meet soon with Ukrainian officials to discuss the possibility of a visit to their country. Francis disclosed the coming meeting in a question-and-answer session with children in one of the Vatican’s main courtyards. A Ukrainian boy named Sachar asked him: “Can you come to Ukraine […]
Ukraine says it pushes back Russian troops in battlefield city
Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters Ukraine said on Saturday it had recaptured a swathe of the battlefield city of Sievierodonetsk, where intense fighting continued, in a rare counter-offensive against Russia’s main assault force that had been steadily advancing in the east. The Ukrainian claim could not be independently verified, and Moscow said its own forces were making […]