News in World Issues

What's behind India's 'Partition Horrors Remembrance Day'?

The Urgency of Universal Access to the Covid-19 Vaccine

Over the past year, the Covid-19 pandemic has put our health at risk, brought the global economy virtually to a standstill and disrupted our lives in ways we never imagined. The magnitude of the global catastrophe prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to commission an independent panel of experts to assess the situation.

Siberia: One country, many peoples

If Russia is a country of extremes, Siberia is so to a greater extent. In Europe, Siberia is a byword for the freezing cold, but not everyone knows that much of Siberia is tropically hot in the summer. Siberia is a part of the world rich in fossil fuels, which, while helping to keep the global economy alive, also greatly contributes to pollution and climate change.

Pastoral Care for Climate Displaced People

As Pope Francis recalled on the occasion of Earth Day, April 22, 2021, “the things that we have been saying to one another must not fall into oblivion. […] Time is pressing and, as Covid-19 has taught us, yes, we have the means to rise up to the challenge.

Conservative Russia

“Russia needs to be frozen”: these words, which are attributed to a 19th century thinker and also to a government official, best express the current intentions of those wielding power and of conservative ideologues in Russia. During the inauguration of a monument dedicated to Czar Alexander III Putin claimed  that he himself had given Russia 13 years of peace, not by making concessions, but by his firmness.

Populism

When in history populist movements return, they are like stormy waves crashing over governments and institutions. Their identities and political programs were brought into the open by the millions of votes received in the European elections of 2014 by various political forces that almost all coalesced into two groups in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, both based on anti-European and nationalist political orientations.

Gaza at a crossroads

Will the war between Hamas and the Israeli military provoke a deepening of an internecine conflict fuelled on both sides by religious and ideological extremism, or is there a glimmer of hope that it might it be a turning point towards a better future?

Repaying the Ecological Debt: Pope Francis writes to the IMF and World Bank

In the letter the pontiff sets out his main expectations. He hopes that this harsh contingency will give rise to an opportunity for change to a more inclusive, sustainable economy oriented toward the universal common good; that poor countries will have a real voice in international bodies and access to international markets; that they will be helped through debt forgiveness; and that they will be supported in their transition to a greener economy.

The West and Russia: Why do we not understand each other?

After the end of the Soviet Union, both the pro-Western Russian elite and the vast majority of the population harbored the hope of becoming part of the Western community, or rather, of becoming part of Europe again, after having traveled their own path since the October Revolution. There was a belief that this would be a natural path for Russia.

The European Union – China Agreement

The President of the European Commission commented that the agreement will certainly rebalance economic relations with China. The Chinese President noted that this agreement between China and the EU (two of the world’s major powers, civilizations and markets) will give a strong impetus to the global recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic, help build an open economy between Beijing and Brussels, facilitate investment, and strengthen confidence in economic globalization and free trade.

Spanish bishops stand up against legalization of euthanasia

Spain's Catholic bishops, after opposing the country's social-democratic government on education issues, have now spoken out against plans to legalize euthanasia."Life is a gift, euthanasia a failure," said a document from the Spanish episcopal conference.

Japan still wounded 10 years after the tsunami

When people hear the word "Fukushima," everyone has in mind an explosion at a nuclear plant and towns evacuated due to a radiation discharge. But in terms of victims, the tragedy of 10 years ago should bear the name of Miyagi, the Japanese prefecture that was home to more than 70 percent of the victims — and they did not die from radiation.

Biden is 'Catholic and observant', says Benedict XVI

During the 45-minute interview at his converted monastery residence in the Vatican gardens, Pope Emeritus talked about President Joe Biden's election, expressing some concerns about Biden’s policy stance on abortion. “It’s true, he’s Catholic and observant. And personally, he is against abortion,” Benedict said.

Going viral

Peter Piot, one of the world’s leading virologists, who identified Ebola, studied HIV and is now part of the intense worldwide effort to understand the latest deadly global killer: the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, which has already killed more than two million people around the world.

The Long Political Transition of Iraq

From March 5 to 8, 2021, Pope Francis will visit the troubled Land of Two Rivers, a common translation of the old name, Mesopotamia, modern day Iraq. Accepting the invitations of the Republic of Iraq and the local Catholic Church, Pope Francis is due to make an apostolic journey to the country, visiting Baghdad, the Plain of Ur, which is linked to the memory of Abraham, the city of Erbil, as well as Mosul, Qaraqosh, on the Plain of Nineveh, and Najaf.

China's biological weapon

"The Chinese virus is the worst. It is a leaked biological weapon," the 77-year-old Dominican cardinal said. He also maintained that his claims could be supported by the military." All military experts around the world are convinced of this, but they are either afraid to or do not dare say it," Cardinal Duka said.

The chosen people

A leading French rabbi explores the hatred of the Jewish people as seen through the lens of those who endure it, their sacred texts and rabbinical tradition. Anti-Semites frequently claim that the Jews’ chosen-ness gives them a justification for being angry. Just who are these people who think they are so special?

The Catholic nun who has quietly started an ecological revolution

My commitment to religious life gives me a freedom that others don't have, and which sometimes surprises people.I know that in my congregation I will be taken care of. Even though we take a vow of poverty, in many ways we are not poor. But if religious life offers freedom, it also demands responsibility. One should not be afraid to take a stand.

The Crisis of American Democracy

Both parties will face questions related to their identity. Will the Republican Party remain Trump’s party, or will it carve out a new identity for itself? Even without Trump, can it wean itself from a win-at-any-cost ethos that has deprived it of any real interest in governing to a renewed civic-mindedness, once associated with Middle America.

DR Congo still beset with deep-seated problems.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo faces being broken up by prolonged violence, say Catholic leaders in the country. Msgr. Andre Massinganda told Catholic News Service that the Church was concerned with "how to bring peace to those areas where war continues, and how to end the killings and massacres so people can live safely again".