Gaza’s wasteland seen via bicycle after six months of war
Gaza Reuters Before the Gaza war erupted, the tiny enclave run by the Palestinian militant group Hamas was impoverished and densely populated, but full of life – restaurants, shops, makeshift soccer pitches, universities and hospitals. Six months after the conflict began, Reuters cameramen took bicycle rides along its ruined streets to gauge the destruction left […]
Pope calls for an end to wars, urges respect for civilians
Vatican City Reuters Pope Francis on Sunday urged respect for civilians in conflict areas and said people were tired of wars, which he called a “disaster for the peoples and a defeat for humanity”. After his weekly Angelus prayer in St Peter’s Square, the Pope said humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow in Myanmar […]
Pope says Holocaust Remembrance Day reminds world that war can never be justified
Rome, Italy AP/Reuters Pope Francis recalled the extermination of millions of Jews in calling Wednesday for the upcoming Holocaust Day of Remembrance to reaffirm that war can never be justified and only benefits weapons makers. At the end of his weekly general audience, Francis referred to Saturday’s commemoration, which has become fraught this year given Israel’s […]
North Korea’s Kim calls for change in status of South, warns of war
Seoul, South Korea Reuters North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Monday called for a constitutional amendment to change the status of South Korea to a separate state and warned that while his country doesn’t seek war, it didn’t intend to avoid it, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday. Kim said it was his final […]
Essay: Conflict pollution, washed-up landmines and military emissions – here’s how war trashes the environment
In an article first published on The Conversation, STACEY PIZZINO, JO DURHAM and MICHAEL WALLER, of The University of Queensland in Australia, look at the environmental costs of war…
UN aid chief calls for immediate release of hostages in Israel-Hamas war
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The head of the United Nations humanitarian relief agency on Tuesday called for the immediate release of all people who have been taken hostage in the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants. Martin Griffiths, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Kabul, Afghanistan, […]
Sudan’s displaced millions struggle to survive as economy seizes up
Port Sudan, Sudan Reuters About two months after heavy clashes around his home in Sudan’s capital drove Sherif Abdelmoneim to flee, soaring rent and food costs forced the 36-year-old and his family of six to return to a city where fighting still rages. Most of those who fled Khartoum after war between the army and […]
Pope Francis warns Bill Clinton of “wind of war that blows throughout the world”
Vatican CityRNS In an online conversation with former US President Bill Clinton on Monday, Pope Francis stressed the importance of people and nations coming together to care for the environment and to put an end to global conflicts. “It’s time to shift toward peace and brotherhood. It’s time to put down the weapons and return […]
Essay: The atomic bomb shocked the world, but not enough to stop killing civilians
In an article first published on Religion News Service, BRIDGET MOIX, general secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation in the US, says that as we mourn the devastation of the last world war, policymakers need to work to prevent the next one…
Essay: In Kyiv, signs of the ongoing war are evident – but daily life continues uninterrupted as well
TATSIANA KULAKEVICH, a scholar of Eastern Europe, reflects on her recent visit to the Ukrainian capital in an article first published on The Conversation…