EU backs Ukraine’s membership bid to “live the European dream”
Brussels, Belgium/Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters The European Union gave its blessing on Friday for Ukraine and its neighbour Moldova to become candidates to join, in the most dramatic geopolitical shift to result from Russia’s invasion. “Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference, wearing […]
Pioneering Russian journalist sells Nobel Peace medal for Ukraine
Reuters Russian journalist and Nobel Peace laureate Dmitry Muratov is auctioning his Nobel medal for Ukrainian refugees, distraught at the eradication of independent media in his country, where he says fewer and fewer people support Moscow’s military campaign. Muratov is the bear-like co-founder and long-time editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, a newspaper critical of the Kremlin […]
Snapshot: St Michael’s Church, Tonga
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Australian scientists develop model to spot soft corals most at risk of bleaching
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australian scientists have come up with a model that will help researchers quickly identify soft corals most vulnerable to bleaching from marine heatwaves, helping prioritise resources to preserve reefs. Coral bleaching has struck many reefs around the world, including Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, which was hit by four mass bleaching events in the […]
As young Africans push to be online, data cost stands in the way
Johannesburg, South Africa/Accra, GhanaThomson Reuters Foundation Alongside the food, clothing and nappies gifted to a shelter for South African flood victims, one donation proved especially popular – a wi-fi router. The router allowed the students to finish assignments, helped the unemployed find jobs and meant seamstresses could download dress patterns – tasks that had been […]
Myanmar junta calls return of executions “required action”
Reuters Myanmar ruling military on Thursday defended a planned execution of two prominent democracy figures as lawful and required, defying international criticism for resuming capital punishment after a three-decade hiatus. The United Nations, France, the United States and international human rights groups have urged the junta not to follow through with the execution of activist […]
Belgian bishop turns down cardinal role over sexual abuse criticism
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis has accepted a request by a Belgian bishop to not be made a cardinal because it might hurt the feelings of victims of sexual abuse, the Belgian bishops conference said on Thursday. A cardinal skull cap is seen on display at the window of the Gammarelli tailor shop in Rome, on […]
Yemen’s conflict: Child soldiering continues despite Houthi promise
SAMY MAGDY, of Associated Press, reports on how, despite an agreement with the UN in April to halt the practice, the Houthis continue to recruit children into the military ranks to fight in the country’s ongoing civil war…
In the US, California again seeks to pass human composting bill as Catholic bishops oppose it
United StatesRNS Seeking to legalise the process of converting bodies into soil, a California legislator is attempting, once again, to pass a bill that would allow human composting in the Golden State. Burial, cremation and alkaline hydrolysis are the only death care choices available in California, and proponents say the new bill, AB 351, “offers […]
Essay: A humanitarian is wrongly convicted of helping besieged Palestinians in Gaza
Award-winning Palestinian journalist DAOUD KUTTAB, in an article first published on Religion News Service, says the case against Mohammad El Halabi has dealt a blow to the Israeli justice system…