Catholic News 2
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- American Lilly King has her sights set on winning Olympic gold and she's not about to let anyone get in her way, especially not world champion breaststroker Yulia Efimova of Russia. King made that clear in a finger-waving display worthy of Dikembe Mutombo as she disparaged the Russian for doping....
LONDON (AP) -- Delta Air Lines canceled around 300 flights Monday after its computer systems crashed worldwide, stranding thousands of passengers on a busy travel day....
(Vatican Radio) After twenty weeks and 143 posts, including a number of videos, Pope Francis’ Instragram account has now reached more than three million followers. Unlike the Pope’s Twitter account, which goes out in nine different languages, there is only one official Instagram account. Each post, though, is subtitled in numerous languages.Followers of @franciscus can follow, day by day, the activities of the Holy Father thanks to photos of official events produced by the photography team of L’Osservatore Romano.Speaking at the launch of the Pope’s Twitter account earlier this year, the Prefect of the Secretariat for Communications, Monsignor Dario Viganò said the decision to open an Instagram account arises from the Pope’s conviction that pictures can reveal many things that words can’t. The aim of this papal Instagram account, he said, is to tell the story of the Pontificate of Pope Francis through images.
(Vatican Radio) After twenty weeks and 143 posts, including a number of videos, Pope Francis’ Instragram account has now reached more than three million followers. Unlike the Pope’s Twitter account, which goes out in nine different languages, there is only one official Instagram account. Each post, though, is subtitled in numerous languages.
Followers of @franciscus can follow, day by day, the activities of the Holy Father thanks to photos of official events produced by the photography team of L’Osservatore Romano.
Speaking at the launch of the Pope’s Twitter account earlier this year, the Prefect of the Secretariat for Communications, Monsignor Dario Viganò said the decision to open an Instagram account arises from the Pope’s conviction that pictures can reveal many things that words can’t. The aim of this papal Instagram account, he said, is to tell the story of the Pontificate of Pope Francis through images.
(Vatican Radio) Voters in Thailand have approved a new Constitution. The text gives the military greater veto power over elected officials, and as Alastair Wanklyn reports, it also allows for promoting Buddhism as the state religion.Listen: Just over half of voters cast ballots, with three in five of them approving the new text, which will create a Constitution to replace the one thrown out in a military coup two years ago.The referendum was seen as the greatest test yet of public opinion on the rule of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan Ocha, who seized power, he said, to end turmoil between the government and opposition.When the new Constitution is enacted it will bar politicians from office if they have been convicted of corruption. It will also give unelected lawmakers, including those appointed by the military, significant veto power over politics.The new Constitution will allow Thais to identify with any religion, but it will require the government to “promote” Bu...
(Vatican Radio) Voters in Thailand have approved a new Constitution. The text gives the military greater veto power over elected officials, and as Alastair Wanklyn reports, it also allows for promoting Buddhism as the state religion.
Listen:
Just over half of voters cast ballots, with three in five of them approving the new text, which will create a Constitution to replace the one thrown out in a military coup two years ago.
The referendum was seen as the greatest test yet of public opinion on the rule of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan Ocha, who seized power, he said, to end turmoil between the government and opposition.
When the new Constitution is enacted it will bar politicians from office if they have been convicted of corruption. It will also give unelected lawmakers, including those appointed by the military, significant veto power over politics.
The new Constitution will allow Thais to identify with any religion, but it will require the government to “promote” Buddhism, which more than nine out of 10 Thais follow. Earlier constitutions stopped short of naming Buddhism as the state religion. This one will require the state to take measures to “prevent the desecration of Buddhism.”
The text also protects the dignity of the individual, but it says religious and personal freedoms may be overridden in the public interest.
(Vatican Radio) Landslides due to Tropical Storm Earl have killed 38 people in Mexico, with the death toll expected to rise.James Blears reports from Mexico: Prior to hitting Mexico, Tropical Storm Earl, killed nine people. Six died in the Dominican Republic when falling power lines hit their bus; three drowned in Haiti, when their boat capsized.But Mexico has suffered the brunt of Earl. Twenty eight are confirmed dead in the remote village of Huauchinango in Puebla State, while Authorities in Veracruz State confirm ten more deaths, due to landslides engulfing homes with tons of thick, cloying mud. Mexican troops in olive green fatigues, wearing white arm bands are working around the clock, digging, sifting and clearing a deluge of mud and debris, and uncovering buried buildings. Many roads and highways have been closed, due to flooding, which has led to severe structural damage. The true extent of the crisis is yet to be fully known, as many more remote and isolate settlements re...
