Lifestory: Art Simon, founder of Christian anti-hunger group Bread for the World, dies at 93
ADELLE M BANKS and BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, pay tribute to the life – and legacy – of Art Simon…
Italy’s transgender women thank Pope for making them feel “more human”
Torvaianica, Italy/Vatican CityReuters The run-down beach town of Torvaianica is about 35 kilometres south of the Vatican. But for transgender women who live there it had seemed light years away until a rapprochement with the Catholic Church that began during the COVID-19 lockdown and led to an invitation to have lunch with Pope Francis on […]
Argentina elects “shock therapy” libertarian Javier Milei as President
Updated: 12:20pmBuenos Aires Reuters Argentina elected libertarian outsider Javier Milei as its new president on Sunday, rolling the dice on an outsider with radical views to fix an economy battered by triple-digit inflation, a looming recession and rising poverty. Official results showed Milei with near 56 per cent versus 44 per cent for his rival, […]
Hundreds of Thais to be evacuated from Myanmar via China amid heavy fighting
Bangkok, ThailandReuters More than two hundred Thai nationals trapped by the surge in fighting in northern Myanmar between junta soldiers and armed ethnic-minority groups are being evacuated to Thailand via China, the Thai foreign ministry said on Sunday. Myanmar military, which seized power in a 2021 coup, is losing control of several towns and military […]
Russia launches drone attack on Kyiv for second night in row – Ukraine
Reuters Russia launched several waves of drone attacks on Kyiv early on Sunday for the second night in row, stepping up its assaults on the Ukrainian capital after several weeks of pause, the city’s military administration said. “The enemy’s UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] were launched in many groups and attacked Kyiv in waves, from different […]
Israel says soldier executed, foreign hostages held at Gaza’s Shifa hospital
Updated: 12:10pm (AEDT)JerusalemReuters Israel stepped up accusations of Hamas abuses at the Gaza Strip’s biggest hospital on Sunday, saying a captive soldier had been executed and two foreign hostages held at a site that has been a focus of its devastating six-week-old offensive. At one point a shelter for tens of thousands of Palestinian war […]
Israel-Hamas hostage deal edges closer despite fierce fighting in Gaza
Gaza/JerusalemReuters Hamas gunmen battled Israeli forces trying to push into Gaza’s largest refugee camp on Sunday, but despite the fighting US and Israeli officials said a deal to free some of the hostages being held in the besieged enclave was edging closer. About 240 hostages were taken during Hamas’s deadly cross-border rampage into Israel on […]
Dozens of migrants wait at Finland-Russia border after Helsinki blocks crossings
Helsinki, FinlandReuters Dozens of migrants stood behind barriers at two crossings on Finland’s border with Russia on Saturday, the Finnish Border Guard said, after Helsinki erected barricades to halt a flow of asylum seekers it says was instigated by Moscow. The Finnish Government has accused Russia of funnelling migrants to the crossings in retaliation for […]
Frustration grows in search for Acapulco sailors lost in hurricane
Acapulco, Mexico Reuters Families of Mexican sailors missing since Hurricane Otis last month devastated the seaside resort of Acapulco are pleading for more help in the search for loved ones, frustrated by a lack of progress and government assistance. Hurricane Otis, which roared through Acapulco in the early hours of 25th October, was the most […]
Catholic Church: To remake church power in Francis’ vision, synod calls for changes to canon law
CLAIRE GIANGRAVÉ, of Religion News Service, explains that while canon law already allows for the participation of lay Catholics, the role of bishops – and even the Pope – might require revisions to the code that runs the church…