Pope to visit Mongolia, home to just 1,300 Catholics
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis will make an 31st August to 4th September trip to Mongolia, one of the most far-flung places he has ever visited and which has only about 1,300 Catholics but is strategically significant for the Roman Catholic Church because of its proximity to China. The Vatican announced the trip in a brief […]
Twenty injured, others trapped in blast near Ukrainian city of Dnipro
Reuters An explosion near the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Saturday hit a two-storey dwelling, injuring 20 people including five children, and rescuers pulled residents out from under the rubble, the regional Governor said. Serhiy Lysak, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said three of the children were in serious condition. A total of […]
India’s worst train crash in decades kills at least 288
Updated: 6:50am, 4th June, 2023 (AEST)Bhubaneswar, India Reuters At least 288 people have died in India’s worst rail crash in over two decades, officials said on Saturday, after a passenger train went off the tracks and hit another one in an accident a preliminary report blamed on signal failure. One train in Friday’s accident also […]
Hong Kong businesses mark Tiananmen anniversary in face of pressures
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Some Hong Kong shopkeepers are quietly commemorating the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown despite the spectre of a China-imposed national security law and pressure to stay silent on the episode that is censored in mainland China. Hong Kong used to play a leading global role in commemorating the 1989 crackdown by […]
Mexican prosecutors say 45 bags of human remains may belong to missing group
Mexico City, MexicoReuters Human remains discovered in 45 bags in western Mexico appear to resemble the features of several missing call centre employees, state prosecutors said in a statement late on Thursday. The Jalisco Prosecutor’s Office said the remains found in the municipality of Zapopan were still subject to forensic tests to formally identify the […]
Tunisia’s financial crisis leaves the sick struggling to find medicine
Tunis, TunisiaReuters Sick Tunisians face a frantic struggle to find some medicines because the cash-strapped state has reduced imports, leaving doctors unable to control debilitating health problems and patients turning to informal markets for their medication. Hundreds of medicines have been missing for months, pharmacies say, including important treatments for heart disease, cancer and diabetes […]
Bolivian Catholics unfazed by sex scandals as they gear up for massive festival
La Paz, Bolivia AP Catholic devotees in Bolivia prepared for one of the country’s biggest religious celebrations this weekend at a time when the church in this Andean country has been rocked by an increasing number of sex abuse scandals. The faithful who were gearing up for the Jesus of the Great Power festival Saturday […]
Senegal protesters and police clash again as death toll rises to 10
Daka, SenegalReuters One more person was killed in Senegal on Friday, as police and protesters clashed for a second day since the sentencing of opposition politician Ousmane Sonko sparked some of the deadliest violence in recent memory. Nine people died in clashes between police and Sonko supporters on Thursday after he was sentenced to two […]
Heritage “disaster”: Restoration lags for Syria’s famed Roman ruins at Palmyra and other war-battered historic sites
ABBY SEWELL and ALBERT AJI, of Associated Press, report on the issues facing the preservation and restoration of Syria’s ancient heritage sites…
Agnes Abuom, global ecumenist, peacemaker and African church leader, dies at 73
Nairobi, Kenya RNS Agnes Abuom, a global ecumenical leader and peacemaker, died on Wednesday at the age of 73 while undergoing treatment in a hospital in Nairobi. Sources close to her said she had succumbed after a short illness. Church leaders, ecumenical groups and ordinary Christians in Kenya, Africa and the rest of the world, […]