RNS

Afghanistan is the most dangerous country for Christians, according to an annual list put together by the Christian watchdog group Open Doors. It is the first time in two decades that North Korea has not been at the top of the list.

Open Doors said the Taliban’s

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Brasilia, Brazil
Reuters

COVID-19 infections are reaching new peaks in the Americas with 7.2 million new cases and more than 15,000 COVID-related deaths in the last week, the Pan American Health Organization said on Wednesday.

"The virus is spreading more actively than ever before," PAHO Director Carissa Etienne

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Updated: 10am (AEDT)
Reuters

Tongans could finally make phone contact with their families and the outside world on Thursday five days after a massive volcanic eruption and tsunami completely cut off the Pacific island nation.

The explosion of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano, which has killed at least

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Tokyo, Japan
Reuters

Japan was poised on Wednesday to widen COVID-19 controls to cover half its population as the Omicron variant drives new infections to record levels.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to officially approve the plan after it was cleared by an expert panel. 

Reuters

The United Nations is preparing to carry out relief operations for Tonga at a distance to avoid a COVID-19 outbreak in the Pacific island nation reeling from a volcanic eruption and tsunami, an official said on Wednesday.

All the homes on one of Tonga's small outer islands

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Jakarta, Indonesia
Reuters

Parliament on Tuesday approved a bill to relocate Indonesia's capital from Jakarta to a site deep within the jungle of Kalimantan on Borneo island, the most significant advancement of an idea the country's leaders have been toying with for years. 

The new state capital law,

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Washington DC, US
Reuters

US lawmakers on Tuesday urged the United Nations' human rights office to release its assessment of China's policies in Xinjiang before next month's Beijing Winter Olympics, which the US Government is boycotting on a diplomatic level over what it says is ongoing genocide in

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Madrid, Spain
Reuters

The world tourism industry barely improved last year compared to 2020, with all indicators staying way below pre-pandemic levels and industry professionals not expecting a full recovery before 2024, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said on Tuesday.

The tourism industry suffered a huge blow

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Vatican City
AP

The Vatican Secretary of State and his deputy have both tested positive for the coronavirus, Vatican officials said Tuesday.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin smiles during a meeting at the Bellevue palace in Berlin, Germany on 29th June, 2021. PICTURE:

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RNS

If there’s a word that comes up repeatedly when friends discuss Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, the rabbi who was taken hostage with three others at his Reform synagogue Saturday, it’s “kind.”

“Kind doesn’t begin to cover it,” said Lindsey Weiss, who attended Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville,

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Sydney, Australia/Wellington, New Zealand
Reuters

All the homes on one of Tonga's small outer islands have been destroyed by a massive volcanic eruption and tsunami, with three people so far confirmed dead, the government said on Tuesday in its first update since the disaster struck.

With communications badly hampered

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Aden, Yemen
Reuters

Air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthi group on the capital Sanaa killed at least 20 people overnight, including civilians, Houthi media and residents said, in one of its deadliest attacks since 2019.

Around 14 people were killed when coalition planes struck

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