Ukraine’s Zelenskiy announces mandatory evacuation of Donetsk region
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday his government was ordering the mandatory evacuation of people in the eastern Donetsk region, scene of fierce fighting with Russia. In a late-night television address, Zelenskiy also said the hundreds of thousands of people still in combat zones in the larger Donbas region, which contains Donetsk […]
Pope says genocide took place at church schools in Canada for Indigenous children
Aboard the papal planeReuters Pope Francis said on Saturday that what happened at residential schools that the Roman Catholic and other Christian Churches ran to forcefully assimilate Canada’s Indigenous children was genocide. The Pope made the comment while flying back to Rome after a week-long trip to Canada, where he delivered a historic apology for […]
Brazil grants permit to pave highway through heart of Amazon forest
Sao Paulo, BrazilReuters Brazil’s environmental authority on Thursday granted an initial permit that will allow a major highway to be paved through the centre of the Amazon rainforest, the minister of infrastructure said, in a move that threatens to increase deforestation. Right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro on the campaign trail had pledged to repave the road, […]
End “double standard approach” on refugees, UN expert urges Poland
Geneva, Swizterland/Warsaw, PolandReuters Polish authorities must stop locking up migrants near the Belarus border and put an end to their “very different” treatment of Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian refugees, the UN Special Rapporteur on migrants’ rights said this week. Felipe Gonzalez Morales praised the actions of Polish authorities and citizens who have given protection and assistance […]
“Mostly verbal threats”: Taiwan residents shrug off China’s warnings on Pelosi visit
Taipei, TaiwanReuters Many in Taiwan have shrugged off China’s warnings about a possible trip to the democratic island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying they were accustomed to Beijing’s sabre-rattling and saw no cause for alarm. Such a trip would be the first by a House speaker to the island since 1997, and China, […]
Philippines airlifts aid to areas cut off since earthquake
Bucloc, Philippines Reuters Philippine authorities on Friday airlifted supplies to districts that have been cut off since a powerful earthquake struck the main island of Luzon this week, as residents pleaded for food and temporary shelter. The military said it had deployed personnel and helicopters to distribute relief goods to seven isolated towns in Abra […]
Cross border smuggling: In fighting gun crime, Canada has an American problem
STEVE SCHERER and ANNA MEHLER PAPERNY, of Reuters, report on the cross-border trade in illegal guns…
Clashes between Ethiopian forces, al-Shabaab leave scores dead -state news agency, commander
Addis Ababa, EthiopiaReuters Regional forces in south-east Ethiopia killed more than 150 al-Shabaab militiamen during fierce border clashes on Friday, the state news agency and a regional commander said, in the third round of fighting in nine days. The attacks add to the already complex security landscape in Ethiopia, where the central government is trying […]
Communion row over same-sex marriage overshadows Lambeth Conference opening
London, UKRNS Bishops from the Global South announced during a meeting of leaders of the Anglican Communion that they will refuse Holy Communion from bishops with gay partners and from those who support same-sex marriage. The announcement came on Friday morning at the Lambeth Conference, being held in Canterbury, as the orthodox bishops also pressed […]
Pope again asks for forgiveness as tour ends in Canada’s north
Iqaluit, Nunavut, CanadaReuters Pope Francis again asked for forgiveness after meeting on Friday with residential school survivors in the Arctic territory of Nunavut, the last stop in his six-day visit to Canada to apologise to Indigenous people for abuse in government schools run by the Roman Catholic Church. After a private meeting in a small […]