“Time is up”: Countries trapped in climate crisis raise alarm at UN
United NationsReuters Countries on the front lines of the climate crisis are fed up. During the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations this week, low-lying island nation Vanuatu stepped up a fight to get the world to focus on combating global warming by calling for a fossil fuel nonproliferation treaty. “The time […]
Families mourn as at least 76 die on Lebanon migrant boat
Tripoli, LebanonReuters At least 76 people died when the migrant boat they were aboard sank off the Syrian coast after sailing from Lebanon this week, the Lebanese transport minister said, as search operations continued on Friday. It marks the deadliest such voyage yet from Lebanon, where mounting economic desperation has led many to board often […]
At UN, Micronesia denounces Japan plan to release Fukushima water into Pacific
United NationsReuters The president of the Pacific island state of Micronesia denounced at the United Nations on Thursday Japan’s decision to discharge what he called nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the Pacific Ocean. A worker, wearing protective suits and masks, takes notes in front of storage tanks for radioactive water […]
Sudan’s leader says date for elections not fixed
New York, USReuters The head of Sudan’s ruling council General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan told Reuters late on Thursday that no fixed date had been set for elections, but the military would not wait forever. Burhan, who derailed a political transition 11 months ago by dissolving a civilian-led government, had previously indicated that elections would be […]
Snapshot: Wildflowers, Pamir-Alay region, Tajikstan
See OLGA BORISOVA’s image…
Northern Ireland has more Catholics than Protestants for first time
Belfast, Northern Ireland Reuters Northern Ireland has more Catholics than Protestants for the first time, census results showed on Thursday, a historic shift that some see as likely to help drive support for the region to split from Britain and join a united Ireland. The shift comes a century after the Northern Ireland state was […]
University of Cambridge says it gained from slave trade
London, UKReuters Britain’s University of Cambridge said on Thursday it had benefited from the proceeds of slavery over its history, and promised to expand scholarships for Black students and fund more research into the murderous trade. The acknowledgement comes as a string of leading institutions – from the Bank of England to the Church of […]
Four Ukraine regions prepare to hold referendums on joining Russia
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Four areas of Ukraine controlled by Russia and pro-Moscow forces were preparing to hold referendums on Friday on joining Russia, a move widely condemned by the West as illegitimate and a precursor to illegal annexation. Russian-installed leaders on Tuesday announced plans for the votes, a challenge to the West that could sharply escalate […]
Wild horses face unruly storms as Fiona nears Canada’s east coast
Ottawa, CanadaReuters Shaggy, long-maned wild horses grazing freely on the sandy grasslands of the crescent-shaped Sable Island in the North Atlantic are expected to come under the swipe of a powerful storm forecast to hit eastern Canada this weekend. Hurricane Fiona, tracking northward after carving a destructive path through the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, […]
Puerto Rico: Still recovering from Maria, Catholics assess Fiona’s blow to church buildings
KATHRYN POST, of Religion News Service, reports that just as Catholic organisations were making progress on repairing a few dozen of the 1,000 Catholic buildings damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017, Hurricane Fiona swept in…