The long-standing statue of a Spanish priest on the grounds of the California State Capitol will be replaced with a monument memorializing Native Americans who lived in the Sacramento area before the arrival of white settlers. Following the statue’s toppling in July 2020 amid the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) Read more
Financial pressures, including lockdowns and job losses have led to a 43 percent rise in KiwiSaver members withdrawing funds for financial hardship. And an 18.8 percent rise in first-home withdrawals shows more Kiwis are turning to KiwiSaver to help them save for a first home. A KiwiSaver annual report released by the Financial Markets Authority Read more
Clergy in the Archdiocese of Toronto who have not received a COVID-19 vaccination must show proof of a recent negative coronavirus test to their pastor “prior to or immediately upon entering parish offices, or presiding at religious services,” according to new rules that Thomas Cardinal Collins outlined last week. “Beginning on October 8, 2021, we Read more
Two traditionalist friars have been arrested in France for setting ablaze one telephone pole and trying to destroy a second one to “protect the population” against what they believed were the harmful effects of the new 5G wireless network recently installed there. The friars, 39 and 40 years old, owned up to their acts and Read more
Myanmar is facing the alarming prospect of an escalating civil war as an uprising against the military junta widens, the UN’s human rights chief warned today. Michelle Bachelet told the United Nations Human Rights Council that time was running out for other countries to step up efforts to restore democracy and prevent a broader conflict. Read more
A group opposed to a housing development in Nelson’s Kākā Valley are calling on the council to vote against land rezoning that would enable hundreds of homes to be built near the Maitai River. The Nelson City Council will consider a private plan change request to rezone approximately 287 hectares of land in Kākā Valley Read more
Nine nuns have died while several others are in critical condition after a Covid-19 outbreak last week struck down 62 sisters of the Religious of the Virgin Mary, the biggest female congregation in the Philippines. The dead nuns, aged 80 to 90, died due to a lack of vaccination, the congregation said on Sept. 23. Read more
Christchurch’s cardboard cathedral has become a permanent fixture for the city after the Anglican church was granted last-minute permission to keep the building. The $5.3 million Transitional Cathedral was built in 2012 and 2013 under emergency legislation as a temporary replacement for the earthquake-wrecked Christ Church Cathedral. That legislation allowed consents lasting until June 30 Read more
Pope Francis told Cardinal Mario Grech that he would rather see clerics in jeans when visiting him, ditching their formal wear. Grech made the comments during an interview on Newsbook.com.mt with by Fr Joe Borg. Grech said that after he was raised to the rank of Cardinal, he attended a meeting with Pope Francis and Read more
Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, a founder of the Taliban who will control prisons under the new government in Afghanistan, said strict punishment, including amputations and executions, will return. “Everyone criticized us for the punishments in the stadium, but we have never said anything about their laws and their punishments,” Turabi said in Kabul during an interview, Read more