Pope extends reform process for year amid apathy, criticism
Rome, ItalyAP Pope Francis has decided to extend by a year a lengthy global consultation of ordinary Catholics about the future of the Catholic Church, amid limited participation by the laity and seeming resistance to his reforms from the hierarchy. Francis announced Sunday that the planned 2023 gathering of bishops would now take place in […]
Wow!: In Colombia, a seed bank unlocks genetic secrets in climate fight
ANASTASIA MOLONEY, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how a seed bank in Colombia is providing “insurance for the future”…
Queen lauds Minnesota church’s century of Norwegian worship
Minneapolis, USAP Before attending the packed Sunday morning service, Queen Sonja of Norway praised Mindekirken congregation for having maintained worship in Norwegian for all 100 years that the church has existed in Minneapolis. “It’s extraordinary to realize that, one hundred years after, Mindekirken is still fulfilling that purpose” of building community and preserving culture and language, she […]
Russia opens investigation after gunmen kill 11 at Russian army base in new blow to Moscow’s Ukraine campaign
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Russia has opened a criminal investigation after gunmen shot dead 11 people at a military training ground near the Ukrainian border, authorities said on Sunday, as fighting raged in eastern and southern Ukraine. Russia’s RIA news agency, citing the defence ministry, said two gunmen opened fire with small arms during a firearms training […]
Iran prison fire kills four, injures 61 as protests persist
Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters A fire at Iran’s Evin prison late on Saturday killed four detainees and injured 61, state media reported, as anti-government protests sparked by a woman’s death in police custody continued on Sunday, including at several universities. Iranian authorities said on Saturday that a prison workshop had been set on fire “after […]
China’s Xi talks up security, reiterates COVID stance as congress opens
Beijing ChinaReuters Chinese President Xi Jinping called for accelerating the building of a world-class military while touting the fight against COVID-19 as he kicked off a Communist Party Congress by focussing on security and reiterating policy priorities. Xi, 69, is widely expected to win a third leadership term at the conclusion of the week-long congress […]
In the US, scholar and preacher Jonathan Lee Walton named next president of Princeton Seminary
United StatesRNS Rev Jonathan Lee Walton, an academician, preacher and administrator who has served on the faculties of Wake Forest and Harvard divinity schools, has been named the next president of Princeton Theological Seminary. He will be the first Black president of the seminary, which was founded in 1812, and is to officially begin his […]
Paddington Bear tributes to Queen Elizabeth II to go to charity
London, UKReuters More than 1,000 Paddingtons and other teddy bears left by well-wishers as a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II after her death last month, will be handed over to a children’s charity, Buckingham Palace said on Saturday. The cuddly toys were among a huge number of floral tributes and messages which were left outside […]
California teacher says Bright Horizons fired her for exercising religious beliefs – lawsuit
Los Angeles, USRNS A Southern California teacher has sued Bright Horizons Children’s Center, an international childcare program, claiming religious discrimination after she said she was terminated for refusing to read children’s books promoting same-sex marriage. Nelli Parisenkova, who was an associate teacher at Bright Horizons in Studio City for four years, said she’s a devout […]
World Bank says Ukraine has ten-fold increase in poverty due to war
Washington DC, US Reuters Russia’s attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukrainian cities away from the front lines will complicate the dire economic situation facing the country, which has already seen a tenfold increase in poverty this year, a top World Bank official said on Saturday. Arup Banerji, World Bank regional country director for Eastern Europe, […]