At least five killed in magnitude 6.1 quake on Iran Gulf coast
Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters At least five people were killed and 49 injured by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake in southern Iran early on Saturday, state media reported, with the area also hit soon after by two strong quakes of up to 6.3 magnitude. Some 24 tremors, two with a magnitude of 6.3 and 6.1, followed […]
Migrant caravan leaves southern Mexico days after Texas tragedy
Tapachula, Mexico Reuters Thousands of people set off on foot from southern Mexico early Friday morning, undeterred in their efforts to reach the United States even after the deaths of at least 53 migrants in Texas this week highlighted the dangers facing many migrants. The group, mostly of young men from Central America, Venezuela and […]
Owners distraught as historic Nile houseboats are removed
Cairo, Egypt Reuters Owners of the Nile’s famous houseboats in the heart of Egypt’s capital are having their homes demolished and towed away as authorities impound what they say are unlicensed dwellings. The boats, many of them elegant two-story structures with verandas, have been moored for decades along the tree-lined banks of the Nile between […]
White House to award two faith leaders the Presidential Medal of Freedom
RNS Two faith leaders – a Catholic nun and a Greek Orthodox Christian priest – will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the United States, according to a White House announcement on Friday. Sister Simone Campbell, former executive director of the lobbying group NETWORK, known for spearheading the “Nuns on […]
Catholic Church: First cardinal from Amazon rainforest – “Distance between Rome and the Amazon is now smaller”
FABIANO MAISONNAVE and NICOLE WINFIELD, of Associated Press, report on the appointmend of Leonardo Steiner, Archbishop of the Brazilian city of Manaus, as the first cardinal from the Amazon region…
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church elects second woman and African bishops
United StatesRNS The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church has elected its second woman bishop and received its first episcopal address from a woman during its quadrennial General Conference. “I think when you elect the first you have to be really careful that they just don’t become a token and so I was really excited,” said Bishop […]
Vatican closes London property sale at a loss after scandal
Rome, ItalyAP The Vatican said Friday it had finalised the sale of a London property that is the focus of a criminal trial in the Vatican courts, offloading the former Harrods warehouse £186 million. The Vatican secretariat of state had poured some €350 million into the building and related fees and commissions paid to brokers […]