Ukraine reports small advances in “extremely fierce” fighting
Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters Ukraine reported incremental advances in its counter-offensive against Russian forces on Wednesday in what it described as “extremely fierce” fighting. In a post on the Telegram messaging app, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said the Ukrainian actions had “partial” success. A Ukrainian self-propelled howitzer Caesar is seen, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, […]
Pope joins with imam in making calls for peace before UN Security Council vote
United NationsAP Pope Francis and a leading Sunni imam made calls for peace as the UN Security Council met Wednesday to discuss the importance of “human fraternity” and condemn the hatreds that kindle conflicts. The Pope, who is in hospital recovering from abdominal surgery, sent a statement saying that a third world war is being […]
Southern Baptists refuse to take back megachurch because it has women pastors
New Orleans, USAP The Southern Baptist Convention has refused to welcome Saddleback Church back into its fold, rejecting an appeal by the California megachurch over its February ouster for having women pastors. Southern Baptist church representatives at their annual meeting here also rejected a similar appeal by a smaller church, Fern Creek Baptist of Louisville, Kentucky, which is led by a […]
Sudan’s western cities under fire as war spreads
Cairo, EgyptReuters Fighting rocked several cities in western Sudan on Wednesday in an expansion of the country’s almost two-month-old war as a regional governor was killed after publicly blaming the deaths of civilians on the country’s paramilitary force. The conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has caused a humanitarian crisis in […]
Updated: At least 79 drown, hundreds missing in migrant shipwreck off Greece
Updated: 9:25am, 15th June, 2023 (AEST)Athens, GreeceReuters At least 79 migrants drowned early on Wednesday and hundreds more were missing and feared dead after their overloaded boat capsized and sank in open seas off Greece, in one of Europe’s deadliest shipping disasters in recent years. As a painstaking search for survivors continued, a European rescue-support charity […]
Global level of forced displacement climbs to record 110 million: UN
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters The number of people forcibly displaced around the world has climbed to a record 110 million people, the head of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said, with conflicts in Ukraine and Sudan spurring millions of people to flee their homes. The increase of around 19 million people to 108.4 million by the […]
In the US, Southern Baptists end first day of annual meeting with key questions hanging
New Orleans, USRNS During the opening day of their annual meeting, Southern Baptists re-elected a president, debated the place of women leaders in the church and spent hours debating using Robert’s Rules of Order. Still, nearly 10 hours after the opening gavel, key issues that brought nearly 13,000 members of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination […]
StrangeSights: Rubber ducks (times two); ‘Dr Deep Sea’ spends 100 days underwater; and, life after ‘death’…
DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
US lawmakers warn North Korean refugees face forcible repatriation from China
Washington DC, US Reuters US lawmakers warned on Tuesday that China could be preparing to forcibly repatriate refugees who fled North Korea and urged the United Nations to use its influence with Beijing to prevent this. A barbed-wire fence separating North Korea from China is seen in this photo taken from the Chinese border city […]
Europe’s city schools, hospitals at risk from extreme heat, EU agency says
Brussels, BelgiumReuters Nearly half of schools and hospitals in European cities are located in urban “heat islands”, exposing vulnerable populations to health-threatening temperatures as climate change impacts worsen, the European Union’s environment agency has said. Around 46 per cent of hospitals and 43 per cent of schools are in areas at least two degrees Celsius […]