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Category: World Touch
Migrants

Deterring Migrant Boats Fails

Late last year, the Italian government scrapped its Mediterranean search and rescue operation of the Mare Nostrum after funding shortages. The project was partially replaced by Operation Triton – but the service is far more restricted than its predecessor, both in geography (the patrols only go up to 30 miles off the Italian coast) and budget (roughly a third of Mare Nostrum). Critics have said it could leave tens of thousands of migrants at far greater risk.

Irin News

Unexpected Friendships Bloom

As homeless men and women line up under the massive arms of Saint Peter’s colonnade waiting to take advantage of the Vatican’s newly-christened showers and barbershop, volunteers who assist them say they are deeply moved by their encounter with a population often rejected by society.

Catholic News Agency
Aids

Number One Killer in Africa

AIDS has become the leading cause of death for adolescents in Africa and the second leading cause of death among adolescents globally, international health agencies recently said.

Washington Times
Media

Press Freedom Suffers ‘Drastic Decline’ Worldwide

Media freedom suffered a “drastic decline” worldwide last year, according to watchdog, Reporters Without Borders. “There has been an overall deterioration linked to very different factors, with information wars, and action by non-state groups acting like news depots,” said Christophe Deloire, head of the Paris-based group.

UCA News
India

Police Rescue Hundreds of Child Slaves

Indian police have rescued hundreds of child slaves, as young as six, during days of raids on workshops in the central city of Hyderabad, a senior officer said.

UCA News
Bangladesh

First Solar Nation?

Residents of Islampur, a remote village in the northern Bangladeshi district of Naogaon, were stunned one night last summer when the darkness was suddenly illuminated by electric lights coming from a village home. Why the surprise? The community has no connection to the country’s power grid. The owner of the house, Rafiqul Islam, is one of around 15M Bangladeshis whose homes are now powered by solar home systems, or SHS, under a government scheme to provide clean power to communities with no access to grid electricity.

www.catholic.org
Rome

New Cardinals from Every Continent

Pope Francis has named 15 cardinal-electors “from 14 nations of every continent, showing the inseparable link between the Church of Rome and the particular Churches present in the world.” Their names were announced by Pope Francis after praying the Angelus with a crowd in St Peter’s Square and he formally inducted them into the College of Cardinals on February 14.

Catholic Herald
Religion/Global South

Indian PM Vows to Protect All Religious Minorities

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to protect all religious groups, in an apparent response to a series of recent attacks on Christian institutions in New Delhi fueling concerns that minorities are being targeted by Hindu extremists.

www.news.va
Church

2015: A Busy Year for a Maverick Pope

With his unexpected broadside at the Vatican’s elite last Christmas, Pope Francis solidified his reputation for surprise. At times it almost seems this maverick pontiff should come with a warning label, like a pack of cigarettes: “Caution … predictions are hazardous to your health!”

John L. Allen Jr.
Syria

Out of Aid Money for Refugees

WFP officials suspend voucher program that allows refugees to buy food and other necessities. About US$ 64 million are needed for December alone. Since the start of the conflict, the program has injected US$ 800 million in the economies of host countries.

Asia News
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