“Highly likely” Russia behind Ukraine dam collapse – international experts
Amsterdam, The NetherlandsReuters It is “highly likely” that the collapse of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine was caused by explosives planted by Russians, a team of legal experts assisting Ukraine’s prosecutors in their investigation said in preliminary findings released on Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of destroying the Kakhovka dam as […]
Militants kill 37, abduct six others in attack on Ugandan school
Kampala, UgandaReuters Militants linked to Islamic State killed 37 people and abducted six others in an attack on a school in western Uganda near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, the military said on Saturday. Military personnel found the bodies of the dead when they arrived at the school, defence spokesperson Felix Kulayigye […]
Haiti humanitarian aid needs to come to terms with gangs, says Caribbean leader
Kingstown, JamaicaReuters Humanitarian aid to Haiti will need to take into account the influence of heavily armed gangs who control large parts of the country, the president of a regional bloc said ahead of planned talks with the European Union next month. “If anybody wants to deliver humanitarian assistance to Haiti, they have to come […]
As Canada mourns 15 killed in road crash, investigators review video footage
Ottawa, CanadaReuters Flags flew lowered in the Canadian province of Manitoba on Friday following a deadly crash between a bus carrying mostly elderly passengers and a truck, as investigators identified the injured and reviewed video footage from a camera mounted on the truck. Fifteen people were killed and another 11 people were injured in the […]
US Catholic bishops begin process that could ban gender-affirming care in Catholic hospitals
Orlando, Florida, US RNS The US Conference of Catholic Bishops voted on Friday to amend its directives for US Catholic healthcare organisations, setting in motion a process that could bar Catholic hospitals and other church-affiliated institutions from providing gender-affirming treatment to transgender people. The vote occurred during the USCCB’s spring meeting in Orlando. It passed […]
Bolsonaro aide sought legal advice for Brazil coup – police report
Brasilia, BrazilReuters One of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s closest aides sought legal advice for a military intervention that would have prevented the handover of power following last October’s election, federal police said on Friday. Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid was one of Bolsonaro’s personal assistants who stayed on as an aide after he stepped down. […]
Rehabilitating gang members: Pastors find a role ministering to young men swept up in El Salvador’s crackdown on gangs
MARÍA TERESA HERNÁNDEZ, of Associated Press, reports on the work of churches involved in rehabilitating gang members – and the impact President Nayib Bukele’s gang crackdown has had on them…
Pope Francis expresses concern and dismay over alleged abuse by priests in Bolivia
La Paz, Bolivia AP Pope Francis expressed concern – and dismay – over the allegations of sexual abuse committed by priests in Bolivia in a letter sent Friday to President Luis Arce, as a paedophilia scandal involving priests continues to rock the the Andean country. The pontiff pledged “the full cooperation of the Church to […]
Putin says Russia positions nuclear bombs in Belarus as warning to West
Reuters President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that his deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, something he confirmed for the first time had already happened, was a reminder to the West that it could not inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. Speaking at Russia’s flagship economic forum in St Petersburg, Putin said Russian tactical […]