(Vatican Radio) Landslides due to Tropical Storm Earl have killed 38 people in Mexico, with the death toll expected to rise.
James Blears reports from Mexico:
Prior to hitting Mexico, Tropical Storm Earl, killed nine people. Six died in the Dominican Republic when falling power lines hit their bus; three drowned in Haiti, when their boat capsized.
But Mexico has suffered the brunt of Earl. Twenty eight are confirmed dead in the remote village of Huauchinango in Puebla State, while Authorities in Veracruz State confirm ten more deaths, due to landslides engulfing homes with tons of thick, cloying mud. Mexican troops in olive green fatigues, wearing white arm bands are working around the clock, digging, sifting and clearing a deluge of mud and debris, and uncovering buried buildings. Many roads and highways have been closed, due to flooding, which has led to severe structural damage. The true extent of the crisis is yet to be fully known, as many more remote and isolate settlements remain cut off.
Each and every year communities throughout the Americas, are in desperate peril, as the Hurricane and tropical storm season, blitzes the region. Many families of modest means have no choice, but build homes in the shadow of looming hillsides which easily saturate, because there`s simply no other land available.
(Vatican Radio) The government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has declared a state of emergency Sunday in parts of the capital Skopje hit by torrential rain and floods that authorities say left at least 21 people dead, with six others missing. Thousands more remain in need of aid and that the stormy weather has spread to other parts of the Balkans.Listen to Stefan Bos’ report: Security forces try to help desperate people. Their homes have been flooded in what the mayor of Macedonia's capital has called “the worst Skopje has ever seen.” The deadly deluge created hazardous rainfall accumulations within only 20 minutes. Mayor Koce Trajanovski called it a water bomb. Dozens are reportedly killed and many more injured.Some residents try to return to their flooded homes. "I have nothing now. Everything I has been flooded. Everything I have been building for sixty years has been destroyed," a crying woman said. POLICE SEARCHINGPolice and...
(Vatican Radio) The government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has declared a state of emergency Sunday in parts of the capital Skopje hit by torrential rain and floods that authorities say left at least 21 people dead, with six others missing. Thousands more remain in need of aid and that the stormy weather has spread to other parts of the Balkans.
Listen to Stefan Bos’ report:
Security forces try to help desperate people. Their homes have been flooded in what the mayor of Macedonia's capital has called “the worst Skopje has ever seen.” The deadly deluge created hazardous rainfall accumulations within only 20 minutes. Mayor Koce Trajanovski called it a water bomb. Dozens are reportedly killed and many more injured.
Some residents try to return to their flooded homes. "I have nothing now. Everything I has been flooded. Everything I have been building for sixty years has been destroyed," a crying woman said.
POLICE SEARCHING
Police and army helicopters are now searching for the missing and have already evacuated hundreds from the flood zone. But authorities said at least 5,000 people are in need of urgently food and water. They urged people to stay at home and to only drink bottled water.
Skopje's city council held an emergency session and decided to provide financial help to victims' families, giving 180,000 denars, roughly 3,000 euros to each.
Macedonia is an impoverished nation and the flood has impacted Skopje and surrounding villages.
CROATIA SUFFERING
Further north in Croatia, stormy winds have disrupted road and sea traffic at the height of the tourist season. Croatian media say parts of the main highway connecting the capital of Zagreb with the Adriatic coast remain closed on Sunday. Only cars were allowed down the sections of a highway and a regional road further north near the port of Rijeka.
Disruptions created by the bad weather have created traffic backups, with many tourists trying to reach Croatia's coastal resorts along the Adriatic Sea.
Traffic has been limited on the bridges connecting the islands of Pag and Krk with the coast, while some ferry lines have halted services with the islands of Pag and Rab.
The weather has underscored concerns over infrastructure in the Balkans, following wars and often slow rebuilding efforts.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- "Go to bed," my grandmother implored. "It is late, and these Olympics are very far away."...
TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's emperor expressed concern Monday about fulfilling his duties as he ages, in a public address that was remarkable for its rarity and its suggestion that he would like to abdicate....
LONDON (AP) -- Delta Air Lines has grounded flights and predicted widespread cancellations Monday after a power outage hit its computer systems globally, disrupting the travel plans of thousands of passengers....
ISLAMABAD (AP) -- A suicide bombing that killed more than 60 people and wounded nearly 100 others on Monday at a gathering of lawyers on the grounds of a government-run hospital in the southwestern city of Quetta was the latest in a string of mass killings by militant groups around Pakistan....
