Detained Nicaraguan Catholic bishop, Ortega critic to face trial
Managua, NicaraguaReuters A prominent Catholic bishop in Nicaragua who has sharply criticised authoritarian President Daniel Ortega will go to trial while under house arrest, a judge ruled on Tuesday, in the latest clamp down on dissent in the country. Police arrested Bishop Rolando Alvarez in August, capturing him after he barricaded himself in church property […]
Postcards: Chicago pastor James Meeks bids a tearful farewell after 38 years at Salem Baptist
BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, reports…
Brazilian police question some 1,000 detainees after rampage in capital
Brasilia, BrazilReuters Brazilian police on Tuesday were questioning some 1,000 protesters held in an overcrowded gymnasium in the capital after anti-government mobs sacked public buildings over the weekend, as the country’s new government worked to overcome the crisis. Most of the supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro were detained on Monday as troops dismantled […]
Italy’s Meloni makes first state visit to meet with Francis
Vatican CityReuters Italy’s new rightist Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met Pope Francis and top Vatican officials on Tuesday, holding what the Holy See called “cordial discussions”. Meloni, who took office in October at the helm of the most right-wing government in Italy’s postwar history, is a staunch Catholic conservative. Pope Francis speaks to Italian Prime […]
Police officer killed in burning car in Peru after 17 killed in protests
Lima, PeruReuters Peru’s political crisis deepened on Tuesday as a police officer died torched in his car after 17 civilians were killed in protests a day earlier, all triggered by the ouster of President Pedro Castillo last month. The slain officer’s vehicle came under attack early Tuesday morning by “unknown persons” in the city of […]
“Land covered in corpses” as Russia strives for first big Ukraine gains in months
Kyiv/Near Bakhmut, Ukraine Reuters Ukraine said on Tuesday its forces were still holding onto positions in the eastern mining town of Soledar, withstanding assaults by wave after wave of Russian soldiers and mercenaries seeking Moscow’s first battlefield victory for months. Earlier, the British Defence Ministry said Russian troops and fighters of Wagner, a mercenary company […]
Jewish teachings greet Los Angeles drivers in billboard campaign
United StatesRNS From the intersection of Pico and Hauser boulevards in Los Angeles to the Venice and Lincoln crossing near the beach, drivers across the city are being greeted with billboards featuring affirmations associated with Jewish texts and teachings. “A little bit of light dispels a lot of darkness.” “Be slow to anger and abounding […]
Britain’s groundbreaking satellite launch ends in failure
Newquay, England, UK Reuters Britain’s attempt to become the first European nation to launch satellites into space ended in bitter disappointment early on Tuesday when Virgin Orbit said its rocket had suffered an anomaly that prevented it from reaching orbit. The “horizontal launch” mission had left from the coastal town of Newquay in south-west England, […]
Jack Hayford, prominent Pentecostal pastor in Southern California, has died
United StatesRNS Rev Jack Hayford, a popular Pentecostal leader and pioneer of the megachurch movement, often regarded as a “pastor to pastors,” died on Sunday (8th January) at age 88. Hayford died peacefully in his San Fernando Valley home in Southern California, according to a statement from The Church on the Way, a church in Sherman Oaks […]
Vatican reopens investigation into teen’s 1983 disappearance
Rome, ItalyAP The Vatican said Monday it has reopened the investigation into the 1983 disappearance of the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican employee, months after a new Netflix documentary purported to shed new light on the case and weeks after her family asked the Italian Parliament to take up the cause. The Vatican prosecutor, Alessandro […]