Hong Kong police issue arrest warrants for eight overseas activists
Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Hong Kong police on Monday accused eight overseas-based activists of serious national security offences including foreign collusion and incitement to secession and offered rewards for information leading to their arrest. The accused are activists Nathan Law, Anna Kwok and Finn Lau, former lawmakers Dennis Kwok and Ted Hui, lawyer and legal scholar […]
Senegal President Sall rules out reelection bid after violent unrest
Dakar, SenegalReuters Senegal President Macky Sall will not run for reelection next year, he said in a speech on Monday, ending widespread speculation that he would seek a third term his critics said would have been illegal. Rumours that Sall would try to extend his stay in power have fuelled bouts of unrest since 2021 […]
Ukraine notes progress after “difficult’ week”, upsurge in Bakhmut fighting; Russian drones kill two in Sumy
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Ukraine said on Monday its troops had regained more ground along eastern and southern fronts in what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described as progress in a “difficult” week for Kyiv’s counter-offensive against Russian forces. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar also noted a surge in fighting around the shattered eastern city of Bakhmut, captured by […]
Israeli troops and drones hit Jenin in major West Bank operation
Jenin, West Bank Reuters Israeli forces hit the city of Jenin with drone strikes on Monday in one of the biggest West Bank operations in 20 years, killing at least eight Palestinians and involving hundreds of troops in sporadic gun battles that continued into the evening. Gunfire and explosions were heard throughout the day as […]
Pope Francis condemns burning of Quran – UAE newspaper
Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters Pope Francis said the burning of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, has made him angry and disgusted and that he condemned and rejected permitting the act as a form of freedom of speech. Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer from his window, at the Vatican, on 2nd July, 2023. PICTURE: […]
Lisbon mayor accused of “boycotting” slavery memorial
Lisbon, PortugalReuters The Mayor of Lisbon has been accused of “boycotting” Portugal’s first memorial to victims of slavery, a long-delayed project in a country still struggling to confront its role in the transatlantic slave trade. Proposed over five years ago by Portugal’s Association of African Descendants (DJASS), the memorial – which would consist of rows […]
US explores refugee program for non-Mexican asylum seekers in Mexico
Washington DC, US/Mexico City, Mexico Reuters US and Mexican officials are discussing a new US refugee program for some non-Mexican asylum seekers waiting in Mexico, four sources said, part of President Joe Biden’s attempts to create more legal avenues for migration. The program would likely be open to Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan refugees in […]
Bishop named to Vatican office handling sex abuse complaints discounted some victims, US group says
Rome, ItalyAP A US-based group that tracks how the Catholic hierarchy deals with allegations of sexual abuse by clergy says Pope Francis made a “troubling” choice in appointing an Argentine prelate to a powerful Vatican office that handles such cases. On Saturday, the Vatican announced the pontiff had picked Monsignor Victor Manuel Fernández, Archbishop of La Plata, […]
Moscow says 700,000 children from Ukraine conflict zones now in Russia
Reuters Russia has brought some 700,000 children from the conflict zones in Ukraine into Russian territory, Grigory Karasin, head of the international committee in the Federation Council, Russia’s upper house of parliament, said late on Sunday. “In recent years, 700,000 children have found refuge with us, fleeing the bombing and shelling from the conflict areas […]
Repurposed churches: In Europe’s empty houses of worship, prayer and confessions make way for drinking and dancing
RAF CASERT, of Associated Press, reports from Belgium where churches have been repurposed into everything from a luxury hotel to a climbing centre…