US envoy says full UN membership won’t help Palestinians with statehood
Seoul, South Korea Reuters US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Wednesday she did not see a UN resolution recommending the Palestinian Authority become a full UN member helping lead to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks during a press conference at […]
Hundreds evacuated after Indonesia’s Ruang volcano erupts
Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters At least 800 people in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province have been evacuated after multiple eruptions of the area’s Ruang volcano, which for days has spewed lava and ash clouds into the sky, the country’s volcanology agency said on Wednesday. The volcano, located on Ruang island about 100 kilometres from the provincial capital […]
StrangeSights: Kosovo honours Blair with life-size statue; NASA asked to help find Loch Ness Monster; and, Alfa Romeo changes car name after Milan criticism
DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
UN raises over $US600 million to boost aid to Ethiopia
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters The United Nations on Tuesday received financial pledges for about two-thirds of the $US1 billion it was seeking to raise to boost humanitarian aid to Ethiopia, which has been hit by conflict, drought and floods. A UN-hosted pledging event, organised along with the governments of Ethiopia and the United Kingdom and held […]
Haiti appoints members of transition council
Port-au-Prince Reuters Haiti’s government on Tuesday published a decree naming the members of a transitional council set to take power, inching toward stability after Prime Minister Ariel Henry left a political void when he announced his resignation last month. Haiti’s outgoing government signed off on the transition process, a long-awaited move after Henry said he […]
Myanmar’s ex-leader Suu Kyi moved to house arrest
Reuters Myanmar’s detained former leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest, a spokesperson for the military government told media. “Since the weather is extremely hot, it is not only for Aung San Suu Kyi…For all those, who need necessary precautions, especially elderly prisoners, we are working […]
Georgian police clear protesters against foreign agent bill
Tbilisi, Georgia Reuters Riot police in Georgia waded into demonstrators and cleared them from around part of the ex-Soviet state’s parliament on Tuesday as lawmakers debated a bill on “foreign agents” that the opposition denounces as authoritarian. The bill would require organisations receiving more than 20 per cent of their funding from abroad to register […]
UK smoking ban for younger generations passes first parliamentary hurdle
London, UK Reuters British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plan to ban anyone aged 15 and under from ever buying cigarettes passed its first parliamentary vote on Tuesday, although dozens of his own lawmakers voted against it. Sunak’s plan to impose some of the world’s strictest anti-smoking rules has angered some members of his governing Conservative […]
“Voice of a people”: Unfazed by danger and power, Guatemalan cardinal keeps up fight for migrants and the poor
GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO, of Associated Press, reports on the work of Cardinal Álvaro Ramazzini…
After traditionalist churches left, United Methodist Church may be more – not less – diverse
United States RNS After the departure of thousands of traditionalist United Methodist churches from the denomination over the past five years, it might stand to reason that those congregations remaining in the fold are more progressive and open to ordination and marriage of people in same-sex relationships. But the picture is far more mixed. A […]