Taiwan loses first ally post-election as Nauru goes over to China
Sydney, Australia/Taipei, Taiwan Reuters Nauru will sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan and recognise China, the government of the small Pacific Islands nation said on Monday, marking Taipei’s first diplomatic ally to switch to Beijing following a presidential election. The Nauru Government said that “in the best interests” of the country and its people it was […]
Updated: Guatemala’s Arevalo arrives to inauguration venue after hours-long delay
Updated: 5pm (AEDT) Guatemala City, Guatemala Reuters Guatemala’s President-elect Bernardo Arevalo arrived at the site of his planned inauguration on Sunday after the ceremony was delayed for hours by hostile lawmakers, prompting international calls for the election outcome to be honoured. Arevalo shared a video of his arrival to the national theater on social media […]
Italy’s justice minister nixes extradition of priest sought by Argentina in murder-torture cases
Rome, Italy AP Italy’s justice minister has ruled against the extradition of a former chaplain sought in Argentina on charges of murder and torture during the South American country’s last military dictatorship, human rights advocates said Friday. In October, Italy’s top criminal court had approved extradition of Rev Franco Reverberi, an 86-year-old Italian priest who had served […]
Comoros holds presidential election, opposition say vote had irregularities
Moroni, Comoros Reuters Voting took place in Comoros on Sunday in an election widely expected to hand a fourth five-year term to President Azali Assoumani, while his five opponents said the vote was tainted by accusations of pre-marked ballots in favour of the incumbent. The polls opened across the Indian Ocean archipelago at 8am for […]
Pope defends same-sex blessings declaration, says it is misunderstood
Rome, Italy Reuters Pope Francis on Sunday defended a landmark decision approving blessings for same-sex couples, suggesting that those in the Catholic Church who have resisted it have jumped to “ugly conclusions” because they do not understand it. In a television interview, Francis made his first public comments since the 18th December declaration sparked widespread […]
“Where the rubber meets the road”: US cities start racism reparations as national efforts languish
After decades of stalled attempts in Congress at redress for slavery or structural racism, dozens of local efforts are now moving forward. CAREY L BIRON, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
Mental strain, deepening risks as Israel’s war with Hamas reaches 100 days
Jerusalem Reuters One hundred days after Hamas gunmen broke out of Gaza to launch the deadliest attack in Israel’s history, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed, Gaza lies in ruins and the Middle East is sliding towards a wider, more unpredictable conflict. For both Israelis and Palestinians, the war has been a trauma […]
Essay: How Ecuador went from being Latin America’s model of stability to a nation in crisis
EDUARDO GAMARRA, a professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University, looks – in an article first piblished on The Conversation – at recent events in Ecuador…
Wisconsin sexual abuse case against defrocked Cardinal McCarrick suspended
Madison, Wisconsin, US AP A Wisconsin judge suspended charges against defrocked Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, accused of sexually assaulting a boy in the 1970s, ruling last week that the former cleric is incompetent for trial because of dementia. The decision will be reviewed at the end of the year, according to court records. Former Washington Archbishop […]
Sight-Seeing: How to bridge the yawning divide between us
NILS VON KALM reflects on Jesus’ call for unity – even those you strongly disagree with… Melbourne, Australia “I am convinced that men hate each other because they fear each other. They fear each other because they don’t know each other, and they don’t know each other because they don’t communicate with each other, and […]