Indiana becomes first US state to approve abortion ban post Roe
Indianapolis, Indiana, USAP Indiana on Friday became the first state in the nation to approve abortion restrictions since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, as the Republican governor quickly signed a near-total ban on the procedure shortly after lawmakers approved it. The ban, which takes effect on 15th September, includes some exceptions. Abortions would be permitted […]
Air strikes, rocket attacks push Israel, Gaza into second day of fighting
Gaza/Jerusalem, Israel Reuters Israeli air strikes pounded Gaza while the militant Islamic Jihad group fired hundreds of rockets into Israel on Saturday as a cross-border clash continued into a second day, killing at least six people, including four children. Hamas, the Islamist group which controls the enclave, said the children were among the dead from […]
Ukraine war making 40 million people go hungry, Africa to bear brunt, says US
Dakar, SenegalReuters The United States’ ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Friday said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will cause 40 million people to become food insecure and that sub-Saharan Africa will be hardest hit. The United States has secured $US4.5 billion for food security at the G7 summit, of which it has contributed […]
Texas Governor sends migrants to New York City as immigration standoff accelerates
New York, USReuters Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, said on Friday he has started to send buses carrying migrants to New York City in an effort to push responsibility for border crossers to Democratic mayors and US President Joe Biden, a Democrat. The first bus arrived early on Friday at the city’s Port Authority […]
Tom Cornell, Catholic worker and Dorothy Day lieutenant, dies at 88
United StatesRNS Tom Cornell, the longtime Catholic pacifist who humbly referred to Catholic Worker co-founder Dorothy Day as “my spiritual mother”, died on 1st August in a hospital near the Peter Maurin Catholic Worker farm that he helped run with his family in Marlboro, New York, where he lived with his wife of 58 years, […]
Vatican economy tsar: “The Pope’s mission is underfunded”
Vatican CityRNS The Catholic Church’s financial chief warned in an interview on Friday that “a very uncertain period lies ahead” for the Vatican’s financial health, even as he reported significant progress in reducing the church’s budget deficit. Rev Juan Antonio Guerrero, prefect of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy, said that Pope Francis’ reforms to […]
US pauses plans for new border walls at oceanfront park
San Diego, USAP The Biden administration on Thursday agreed to pause plans for a double border wall that critics say would effectively destroy a 51-year-old oceanfront park that symbolises friendship between the United States and Mexico. US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus said he wanted to hear community concerns before settling on a […]
Abortion in the US: In Kansas vote, a blow to Catholic bishops’ political strategy
JACK JENKINS, of Religion News Service, reports on suggestions that this week’s rejection of moves against abortion in Kansas was also a rejection of the Catholic Church hierarchy and may hint hint at a mounting backlash against the church’s involvement in the abortion debate…
Hiroshima prays for peace, fears new arms race on atomic bombing anniversary
Tokyo, JapanReuters Bells tolled in Hiroshima on Saturday as the city marked the 77th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bombing, with officials including the United Nations Secretary General warning of a new arms race following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February, and, shortly after, Russian President Vladimir Putin had obliquely […]
Pope meets Russian Orthodox number two ahead of meeting with Patriarch
Reuters Pope Francis met Bishop Anthony, the second most powerful leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, on Friday ahead of an expected summit next month with its Patriarch Kirill, who supports the war in Ukraine. It was their first meeting since Anthony’s predecessor, Hilarion, was ousted in June in an abrupt decision indicating discord at […]