Nicaragua police investigating bishop critical of government
Mexico City, Mexico AP Nicaragua’s police said they have begun an investigation against a Roman Catholic bishop who has been an outspoken critic of President Daniel Ortega’s government. They accused Bishop Rolando Álvarez, leader of the Matagalpa diocese, of allegedly “organising violent groups” and inciting them “to carry out acts of hate against the population.” […]
Israel, Palestinians set for Gaza truce from Sunday night
Gaza/Jerusalem Reuters Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group agreed to a Cairo-mediated truce to take effect late on Sunday, both sides said, raising hopes of an end to the most serious flare-up on the Gaza frontier in more than a year. Since Friday, Israeli forces pounded Palestinian targets through the weekend, triggering longer-range […]
Ukraine power plant shelled again, Zelenskiy rails at Russian “nuclear terror; Pope hails grain ships as “sign of hope”
Reuters Ukraine said on Sunday that renewed Russian shelling had damaged three radiation sensors and hurt a worker at the Zaporizhzhia power plant, in the second hit in consecutive days on Europe’s largest nuclear facility. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called Saturday night’s shelling “Russian nuclear terror” that warranted more international sanctions, this time on Moscow’s […]
Hate crimes surge in Canada during pandemic
Toronto, CanadaReuters Canada has experienced a sharp rise in hate crimes targeting religion, sexual orientation and race since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data released this week by Statistic Canada. Canada, which prides itself as a diverse and welcoming country for immigrants and refugees, has witnessed a 72 per cent jump in […]
Russell Moore named Christianity Today editor, Lynn Vincent to lead World Magazine
RNS Two of the most influential evangelical Christian magazines in the US named new leaders this week, hoping to set a new direction for the publications in tumultuous times. Russell Moore, the former Southern Baptist ethicist, was named editor in chief at Christianity Today. Lynn Vincent, a motorcycle-riding Navy veteran and New York Times best-selling […]
In the US, Wisconsin megachurch pastor Stuart Briscoe, lifelong broadcast evangelist, dies at 91
RNS Prominent Wisconsin pastor Stuart Briscoe, recognised for founding the broadcast ministry series Telling the Truth and authoring over 40 books, died on 3rd August. Briscoe died of “natural causes unexpectedly”, according to a Twitter post from his son, Peter “Pete” Briscoe. He was 91. Stuart Briscoe in 2018. PICTURE: © James G Howes, 2018. The British-born Briscoe […]
Heatwave in Paris exposes city’s lack of trees
Paris, France Reuters As a third heatwave baked France this week, the heat radiating off the asphalt outside the Garnier Opera house in Paris hit 56 degrees Celsius on urban planning expert Tangui Le Dantec’s thermometer. Shade was non-existent with barely a tree in sight. The Place de l’Opera is one of numerous so-called urban […]
Priesthood, politics and propaganda: One clergyman’s life in war-torn Ukraine
MARIKA PROCTOR, of Religion News Service, reports on how, for many Ukrainian Orthodox Christians, and clergy in particular, the question of religious identity in relationship to the Russian Orthodox Church is both personal and political…
Bus crash in Croatia leaves 12 Polish pilgrims dead, 32 injured
Varazdin, Croatia Reuters Twelve people were killed in Croatia on Saturday when a Polish bus filled with religious pilgrims slipped off a road and crashed near Varazdin, authorities said. Thirty-two people were injured in the crash which happened at 5:40am on the highway between Varazdin, in north-west Croatia, and capital Zagreb. Rescuers work as a […]
UN’s nuclear watchdog chief condemns shelling at Zaporizhzhia plant
Zurich, SwitzerlandReuters The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency raised grave concerns on Saturday about the shelling the previous day at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, saying the action showed the risk of a nuclear disaster. Both sides accused each other on Saturday of engaging in “nuclear terrorism”. Ukraine’s state nuclear power […]