Hurricanes and floods bring $US120 billion in insurance losses in 2022
Frankfurt/Munich Reuters Hurricane Ian in the United States and floods and Australia helped to make 2022 one of the costliest years on record for natural disasters, Munich Re said on Tuesday, warning that climate change was making storms more intense and frequent. Losses from natural catastrophes covered by insurance totalled around $US120 billion last year, […]
The Explainer: What is Pentecostal Christianity?
In the first of a new column, LLOYD DANIEL BARBA, an assistant professor of religion at Amherst College in the US, looks – in an article first published on The Conversation – at what Pentecostalism is – and isn’t…
In the US, Cornel West, Robert George mark January 6 anniversary with call for courageous leaders
Washington DC, US RNS Two years to the day after the 6th January attack on the Capitol, experts on religion and politics, including progressive activist Cornel West and Catholic conservative Robert P George, mulled what should be done to shore up a democracy they agreed has been weakened. “Today’s date should remind us of what […]
Russia intensifies assaults on Ukrainian salt mining town and eastern front
Kyiv/Siversk, Ukraine Reuters Russia has stepped up a “powerful assault” led by the Wagner contract militia on Soledar in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv said on Monday, describing a difficult situation for forces repelling waves of attacks around the salt mining town and nearby fronts. Soledar, in the industrial Donbas region, lies a few miles from Bakhmut, […]
Pope denounces Iran death penalty following protests
Rome, ItalyAP Pope Francis on Monday broke his silence on the nationwide protests convulsing Iran, denouncing the recourse to the death penalty there and seemingly legitimizing the rallies as demonstrations “demanding greater respect for the dignity of women.” Francis made the comments in an annual speech to ambassadors accredited to the Vatican, a foreign policy speech the pope delivers at […]
Brazil investigates who led anti-democratic riots in capital
Brasilia, BrazilReuters Brazil’s Supreme Court late on Sunday removed the Governor of Brasilia from office for 90 days due to flaws in security in the capital, after thousands of backers of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro ransacked government buildings. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes also ordered social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and TikTok to […]
Australia PM pledges aid on visit to flood-ravaged north-west
Reuters Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised help to repair homes, replace property and rebuild infrastructure as he toured remote flood-ravaged communities across the northwest after “one-in-100-year” floods. The crisis in the Kimberley – a sparsely populated area in Western Australia state about the size of the US state of California – was sparked last […]
Economy, energy row and drugs loom at North American summit
Mexico City, Mexico Reuters North American leaders aim to give new impetus to strengthening economic ties at a meeting this week, even as a major dispute grinds on over Mexico’s energy policies which has distracted from cooperation on other issues like immigration. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will host his US counterpart Joe Biden […]
Russia backs banning of maps disputing official ‘territorial integrity’
Reuters Russia’s government extended support to a legislative amendment that would classify maps that dispute the country’s official “territorial integrity” as punishable extremist materials, the state-owned TASS news agency reported on Sunday. The amendment to Russia’s anti-extremism legislation stipulates that “cartographic and other documents and images that dispute the territorial integrity of Russia” will be […]
Israel’s Ben-Gvir tells police to remove Palestinian flags from public space
JerusalemReuters Israel’s new far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Sunday that he instructed police to remove Palestinian flags from public spaces. Israeli law does not outlaw Palestinian flags but police and soldiers have the right to remove them in cases where they deem there is a threat to public order. A man walks […]