US-Mexico border is world’s deadliest land migration route, IOM finds
Geneva, Switzerlamd Reuters The US-Mexico border is the world’s deadliest land migration route, according to UN migration agency figures published on Tuesday, with hundreds losing their lives attempting to make perilous desert crossings. The International Organization for Migration documented 686 deaths and disappearances among migrants on the frontier last year, but the actual figure is likely […]
Sweeping study finds 1,000 cases of sexual abuse in Swiss Catholic Church since mid-20th century
Geneva, SwitzerlandAP A sweeping, year-long study of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and others in Switzerland published Tuesday has turned up more than 1,000 cases since the mid-20th century, as the Swiss church becomes the latest in Europe to reckon with the abuse scandal. With few exceptions, those accused of wrongdoing were all male. Nearly […]
Frustration mounts with Morocco earthquake aid yet to reach some survivors; death toll tops 2,900
Talat N’Yaaqoub, Morocco Reuters Many survivors of Morocco’s earthquake struggled in makeshift shelters on Tuesday after a fourth night in the open, while villagers in devastated mountain areas voiced frustration at having received no help from the authorities. The death toll from the 6.8 magnitude quake that struck in the High Atlas Mountains late on […]
Hundreds killed in ethnic attacks in Sudan’s West Darfur – UN
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters Ethnically motivated attacks perpetrated by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and allied militia have killed hundreds in the West Darfur region, the United Nations human rights chief said on Tuesday. Bloodshed, violence and displacement have escalated since fighting between the Sudanese army and RSF erupted in April, driving the country to the brink […]
Updated: Libya floods wipe out quarter of city, 10,000 feared missing
Updated: 7:30am, 13th September, 2023 (AEST)Near Derna, LibyaReuters More than 2,000 people were killed and at least 10,000 were missing in Libya in floods caused by a huge Mediterranean storm that burst dams, swept away buildings and wiped out as much as a quarter of the eastern coastal city of Derna. Officials expected the death […]
Nobel laureate Ressa acquitted in Philippine tax case
Manila, The Philippines Reuters Philippines Nobel laureate Maria Ressa and her news site Rappler were acquitted of tax fraud by a trial court on Tuesday, in another legal victory for the embattled journalist and for press freedom in the South-East Asian country. Ressa, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 alongside a Russian journalist, […]
Unrelenting rain causes more than 100 landslides, traps residents in floodwaters in southern China
Beijing, China Reuters Days of relentless rain from the remnants of former Typhoon Haikui have caused more than 100 landslides, trapped about 1,360 residents in floodwaters and killed at least seven people in China’s south, said state media. Typhoon Haikui hit southern China eight days ago and has since been downgraded to a tropical storm, […]
‘Iron Felix’ rises again over Russia’s spy service in Moscow
Moscow, RussiaReuters A bronze statue of “Iron Felix” Dzerzhinsky, the ruthless founder of the Soviet secret police and architect of the Red Terror which followed the 1917 revolution, was unveiled on Monday at the headquarters of Russia’s foreign spy service. Dzerzhinsky, a Polish noble-turned-revolutionary who helped lay the foundations of the repressive system over which […]
After accusations by top Ukrainian official, Vatican Bank denies receiving funds from Russia
Vatican City RNS After a close aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Pope Francis of being a Russophile and the Vatican of receiving Russian funds, the Catholic Church issued a statement denying the accusations on Sunday. “The IOR does not receive or invest money from Russia,” read a statement by the Institute for Religious […]
In the US, Michigan Catholic group wins zoning fight over display of Stations of the Cross
Detroit, Michigan, USAP A Catholic group will be allowed to post religious displays along a privately owned “prayer trail” depicting the last day of Jesus, after a zoning fight with a local government in southeastern Michigan went all the way to a federal appeals court. The court ruled three to zero in favour of the […]