International

As the UN General Assembly kicks off on September 21 in New York, UNICEF urges governments to reopen schools, saying at least 131 million schoolchildren have lost out on in-person instruction.

An educational programme for children against all forms of gender-based violence has been launched thanks to the World Council of Churches (WCC).

UNICEF releases a statement appealing to the international community and local authorities in Haiti to provide aid, and enable humanitarian organisations to intervene and help those affected by the 14 August earthquake.

The UN's children's agency highlights the urgent needs of the children in Afghanistan where insecurity and conflict following the Taliban takeover of the country has made it “one of the worst places on earth to be a child.”

Hosted by South Korea’s Ministry of Unification, the Korea Global Forum for Peace (KGFP) is an annual multilateral platform to discuss peacebuilding in the Korean peninsula and its unification.

A new report by the UN’s Children’s Fund says that more children than ever before live outside their country of birth as migrants or refugees, with boys outnumbering girls.

A recently-released UNICEF report for World Water Week warns of the unprecedented impact and scale of water scarcity on children in the Middle East and North Africa, where 9 out of 10 children live in areas of high-water stress with negative consequences on their health and development.

Indian Christians observe Kandhamal Day on August 25 that marks the outbreak of mass anti-Christian violence in eastern India’s Odisha state in 2008.

As the Paralympic Games gets underway in Tokyo, the undersecretary at the Pontifical Council for Culture with responsibility for sport, Monsignor Melchor Sanchez de Toca, says the Games are a sign of “great hope” because they are “necessary to inspire many people with disabilities”.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus is calling on wealthier nations to temporarily suspend administering Covid-19 booster shots for two months, expressing concern that they could limit the supply of vaccines for poorer countries struggling to provide first and second doses for their citizens.

The United Nations has sent a stark message to world leaders, warning that Afghanistan is facing an “absolute catastrophe” including widespread hunger and financial collapse.

The Archbishop of Kinshasa, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, has forgiven persons who stormed his residence and vandalised it on Sunday, 1 August.

"Our sisters were killed in cold blood," says Sister Christine John Amaa, of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, providing details of the murder of Sister Mary Daniel Abut, and Sister Regina Roba.

The decade-long "WeThe15" campaign intends to advance the rights and empowerment of the world's 1.2 billion people with disabilities who make up 15 per cent of the global population.

The leader of the United Nations has sent a special message of comfort and support to the suffering people of Haiti, assuring and promising them that they are NOT alone in their hour of greatest need, brought about by last Saturday`s grim 7.2 earthquake.

Thanks to the "Libere Tenerezze" vegetable garden project dedicated to Pope Francis' Laudato si', since the Spring of 2020, vegetables have been growing in the grounds of a prison in the Sicilian town of Ragusa. 

Asylum seekers in Australia are undergoing rough times as they face high levels of homelessness and financial hardship amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

US Bishops call for the protection of the human dignity of migrants, as US authorities extend a policy that blocks migrants from entering the US without recourse or due process.

The United Nations’ climate panel releases an in-depth report on the causes and effects of climate change, and alleges that human activities are “unequivocally” causing global temperatures to rise.

Authorities express concern as forces loyal to the dissident Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have taken control of Lalibela, a holy site for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians and home to 12th/13th century rock-hewn churches that are a UNESCO world heritage site.

The chief of the United Nations health agency says high-income countries have administered almost 100 doses for every 100 people, while low-income countries have managed only 1.5 doses for every 100 people, due to lack of supply.

Amid a devastating spike in Covid-19 infections, Myanmar’s Catholic bishops are appealing to Catholics and followers of other faiths to pray in order to “melt the hearts of all people, to bring healing, peace and reconciliation”.

In the past several months, dozens of churches throughout Canada have been the objects of attacks ranging from vandalism to arson, with at least ten churches being completely destroyed by deliberately set fires.

This week, Catholic Bishops in South Sudan paid a solidarity visit to President Salva Kiir Mayardit.

In a new report, FAO and WFP warn that fighting, red tape and lack of funding are blocking famine relief efforts, leading to worsening acute food insecurity in the world.

Pope Francis joins religious organizations and world leaders in calling for an end to the scourge of human trafficking on the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.

The Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM) publishes its weekly map of pandemic incidence rates in Pan-Amazonia as the death toll reaches 100,000 people. The report stresses that more vaccines and more immunisation is needed to fight the virus.

70 years from the landmark UN Refugee Convention, the number of refugees in the world are the highest ever seen. A UNHCR Representative talks about the lasting value of the Convention.

Catholic Bishops in France say that comparing the new COVID-19 health pass to the Holocaust shows a "serious confusion of ideas”.

The UN Food Systems Pre-Summit in Rome aims to prepare the ground for a New York event that will provide solutions and kick-start action to combat global food insecurity and injustice.