Armenia and Azerbaijan clash again as foreign peace efforts intensify
Tbilisi, GeorgiaReuters New clashes erupted between Azerbaijan and Armenia on Wednesday as international peace efforts intensified a day after the former Soviet republics saw their deadliest violence since 2020 in which hundreds have died. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told parliament that his small, landlocked country had appealled to the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization […]
Ukraine leader promises victory during frontline town visit as Russia digs in
Izium, UkraineReuters President Volodymyr Zelenskiy promised he would lead Ukraine to victory in its war against Russia as he visited recaptured towns on Wednesday, while pro-Russian officials claimed to have halted Kyiv’s forces for now. Russian forces suffered a stunning reversal this month after Ukrainian troops made a rapid armoured thrust in the north-eastern region […]
King Charles III and sons escort Queen’s coffin as people line up to pay respects
London, UKReuters King Charles III, his sons Princes William and Harry, and other senior royals joined a solemn procession accompanying Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin as the late monarch made her final journey from Buckingham Palace on Wednesday. Huge crowds gathered in central London to witness the queen being taken from the palace to parliament as […]
Amid Russia’s war, Pope says faith cannot justify such evil
Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan AP Pope Francis told the Russian Orthodox hierarchy and other faith leaders Wednesday that religion must never be used to justify the “evil” of war and that God must never “be held hostage to the human thirst for power”. Against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Francis opened an interfaith conference in the former […]
Mountain glacier in Chile’s Patagonia collapses amid high temperatures
Santiago, Chile Reuters Higher temperatures and rainfall that weaken ice walls caused part of a hanging glacier to break off at a national park in Chile’s Patagonia region in an event captured on video by tourists. In a video that went viral Monday, a glacier that sits atop a mountain about 200 metres high rumbled […]
StrangeSights: A flight most-tracked; James Bond (in a corn maze); and, pothole art…
DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
In liberated Ukraine town, locals sob with relief, relate harrowing accounts
Balakliia, Ukraine Reuters The guns had gone quiet after three days of fighting in the battle-scarred north-east Ukrainian town of Balakliia, but Mariya Tymofiyeva said it was only when she saw Ukrainian soldiers that it hit her that over six months of Russian occupation had ended. “I was walking away….when I saw an armoured personnel […]
Smugglers put migrants in suitcases, empty water tanks, US prosecutors allege
Washington DC, US Reuters US authorities unveiled indictments on Tuesday of a lucrative human smuggling operation that allegedly included moving migrants in suitcases and water tanks from the US-Mexico border, as the Biden administration cracks down on groups fueling a record number of border crossings. Eight people, mostly US citizens, were indicted for their roles […]
In the US, Fuller Theological Seminary names first Black president
United StatesRNS Fuller Theological Seminary, the largest inter-denominational seminary in the US, has chosen as its new president David Emmanuel Goatley, the first Black person to hold the office. Goatley will replace Mark Labberton, who announced he was stepping down last year after 10 years as president, saying he hoped his replacement would be a […]
Catholic Church: Padim Ciço, Brazil’s greatest folk saint, to be beatified
EDUARDO CAMPOS LIMA, writing for Religion News Service, reports that almost 90 years after his death, the once excommunicated priest may officially become a saint…