China’s Tiananmen victims won’t be forgotten, US says
Taipei, Taiwan/Hong Kong Reuters The efforts of the victims of China’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square 33 years ago will not be forgotten, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, as Hong Kong warned against unlawful gatherings. Saturday marks the 33rd anniversary of Chinese troops opening fire to end the […]
Forty years after Falklands conflict a “battle for memory” goes on
Buenos Aires, Argentina Reuters Argentine army veteran Luis Poncetta has travelled twice to the Falkland Islands to pay tribute to comrades who fell in a 74-day conflict with British forces 40 years ago. The divisions, he has found, still linger. Argentina and Britain have long disputed the sovereignty of the British-run group of islands in the […]
Memorial for Babi Yar victims inaugurated in Ukraine
Kyiv, Ukraine AP The presidents of Ukraine, Israel and Germany on Wednesday inaugurated a memorial centre for the victims of the Babi Yar massacre in Ukraine eight decades after one of the most infamous Nazi mass slaughters of the Holocaust. Nearly 34,000 Jews were killed within 48 hours in Babi Yar, a ravine in the […]
Essay: Anzac Day, a time to reflect on the cost of war for all Australians
As Australia and New Zealand marked Anzac Day on 25th April, HAL BISSET reflects on the meaning of the commemoration – in particular, what it means with regard to Indigenous Australians…
In the US, Martin Luther King, Jr, faith events continue in time of COVID-19 and Capitol chaos
RNS Commemorations of the life of Rev Martin Luther King, Jr, look different this year, with few in-person opportunities to preach, pray and volunteer amid the coronavirus pandemic. But many online gatherings that mark his birthday on Friday and the holiday in his honour on Monday will apply his messages of years ago to the […]
For whom the bell tolls: US COVID-19 deaths recalled with church bell, vigils, services
ADELLE M BANKS, of Religion News Service, reports on how US churches are commemorating the lives lost to the coronavirus pandemic…
UN marks 75th anniversary with scaled down event
AP The United Nations is marking its 75th anniversary with a scaled-down event because of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of many challenges a deeply divided world must tackle along with poverty, inequality, discrimination and unending wars. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Friday’s virtual commemoration of the signing of the UN Charter that “global pressures are […]
New Zealand calls off Christchurch attack commemoration amid coronavirus fears
Christchurch, New ZealandReuters New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks during a news conference prior to the anniversary of the mosque attacks that took place the prior year in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 13th March. PICTURE: Reuters/Martin Hunter New Zealand on Saturday called off a national remembrance service marking the one-year anniversary of the attack […]
230,000 people lost in a day: Asia remembers devastating 2004 tsunami
Phang Nga, ThailandReuters Communities across Asia commemorated the 230,000 victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami on Thursday, the 15th anniversary of one of the world’s most deadly disasters. On the morning after Christmas Day in 2004, a 9.1 magnitude quake off northern Sumatra island triggered a tsunami with waves as high as 17.4 metres that […]
“Bravery and sacrifice”: World leaders gather in south England to remember D-Day
Postmouth, UKReuters World leaders gather on the coast of southern England on Wednesday to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the largest seaborne invasion in history and a feat that helped bring World War II to an end. Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Theresa May will be joined for the commemorative events in […]