NATO allies weigh more arms for Ukraine as Russian artillery batters Bakhmut
Kyiv/Marinka, Ukraine Reuters Russian forces bombarded front-line Ukrainian troops and towns in the eastern Donetsk region on Tuesday in what appeared to be early salvoes of a new offensive, as Western allies met to weigh sending more arms to Kyiv for an expected counter-attack. Much of Russia’s artillery fire was focused on Bakhmut, a bombed-out […]
Wow!: Docuseries on Black church highlights history, links to Biblical orthodoxy
ADELLE M BANKS, of Religion News Service, reports on a new docuseries exploring the Black church…
Hymn composer Ralph Vaughan Williams celebrated in UK cathedral tour
Norwich, UK Intriguing and unexpected stories lie behind the creation of hymns sung around the world for generations. That’s certainly the case with some of those composed by Victorian-era English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams who, as well as being a much-lauded classical music and hymn tune composer, also collected traditional folk tunes sung in villages and communities around […]
US-backed report says Russia has held at least 6,000 Ukrainian children for “re-education”
Washington DC, US Reuters Russia has held at least 6,000 Ukrainian children – likely many more – in sites in Russian-held Crimea and Russia whose primary purpose appears to be political re-education, according to a US-backed report published on Tuesday. The report said Yale University researchers had identified at least 43 camps and other facilities […]
More than 100 priests suspected of abuse remain active in Portugal’s Catholic Church
Lisbon, PortugalReuters More than 100 priests suspected of child sexual abuse remain active in church roles in Portugal, according to the head of a commission investigating the issue. The commission, which started its work in January 2022, said in its final report published on Monday that at least 4,815 children were sexually abused by members […]
Nine survivors pulled from Turkey’s rubble as earthquake death toll passes 40,000
Antakya, Turkey Reuters Nine survivors were rescued from the rubble in Turkey on Tuesday, more than a week after a massive earthquake struck, as the focus of the aid effort shifted to helping people now struggling without shelter or enough food in the bitter cold. The disaster, with a combined death toll in Turkey and […]
Updated: Three killed, five injured in Michigan State University shooting, suspect dead
Updated: 8:20pm (AEST)East Lansing, Michigan, USReuters A gunman opened fire on Monday night on the main campus of Michigan State University, killing three people and injuring five, before an hours-long manhunt for the suspect ended with his death, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot, police said. The 43-year-old gunman had no known affiliation to the university, […]
French religious orders demand change over L’Arche abuses
Vatican CityAP The umbrella group of Catholic religious orders in France is demanding church authorities assume responsibility for horrific evidence of sexual, spiritual and psychological abuse in L’Arche, once a pre-eminent lay community dedicated to people with developmental disabilities. Sister Veronique Margron, president of the conference of religious orders in France, issued a devastating analysis […]
Anti-Semitism worries rising for many US Jews, survey finds
United StatesAP More than four in ten Jews in the United States feel their status in America is less secure than it was a year earlier, according to a new survey by the American Jewish Committee. The survey, conducted in the fall of 2022, was released Monday by the AJC, a prominent Jewish advocacy organisation. […]
Explainer – What’s the uproar over Israel judicial changes all about?
JerusalemReuters Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated outside Israel’s parliament on Monday, as lawmakers took initial legislative steps towards enacting judicial changes proposed by the hard-right coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that have drawn widespread criticism at home and abroad. What is the Netanyahu government’s problem with the judiciary?Many among Israel’s right-wingers say […]